color question...different shade on chipmunky EEs

[anniem]

Of course they were sold to me as ameracaunas, but i spent 2.5 hours on these boards last night and have been set straight on many things¡

So, one is more taupe/grey and the other a bit more golden...are they the same color but just different shades or are they different colors? I looked at feathersite, but I had a hard time finding pics of the same chick as an adult.
Thanks!

 

[M To The Maxx]

They are no certain colors for EEs. They are just mutts. I love mine. Chipmunk is just a nickname for the way they look.

 

[noitulover]

Easter Eggers are just mutts with Ameraucana or Araucana somewhere in their lineage... because of this, they carry the blue egg laying gene. it isn't guaranteed that they'll lay blue eggs. if they have a brown egg layer in their history, they could just as easily lay a green egg or even a brown or "pink" egg... sometimes they even lay white.

since EEs are "mutts" or "mixed breeds" they can be any color, any shade, or any mix of colors or shades and patterns... i had one that had a blue face and tail, with a "partridge" looking color in the middle... since their colors are varied, they are not classified by any name...

the chicks can look one way as chicks, and grow up to look totally different.... i've even had chicks look fairly similar as chicks, and grow up to look totally different...

one chick was dark, almost black, with a few lighter chipmunky looking stripes... she grew up to white with a black "collar" around her neck and spots and spangles over her back and tail... another was very light to begin with and turned out red and white laced looking with blue puffy cheeks... others still have started out brown looking and turned out brown looking with touches of other colors around the hackles and tail feathers.

 

[anniem]

Thanks for the info. I had read much of the Ameracauna/EE info here so I get the mutt thing, guess I still figured that there were somewhat predictable colors and patterns from chick to adulthood. Guess not! Like many of us, I just can't wait to see how they turn out.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Chick down indicates the genes carried by the bird, and is indeed an indicator of adult plumage. However, there may be genes present that override what is seen in the down. Also, there are many chick down patterns that are very similar; for example chipmunk striping has lots of variations that indicate different genes, but unless one is very knowledgeable and experienced, most look very similar.

With breeds who are (even in production lines) bred more closely to a standard, you will find that many of the birds are homozygous for many of not most genes. Meaning that they will pass on their appearance to their offspring. Easter Eggers, however, are not bred for any standard, even by the hatcheries--all they care is that somewhere in the background was a blue egg layer--and thus many of their genes are not homozygous, and they are quite likely to pass genes that are not obvious from their appearance.

The first case (most breeds) can be likened to making tomato soup--you know the ingredients that you put in and how it will end up every time. The latter (Easter Eggers) can be likened to making vegetable soup from whatever you have in your vegetable bin. One time it will be heavy in spinich and carrots, another time in broccoli & potatoes.

 

[PotterWatch]

There was a post not too long ago asking people to post pictures of chicks and adults so that people could see what the chicks grew up to look like. I'll try and find it for you.

 

[embkm]

I don't have a pic of them as chicks, but last year I bought 3 EEers. The male had the lighter down color, and the 2 pullets had the more gold colors. The down color isnt an indication of sex though... When looking though the male brooder at the feed store, I specifically picked a different color so I could tell the difference when the green spot wore off his head. There were plenty of gold male and silver females to choose from. Anyway, here are some adult pics of my EEers.

Buckbeak (Bucky)- I think he's stunning. He was such a butt head as a young roo, although he is finally maturing into a decent roo for his ladies.

Chirpy (not a great pic)

Twirpy

All together:

 

[newchickmom09]

Here is a link to the EE braggers thread and there is a lot of pics of chicks to adults that you can compare your too. It is a huge thread so it will take some time to look threw but you probably will get an idea.

It isn't the exact thread that PotterWatch was talking about but I can't find that one right now. EE are like getting a surprise you never know what you are going to have until they are full grown since they change so much as they age.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=273489&p=1