Confused on colour, Ameraucana chicks

[ChickenGal14]

So I just hatched 3 chicks. Dad is a black mottled Ameraucana and mom(s) are black Ameraucanas. He was the only roo in the breeding pen with them so I am absolutely stumped. Can someone help me figure this out? I have one black chick and 2 chicks that look as if they are wheaten or something.. is it possible the roo came from a wheaten split and caused this? Or the hens possible had a wheaten parent that had influence in these chicks? Thank everyone!!

 

[Country Birds]

The first two chicks have the wrong leg color for Ameraucanas. Is there any chance a different rooster mated with the hens before you separated them into breeding pens?

 

[ChickenGal14]

The first two chicks have the wrong leg color for Ameraucanas. Is there any chance a different rooster mated with the hens before you separated them into breeding pens?

That’s what I noticed aswell.. I’m chatting with the breeder and she’s denying the hens ever being exposed to another rooster, apparently this was the first roo they’ve ever been penned with..

 

[NagemTX]

So I just hatched 3 chicks. Dad is a black mottled Ameraucana and mom(s) are black Ameraucanas. He was the only roo in the breeding pen with them so I am absolutely stumped. Can someone help me figure this out? I have one black chick and 2 chicks that look as if they are wheaten or something.. is it possible the roo came from a wheaten split and caused this? Or the hens possible had a wheaten parent that had influence in these chicks? Thank everyone!!

Mottled is not an accepted color of Ameraucana and there for its an EE.

 

[paintedChix]

I was going to say same. There IS a project bird - Ermine or Erminette... but don't think they produce yellow legs, but white or "splotchy" slate/black & white legs - similar to feather color..

Your chicks look like EEs. Do you have pics of the parent birds? What clor were the hens? Were they all from same hen? What color were the eggs?

Also, now I have to go look...

Ameraucana Alliance lists no chick down as chipmunk (your 2nd pic) except a Silver, but it's not a brown chipmunk like yours. All other colors are solid @ hatch.

Ameraucana Breeders Club - same.

On lighter colored chicks at hatch, they can have light yellowish shanks & toes. They start darkening as they age & grow. I didn't read long enough to find out when legs become fully black/slate. My BBS & Self Blue (Lavender) chicks always hatched w/ slate legs.

Only your black chick looks to have a very small muff & beard. I'm not seeing it on the other two. I've been told they can grow in as they mature, but I've not found that to work. If my chicks had no muff or beard, they matured w/ no muff beard. I had both BBS & Self Blue/Lavender varieties from different lines of purebred LF Ameraucana.

Hmm - googling images of Ermine Ameraucana pulls up pics w/ mostly lite slate legs w/ white-ish pink bottoms now. A lot of them have no muff or beard; a few have scraggly muff/beard & a couple had FANTASTIC beards & muffs... Farm names are mentioned as is the fact of being "project birds"...

This link has interesting info as well - on ermine vs erminette & a different name to be accepted by Ameraucana clubs (there are 2 - they split in 2013/14 i think...).

https://ameraucanaalliance.org/forum/index.php?topic=1680.0

 

[NagemTX]

I was going to say same. There IS a project bird - Ermine or Erminette... but don't think they produce yellow legs, but white or "splotchy" slate/black & white legs - similar to feather color..

Your chicks look like EEs. Do you have pics of the parent birds? What clor were the hens? Were they all from same hen? What color were the eggs?

Also, now I have to go look...

Ameraucana Alliance lists no chick down as chipmunk (your 2nd pic) except a Silver, but it's not a brown chipmunk like yours. All other colors are solid @ hatch.

Ameraucana Breeders Club - same.

On lighter colored chicks at hatch, they can have light yellowish shanks & toes. They start darkening as they age & grow. I didn't read long enough to find out when legs become fully black/slate. My BBS & Self Blue (Lavender) chicks always hatched w/ slate legs.

Only your black chick looks to have a very small muff & beard. I'm not seeing it on the other two. I've been told they can grow in as they mature, but I've not found that to work. If my chicks had no muff or beard, they matured w/ no muff beard. I had both BBS & Self Blue/Lavender varieties from different lines of purebred LF Ameraucana.

Hmm - googling images of Ermine Ameraucana pulls up pics w/ mostly lite slate legs w/ white-ish pink bottoms now. A lot of them have no muff or beard; a few have scraggly muff/beard & a couple had FANTASTIC beards & muffs... Farm names are mentioned as is the fact of being "project birds"...

This link has interesting info as well - on ermine vs erminette & a different name to be accepted by Ameraucana clubs (there are 2 - they split in 2013/14 i think...).

https://ameraucanaalliance.org/forum/index.php?topic=1680.0

Good info for everyone intrested in Ameraucana.