Quote:
First of all
to both of you newbies!
Before any of the Ameraucana people post, there are very specific guidelines that a chicken must meet to qualify as an Ameraucana. That said, there are some Amers that don't fit exactly but are not mixed breeds they are just a non-standard color for example. EEs are a mixed breed chicken that somewhere in its genetic makeup has a blue egg laying gene which is why they can lay anything from brown to green to pink even. In general, they are usually chipmunk colored as chicks with puffy cheeks but that is not always the case. They usually have green legs but not always. Essentially, EEs can look like anything which makes them hard to identify sometimes. True Amers lay blue eggs almost always and are not sold by hatcheries or feed stores, you can only get them from breeders.
Unfortunately, hatcheries and in turn feed stores sell their EEs with the Ameraucana label which leads to the confusion.
The only one I've ever seen be upfront about their EEs is My Pet Chicken.
To make matters more confusing, there are three (if not more) breeds of chicken that have names that sound very similar: Ameraucana (blue eggs, beards and muffs), Araucana (blue eggs, rumpless and often tufted), and Ancona (has nothing in common with the other two but I've seen it written this way as well referring to EEs).
To answer your question, I believe true Amers have slate colored legs. You'll just have to wait and see what yours lays. I'm still waiting for my EEs to start laying, I really want green eggs.
First of all
Before any of the Ameraucana people post, there are very specific guidelines that a chicken must meet to qualify as an Ameraucana. That said, there are some Amers that don't fit exactly but are not mixed breeds they are just a non-standard color for example. EEs are a mixed breed chicken that somewhere in its genetic makeup has a blue egg laying gene which is why they can lay anything from brown to green to pink even. In general, they are usually chipmunk colored as chicks with puffy cheeks but that is not always the case. They usually have green legs but not always. Essentially, EEs can look like anything which makes them hard to identify sometimes. True Amers lay blue eggs almost always and are not sold by hatcheries or feed stores, you can only get them from breeders.
Unfortunately, hatcheries and in turn feed stores sell their EEs with the Ameraucana label which leads to the confusion.
To make matters more confusing, there are three (if not more) breeds of chicken that have names that sound very similar: Ameraucana (blue eggs, beards and muffs), Araucana (blue eggs, rumpless and often tufted), and Ancona (has nothing in common with the other two but I've seen it written this way as well referring to EEs).
To answer your question, I believe true Amers have slate colored legs. You'll just have to wait and see what yours lays. I'm still waiting for my EEs to start laying, I really want green eggs.
