Easter Eggers-What breeds do YOU prefer to cross your Ameraucanas with?

[Heathercr03]

7.5 week old EE barred rock x Ameraucana roo. Doesn't look like she will be barred. Are the females only barred if using barred rock rooster over Ameraucana hen?

 

[speckledhen]

If the mother is barred and not the sire, only the males will be barred because the hens pass barring only to their sons. If the sire is barred, all chicks should have some barring....IF the rooster is properly double barred and not single barred like a black sex link rooster. If he is not a pure Barred Rock and is single barred, he will pass barring to about half his chicks, not all.

 

[Heathercr03]

If the mother is barred and not the sire, only the males will be barred because the hens pass barring only to their sons. If the sire is barred, all chicks should have some barring....IF the rooster is properly double barred and not single barred like a black sex link rooster. If he is not a pure Barred Rock and is single barred, he will pass barring to about half his chicks, not all.

Thank you this is great info. Where do you get all your genetic info id love to learn more is there a particular website other than this one you use? I feel like it's a rabbit hole learning genetics and I get overwhelmed lol

 

[Heathercr03]

Thank you this is great info. Where do you get all your genetic info id love to learn more is there a particular website other than this one you use? I feel like it's a rabbit hole learning genetics and I get overwhelmed lol

So my two gray girls have more daddy Ameraucana genetics making them blue hens right?

 

[Heathercr03]

So my two gray girls have more daddy Ameraucana genetics making them blue hens right?

This is daddy blue Ameraucana

 

[speckledhen]

Thank you this is great info. Where do you get all your genetic info id love to learn more is there a particular website other than this one you use? I feel like it's a rabbit hole learning genetics and I get overwhelmed lol

My main breed was Barred Plymouth Rocks and later, Blue/black/splash Ameraucanas and I would cross those to make my own Easter Eggers. Plus once a friend gave me BR hatching eggs, but she didn't realize two rogue roosters of different breeds were breeding her hens so I learned how the cross worked with non-barred males and barred hens.

 

[Heathercr03]

My main breed was Barred Plymouth Rocks and later, Blue/black/splash Ameraucanas and I would cross those to make my own Easter Eggers. Plus once a friend gave me BR hatching eggs, but she didn't realize two rogue roosters of different breeds were breeding her hens so I learned how the cross worked with non-barred males and barred hens.

It's funny my main flock has been barred rocks too I bought my blue roo to x for EE as well, my friend also gave me hatching barred rocks and now I have two BR roos haha

 

[Heathercr03]

My main breed was Barred Plymouth Rocks and later, Blue/black/splash Ameraucanas and I would cross those to make my own Easter Eggers. Plus once a friend gave me BR hatching eggs, but she didn't realize two rogue roosters of different breeds were breeding her hens so I learned how the cross worked with non-barred males and barred hens.

Do you still have your crosses? id love to see photos!

 

[speckledhen]

So my two gray girls have more daddy Ameraucana genetics making them blue hens right?

That one on the right has a pretty large pea comb so I'm not too sure about that one. You can't see any barring on that one at all? I think I see some barring on that one, feather toward the back at the tail. Looks suspiciously like a cockerel to me, but time will tell. I once had a Blue Orpington rooster who seemed "normal", but later produced a fully barred chick with a solid red hen. I only then noticed the barring in his sickle feathers so there was some barred bird in his ancestry somewhere. To make the Blue Orpington, they used Blue Rocks and probably there was a barred in that ancestry that passed down into the Orp lines. It can be subtle.

 

[speckledhen]

Here is the barring I mean in that tail feather