a friend has a flock of 20 “americanas” supposedly they were going to lay colorful eggs. Well, they just started laying and they are producing only light brown eggs. What’s going on?
Number 1: Very, very unlikely that they are Aruacana. Number 2: Very unlikely that they are Ameraucana. Number 3: If they were in fact sold as "Americanas", then I would almost certainly assume they are just mutts and should be called Easter Eggers to ensure that nobody gets confused with the names that sound like Aruacana/Ameraucana. Mutts lay all sorts of egg colors. That being said, the ladies take some time to settle into their colors. So if these are the eggs from their first few weeks of laying, I would not worry about the colors quite yet.
Even if they are EE or "mutts" the color of their eggs will not change from brown to blue or green over the next few weeks. The shade of brown may lighten or darken a bit but that will be all.
100% agree with paneubert… I have Ameraucana (my profile pic) lays blue eggs.. not blue green. and easter egger (will attach photo) lays shades of green and blue-green eggs. The egg color will not change, but shades may change.
The source should tell you what you need to know - where did you get the birds? Very few feed stores or commercial hatcheries carry Ameraucanas. It would take either a trustworthy private breeder or a store/middleman sourcing from such a breeder to get them. Price will also be an indicator... Easter Eggers chicks might be a few dollars, I think I pay $4.99. An Ameraucana might be closer to $15-20 for a chick.