INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

On the topic of Easter-eggers versus Ameraucanas versus Araucanas - I am certainly no expert, but as I am very much interested in breeding Ameraucanas one day, I have put in a lot of research.


Araucanas - You can almost guarantee you don't have an Araucana unless you went to a breeder for them. Exceptionally rare, they are blue-egg-laying birds that are rumpless, as in they do not have tails, and tufted, not bearded. The tufts are only on the sides of their heads, quite different from the beards of the other two. Some Araucana colorations even have yellow legs, something that from my understanding is a no-no with Ameraucanas.


Ameraucanas - Ameraucanas are similar in shape to Easter-eggers--or, more truthfully, Easter-eggers are similar in shape to Ameraucanas--but there are many differences between them. Ameraucanas should lay blue eggs and have slate legs. They should also be of the several recognized colors or of the project colors. A bird can be pure Ameraucana, but if it is not a recognized color, it is considered an Easter-egger. Some even say that the project colors are Easter-eggers because they are not recognized colors. Pedigree has little to do with it.


Easter-egger - Perhaps the most interesting of the three, the Easter-egger is a name for any non-standard bird that could potentially be a carrier of the blue-egg gene. Many Easter-eggers do not actually carry the blue-egg gene and lay brown eggs instead, but they descended from blue-egg layers, which is why they are called as one. Interestingly enough, because of this definition, one could have a cross between a cream Legbar or another blue egg layer and still call it an Easter-egger - as long as the bird can potentially carry the blue egg gene, it doesn't necessarily have to be a descendant of an Ameraucana or Araucana directly.


So essentially, if you got your 'Ameraucana' from a hatchery, the feed store, or anyone that spells it as 'Americana', you most likely are not the owner of a true Ameraucana. And, unless you looked specifically for them, you probably don't have an Araucana, either.

For anyone that does not know for sure if they have an Ameraucana or an Easter-egger, the Ameraucana Breeders Club has pictures of every color for you to compare your birds to: http://www.ameraucana.org/scrapbook.html They also have the standard for Ameraucanas, both bantam and large fowl, if anyone wants to read: http://www.ameraucana.org/standard.html


And I will step off my soap box now. :) Hopefully, that answers some questions.
 
Quote: owls can eat chickens.
Quote: bird netting is nice but it won't keep mice out. once your chickens are bigger they will kill mice if they are not over fed. Kind of like a lazy cat will catch a mouse if forced to.

On a different note, we found a cat in our back barn yesterday. It won't come out though not even for food or water. I want to keep it but I need to get it out to take to the vet to make sure it is not a house pet and of course that it has all of its shots.
 
This bird is an Easter-egger. :) Very pretty, too!
Beats me. I think I have it figured out and then find out I don't. I bought the blue hen and black roo from someone who breeds to sop. She said these probably wouldn't be show quality but they laid sky blue eggs and that's what she was going for at the time. I'm a hobbyist. I'm not going to get bent out of shape over it. I think my EE is prettier than both of them.
Just found this For Bantam birds: The Araucana bantam has a pea comb and they have the distinction of laying Turquoise or blue shelled eggs. There is close genetic Linkage between those two traits so that selection for pea comb is effective in maintaining blue Egg. One classes of Araucana bantams is recognized Disquailifications: Absence of one or both ear tufts - Rudimentary tail - Eggs other than blue - Presence of beard - specimen with beard and/or muffs, white skin. ~~Araucana Club of America
And this For Standard sized birds: The standard Araucana are rumpless and have tufts of feathers protruding from each side of the head/neck. The Araucana also has a pea comb and they have the distinction of laying Turquoise or blue shelled eggs. There is close genetic Linkage between those two traits so that selection for pea comb is effective in maintaining blue Egg. Disqualifications: Lack of ear-tufts, comb other than Pea, Rudimentary presence of tail, Stubs or feather on their shank, or more or less than four toes, white skin.
This is the standard for Araucanas, not Ameraucanas. Two VERY different breeds.
Wow we feel even more lucky now. It's funny (barely) and not so funny (really, not funny at all) about that person loading you up with cockerels for your first chickens. Lots of crowing, eh? I had a dream last night that mine started crowing, and I was chasing them lol.
Yeah, it's terrible what people do sometimes. :/ My mom and I went to a swap meet and saw a guy with a cage full of barred Rock cockerels--spurs starting, sickle tail feathers, mighty combs--and the cage was labelled 'pullets'. Ugh. :rolleyes: If you're wondering (but mostly because I like to show off my birds :lol: ), the only straight run girl I've gotten is my Easter-egger, Merlin:
1000
 
Alrighty.. girl or boy?
Age would help to confirm, but by how dark her barring is, I say girl. :)
Oh the master of all bird watchers to the resuce :lau
:highfive: Fellow bird watcher here! I get all excited when I spot something in the area that I've never seen before, but it seems like no one understands. :rolleyes: My curse in life. :lol: And I think I've caught up on all the posts now. :D
 
Quote: owls can eat chickens.
Quote: bird netting is nice but it won't keep mice out. once your chickens are bigger they will kill mice if they are not over fed. Kind of like a lazy cat will catch a mouse if forced to.

On a different note, we found a cat in our back barn yesterday. It won't come out though not even for food or water. I want to keep it but I need to get it out to take to the vet to make sure it is not a house pet and of course that it has all of its shots.
I don't believe in with holding food for mouse protection, I know for certain my cats whom have food available 24/7/365 some would catch mice some would not and if for some reason we ran out of feed at 7pm and the store was closed until the next morning the cat that wouldn't mouse before still wouldn't mouse even if hungry. So sorry I don't think your opinon holds water...
 
Is anyone on here breeding seabrights? Also how many chickens can this coop hold
400
I have 5 but would love to have a seabright or black silkie this year. Or a Swedish flower hen. I want them real bad!! Anyone have any for sale... (Stupid chicken math)
I have one golden sebright pullet and some black silkies of various ages and am located in Brownstown.
I am bumping my post because I really need you guys!! I know irritating huh, lol. I Just commited to a pair of SQ silkies I am picking up sunday, I am trading my blue cochin cockerel for them. I am kinda at a loss right now with my cockerels and I could really use some advice from you all. I think I may be BYC codependent.
th.gif
Holy cow! You are getting a pair of SQ silkies and only trading a cockerel? Are you sure they are SQ? That is a steal and congrats! I am getting a SQ silkie pullet this weekend and she is a bargain at $100. I would love to have their info if you don't mind passing it on so I can check into their stock. I can always spare a couple of cockerels. The assorted bantams bin at TSC gets me every time. ;)
 
Quote: That is ok, not everyone has to agree. I'm sure there are some cats that won't catch a mouse ever for some reason or another. I was more thinking in general, not a specific cat. And I have seen cats that catch mice only when hungry, not to the point of starving but not fed every meal either. I'm also positive that there are cats that live in barns or the wild that do not get fed like a house cat would and will live on what they catch. But like I said we don't all have to agree.
 
Last edited:
Lost another chick last night and pretty sure one more will be gone by tonight : (
It will make number 3, all from TSC.. heat is perfect, food and water fresh and clean, eating normally. They just......dropped....they were all just a few days old.... ugh.
 
Lost another chick last night and pretty sure one more will be gone by tonight : (
It will make number 3, all from TSC.. heat is perfect, food and water fresh and clean, eating normally. They just......dropped....they were all just a few days old.... ugh.
Every chick I've ever gotten from TSC has died. Only has ever made it to an adult, and it is some kind of mix between a silkie and maybe a califorian white?? I don't buy from them any more.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom