Lavender Ameraucana Breeders .... UNITE

[dheltzel]

Off topic from this forum, are these easter eggers or Amerucanas. They were sold as Amerucanas but i bet they are ee

They are almost certainly EE's. The color of the chick does not look like any accepted Am color.
The simplist way to tell is the price. if under $5 per chick, almost certain it is an EE. Also, if it was sold as a pullet chick, then it originated from a commercial hatchery making it certain to be an EE. I sometimes sell my black Ams for under $5, but they are straight run, never sexed, and that is a very cheap price for purebred Ams.

 

[BarrettG]

They are almost certainly EE's. The color of the chick does not look like any accepted Am color.
The simplist way to tell is the price. if under $5 per chick, almost certain it is an EE. Also, if it was sold as a pullet chick, then it originated from a commercial hatchery making it certain to be an EE. I sometimes sell my black Ams for under $5, but they are straight run, never sexed, and that is a very cheap price for purebred Ams.

They were 4 bucks a chick. I figured they are easter eggers. I sell and breed Lavenders/Self blues. I thought Amerucanas were only solid colors right?

 

[BarrettG]

I sell my self blues for 15 a chick and they go up $5 a month

 

[dheltzel]

They were 4 bucks a chick. I figured they are easter eggers. I sell and breed Lavenders/Self blues. I thought Amerucanas were only solid colors right?

The Ameraucana club sites list all the accepted colors, with pics. Wheaten, Silver and Brown Red are none solid colors that come to mind. I have Blacks, Lavenders (bantam, LF and silkied LF), Wheaten, BBS and Silvers. The Wheaten and Silvers are sexable by color at a lot younger age. I haven't listed those for sale yet, but I hope to be selling pullets that are 2 or 3 weeks old next year. Everyone wants pullets only it seems, it really limits the number of Ameraucana chicks I can hatch and sell. i love Ams and intend to hatch them in all colors to make them available locally. So many people get EE's from the farm stores and are disappointed with the egg color not being really blue. My BBS lay such beautiful blue eggs.

 

[BarrettG]

As it concerns the variety, I do have a dog in this fight, so to speak... but I am not affiliated with any club because I wanted to learn as much as I could on my own first, and making a decision while there has been so much controversy I preferred to wait and listen to all sides...

I had thought I was doing well in learning this breed and variety, I fully admit I have much more to learn and most likely always will... that does not bother me, that's called life...

What bothered me is that due to earlier posts I felt like I had missed something crucial and did not understand what I thought I did... I asked a simple question for clarity and I got a simple, clear and concise answer from one and then a very complicated and confusing answer from another... all I wanted to know is if the pics of the 2 birds I posted are genetically the same color... not what they may or may not be called...

I understand the frustration and confusion that is going on with the name of a color... I deal with it a lot in Call duck colors... here in the US we have a color called Silver which is equivalent to the Splash color in chickens, in the UK Silver is a totally different color... and we have Pastel which is called Apricot in the UK... it's frustrating to keep them straight as many people use different terms interchangeably no matter which country they are in as well...

I love this color variety, no matter the breed it is on... my Self Blue OEGB's mean just as much to me as my Lavender Ameraucanas... but when I talk with other OEGB breeders in the US, if I call them Lavender I will get a swift response of they are called Self Blue, period... so that is what I go with as it is what is accepted in the US...

Yes, it is confusing and frustrating... yes, it is difficult enough to get the basics of this breed and varity down... and yes, there is so much misinformation due to EE's, feed stores and most commercial hatcheries... it is counterproductive to add more confusion and obscurity to an already difficult situation...

I greatly appreciate all the answers I have received to my questions and the corrections made to my mistakes... I will continue to ask and weed through chaff to the meat... thank you...

Raven, I hear you. I'm in your boat. I'm not assigned to any club either. The breeder I got my starters from calls them"self blues". I have been posting my birds on this forum for a while calling them Lavenders and not once got corrected by anybody with way more experience then I have.

The way I view it, its not about the name but about the breed. What ever they need to be called to get them excepted be it self blues or Lavenders I can care less. I just want them to be excepted by the Apa or whatever its called.

 

[fowlman01]

Raven, I hear you. I'm in your boat. I'm not assigned to any club either. The breeder I got my starters from calls them"self blues". I have been posting my birds on this forum for a while calling them Lavenders and not once got corrected by anybody with way more experience then I have.

The way I view it, its not about the name but about the breed. What ever they need to be called to get them excepted be it self blues or Lavenders I can care less. I just want them to be excepted by the Apa or whatever its called.

It doesnt look as if there will be any problem for Self Blue AM's being accepted by the APA and the APA doesn't care what anyone calls them .....other than how the are described in the APA Standard. They will be called Self Blue in the Standard.....call them anything you like online or anywhere else. Self Blue and Lavender are one in the same.

Walt

 

[FridayYet]

Good to hear, Walt. Thanks.

 

[FowlStuff]

It doesnt look as if there will be any problem for Self Blue AM's being accepted by the APA and the APA doesn't care what anyone calls them .....other than how the are described in the APA Standard. They will be called Self Blue in the Standard.....call them anything you like online or anywhere else. Self Blue and Lavender are one in the same.

Walt

Those that want them accepted so badly that they will cave to the APA/ABA officers will cheer his statement. I created them and no matter how often or loudly they say otherwise or even put it in bold print it doesn't change reality. Also note that to "correct" someone they would have to be wrong and "lavender" is the correct variety name, so I'll continue breeding, hatching, selling and of course exhibiting those beautiful lavender Ameraucanas.
I've explained the differences before and will answer those that still have questions by email.

 

[Ravynscroft]

I thought Harry Shaffer created the Lavender Ameraucana...

 

[samouw]

I thought Harry Shaffer created the Lavender Ameraucana...

Although it is difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain the actual dates of when the variety was started, Harry Shaffer was instrumental in the development, as was Michael Muenks. I don't think any of them, alone, or single-handedly, created the variety. I know that there was considerable cooperation between John Blehm and Michael Muenks, not sure about Harry Shaffer.

Of course, nearly 20 years have passed since that initial development, and credit should also go to those, like Paul Smith, who continue to bring the variety closer to the standard.