My 4 Americuana pullets

[CheeksFarm]

That's very similar to my adult EE. :-D You have such pretty girls!

I just got a new EE; Lavender Ameraucana under a Red Breasted Black Aruacana, and I got a white clean faced Araucana. She's not breed standard, cause she doesn't have the tufts, but she's so cute!
Here's my EE that looks similar to yours.View attachment 1390905

what does your gold laced Wyandotte look like?

 

[Frazzemrat1]

what does your gold laced Wyandotte look like?

Here's Lacey. She's a hatchery quality, as I got her from Meyer's.

 

[MatthewsHomestead]

Sorry to burst your bubble but those are Easter Eggers not true Ameraucanas. They are very pretty chickens.

Nice easter eggers!

Ameraucanas only come in a few recognized colors (blue, black, wheaten, etc.) and have slate legs. They don't come in any of the colors of the chicks pictured. Easter eggers, on the other hand, are usually very common and cheaper, and they also are often called "Americanas" by hatcheries and feed stores.

No beards. True Amerecaunas have both muff and beards. And they do have recognized colors.

Here is my Amerecauna hen, notice leg color and muffs and beard...they grow in together at the same time, not simultaneously

And this is a Black Wheaton Amerecauna roo (also the hen is in there too). His beard sometimes gets lost amongst his fluffy neck but it is there and noticeable....

This pair typically produce like colored chicks, pullets all black and cockerels follow the Wheaton colorings.

 

[CheeksFarm]

Here's Lacey. She's a hatchery quality, as I got her from Meyer's.
View attachment 1390987

awwh

 

[CheeksFarm]

Here's Lacey. She's a hatchery quality, as I got her from Meyer's.
View attachment 1390987

u can see in this pic not very good pic but their my silver laced Wyandotte i have 4 of them including these 2.
all 4 silver laced w chicks are 6 weeks 1 day old

 

[Frazzemrat1]

Your going to have a nice multi colored egg basket later this summer. Light brown, probably green and blue... That's the fun part about EEs, how you never know what they're going to lay until they do.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

will see when they start maturing to really tell if my feed store does really sell what i had purchased Amerucana pullets.
Amerucana have muffs beards lay blue eggs legs late etc... come in different colors
see new post i posted about that breed.

Feed stores do not sell true Ameraucanas they sell Easter Eggers. Feed stores and some hatcheries mislabel their Easter Eggers as Americaunas or Americanas, they sell their chicks for $3-$4 each which is what you probably paid for your “Ameraucanas” ie Easter Eggers.

 

[CheeksFarm]

Feed stores do not sell true Ameraucanas they sell Easter Eggers. Feed stores and some hatcheries mislabel their Easter Eggers as Americaunas or Americanas, they sell their chicks for $3-$4 each which is what you probably paid for your “Ameraucanas” ie Easter Eggers.

K

 

[Phoebus]

I'm so confused. What's wrong with Easter Eggers? They're just like designer dog breeds like Goldendoodles, Peekapoos, Puggles, Labraapsogoldenweimerretriever...I'm off track. Sorry.

So...any chicken that is not pure-bred, not a recognized breed and lays blue eggs is called an Easter Egger, right? But not all Easter Eggers lay blue eggs.

Do I understand correctly that Ameraucans are a cross between an Araucan and "something else" (whatever breed the breeder decides to use)? However, Ameraucans are recognized as pure-bred, right?

So, if Ameraucans are a mixed breed including an Araucan in their breeding, then aren't Ameraucans technically Easter Eggers? Only difference is the "chicken authority" have made them an actual breed of chicken. I read that the Araucana, Ameraucana, and Easter Egger are all descended from the same breed from Chile anyway. They're probably all from the same chicken clan.

Hoovers Hatchery (IA) breeds what they call an "Americana" chicken that is supposed to be Araucan x Ameraucan. Technically, it's just the breeder's name for an Easter Egger then, eh? Why wouldn't this chicken be an Ameraucan?

And then we have the Legbars (among others) that lay blue eggs but aren't any of the aforementioned breeds which only complicates what I am trying to understand here.

And we haven't even touched on the EAV-HP retrovirus (OH NO!!!!) and biliverdin.....

 

[Frazzemrat1]

I'm so confused. What's wrong with Easter Eggers? They're just like designer dog breeds like Goldendoodles, Peekapoos, Puggles, Labraapsogoldenweimerretriever...I'm off track. Sorry.

So...any chicken that is not pure-bred, not a recognized breed and lays blue eggs is called an Easter Egger, right? But not all Easter Eggers lay blue eggs.

Do I understand correctly that Ameraucans are a cross between an Araucan and "something else" (whatever breed the breeder decides to use)? However, Ameraucans are recognized as pure-bred, right?

So, if Ameraucans are a mixed breed including an Araucan in their breeding, then aren't Ameraucans technically Easter Eggers? Only difference is the "chicken authority" have made them an actual breed of chicken. I read that the Araucana, Ameraucana, and Easter Egger are all descended from the same breed from Chile anyway. They're probably all from the same chicken clan.

Hoovers Hatchery (IA) breeds what they call an "Americana" chicken that is supposed to be Araucan x Ameraucan. Technically, it's just the breeder's name for an Easter Egger then, eh? Why wouldn't this chicken be an Ameraucan?

And then we have the Legbars (among others) that lay blue eggs but aren't any of the aforementioned breeds which only complicates what I am trying to understand here.

And we haven't even touched on the EAV-HP retrovirus (OH NO!!!!) and biliverdin.....

Kinda yes and kinda no. There's nothing wrong with EE in general. I love my ees. The problem is that most hatcheries and feed stores that sell chicks sell EEs under the label of Ameraucana or 'Americana', and this can be very misleading to the buyer, especially if they purchased their chicks expecting to get a pure breed. Ameraucana is a recognized breed, whereas EEs are not. Araucana were involved in the creation of the breed Ameraucana, but that doesn't make the Ams crosses. If you breed an Ameraucana to an Ameraucana of the same color, they will breed true to that standard for that color. IF you breed two EEs together, even if they're the same color, or the same mix, they won't breed true because they are a mix and not a breed. Same as your labradoodle. they don't breed true either, and there are several different 'looks' that a labradoodle can have simply based on what their genetics did with them.

For further reading. I found this article and found it helpful.

https://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2013/12/ameraucana-vs-araucana-vs-easter-egger.html

AMERAUCANAS


Ameraucanas are a pure breed that has been recognized by the APA (American Poultry Association) since 1984. They were most likely originally bred from South American blue egg laying breeds but were developed and standardized in the United States. They come in eight distinct colors including, Blue, Black, White and Wheaten, which all share these distinct Ameraucana traits:

Peacomb

Muffs and beard

Red earlobes

Tail

Blue legs

White foot bottoms

Always lay blue eggs


ARAUCANAS

Araucanas are more rare than Amerauacanas and harder to find. They are also a pure breed and have been recognized by the APA since 1976. They originated in Chile most likely and come in five colors including black, white, duckwing silver and golden. Araucanas all share these distinct Araucana traits:

Peacomb

Ear tufts (this gene is lethal to developing chicks if inherited by both parents)

Red earlobes

Rumpless (no tail)

Green or willow-colored legs

Yellow foot bottoms

Always lay blue eggs


EASTER EGGERS

Easter Eggers are not a recognized breed. They are mongrels or mutts - mixed breed chickens that do possess the blue egg gene, but don't fully meet the breed specifications of either Araucanas or Ameraucanas. They can come in any color or combination of colors and share these traits:

Any kind of comb

Muffs/beard/ear tufts or none

Any color earlobes

Tail or tail-less

Any color legs

Any color foot bottoms

Can lay blue but also sometimes lay green, tan, pink or even yellow

So if you want to be guaranteed blue egg layers, you will want to raise some Araucanas or Ameraucanas; otherwise Easter Eggers are always fun because you never know what color egg each will lay until she starts laying, and even identical-looking hens often lay varying shades of bluish or greenish eggs.