My Eagle Chicken Harley....she's a TSC special.

[Aliceismad106]

When I got my babies I looked in the bins and hand picked 2 from each. Except I got 1 Sapphire Gem and what I believed was an Ameraucana? Sorry if I butchered the spelling.
I've been trying to read up and learn about the individual breeds I have and came across a post that said her coloring isn't correct for the breed. Can anyone tell me if she is an Ameraucana with the fluffy cheeks or another breed? Also she is super fast so this is the best pose for me pics I have.

 

[NatJ]

When I got my babies I looked in the bins and hand picked 2 from each. Except I got 1 Sapphire Gem and what I believed was an Ameraucana? Sorry if I butchered the spelling.
I've been trying to read up and learn about the individual breeds I have and came across a post that said her coloring isn't correct for the breed. Can anyone tell me if she is an Ameraucana with the fluffy cheeks or another breed? Also she is super fast so this is the best pose for me pics I have.

"Ameraucana" is the correct spelling.

No, you do not have an Ameraucana. You have an Easter Egger.

Easter Eggers are much more common than purebred Ameraucanas. They typically lay green or blue eggs (although some lay brown/tan/pink.) Many Easter Eggers look like wanna-be Ameraucanas, because they were often developed from Ameraucanas, or they were developed from the same set of birds that were also used to develop Ameraucanas. Some Easter Eggers look more like Cream Legbars, and some do not even resemble any other breed.

Easter eggers are sometimes sold as "Americanas" (note the changed spelling. Several other minor spelling variants exist too.)

Easter Eggers are often very nice chickens to have. They cannot be shown as "Ameraucana" in a chicken show, and it's harder to predict what color a given chick will be when it grows up, but those are the only downsides I know. They often lay more eggs than purebred Ameraucanas, because the hatcheries focus on egg laying ability and ignore feather color.

 

[Aliceismad106]

"Ameraucana" is the correct spelling.

No, you do not have an Ameraucana. You have an Easter Egger.

Easter Eggers are much more common than purebred Ameraucanas. They typically lay green or blue eggs (although some lay brown/tan/pink.) Many Easter Eggers look like wanna-be Ameraucanas, because they were often developed from Ameraucanas, or they were developed from the same set of birds that were also used to develop Ameraucanas. Some Easter Eggers look more like Cream Legbars, and some do not even resemble any other breed.

Easter eggers are sometimes sold as "Americanas" (note the changed spelling. Several other minor spelling variants exist too.)

Easter Eggers are often very nice chickens to have. They cannot be shown as "Ameraucana" in a chicken show, and it's harder to predict what color a given chick will be when it grows up, but those are the only downsides I know. They often lay more eggs than purebred Ameraucanas, because the hatcheries focus on egg laying ability and ignore feather color.

Wow! Thank you so much! I have so much to learn. I may have to pick your brain about all of mine lol. Is there another forum or thread you can direct me to for more research on the different breeds?

 

[NatJ]

Wow! Thank you so much! I have so much to learn. I may have to pick your brain about all of mine lol. Is there another forum or thread you can direct me to for more research on the different breeds?

This is the correct forum to post questions about breeds & genders.

If you post photos of each chicken, people can give suggestions on what breed they are. If people just give a breed without expaining why, you can either ask them to explain or go look up details and try to see why for yourself.

General tips for identifying breeds would be to look at the color and general shape, and to pay specific attention to details like comb type, foot color, and extra features like muffs/beard, crest, feathered feet, feather texture (frizzle or silkie), color of egg a hen lays, etc.

There are a few breeds that look similar as adults and can be distinguished by the color of their chick down, but it is much more common to have chicks that look right for many breeds but are easier to identify as adults.

I often look at hatchery websites for pictures and descriptions of breeds. Some hatcheries have a nice table on the breed page, telling details like comb type and foot color.


Here is an example of some chicken breeds that can be distinguished by such traits:
Light Brahma has a very distinctive coloration, with feathered feet and a pea comb. Columbian Wyandotte has the same coloration, but clean feet and a rose comb. Columbian Rock has the same color, clean feet, and a single comb. Delaware also has clean feet and a single comb, but their color pattern is a little different because they have white bars across the feathers (only visible where the black bits would otherwise be.) And a Buff Brahma looks just like a Light Brahma, except that the white in the feathers is replaced with a golden buff color instead.