My Pet Chicken claims to have TRUE blue ameraucana hatching eggs...

[StarLover21]

Is there any way this is true? The chicks they call easter eggers, and even explain you can't buy ameraucana's from a hatchery. They have 'Easter Egger' hatching eggs, too. But they also have blue ameraucana eggs, which they claim are actually true ameraucana's. Is this possible? Here's the link:

http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Fertile-Hatching-Eggs/Hatching-Eggs-Blue-Ameraucana-p629.aspx

They also have black ones:

http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Fertile-Hatching-Eggs/Hatching-Eggs-Black-Ameraucana-p700.aspx

????

 

[aoxa]

Never trust a hatchery.. That's just my opinion.. Even if they ever DID have true Ameraucana, which I doubt any actually does - they would not be quality.. I would go with a breeder, or just be happy with the mutts they provide.

Are you planning to show? If you're not, it shouldn't matter much.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My understanding is that My Pet Chicken (MPC) does not have any flocks of their own but drop ship. That means they get their hatching eggs and chicks from others, whether hatcheries or breeders. So the quality of their chicks and hatching eggs are not in their direct control.

I've never used MPC so I cannot speak from personal experience. From everything I've read about them, they are a reputable company. From the way those articles are written it is clear they know the difference in EE's and Ameraucanas.

What I'd expect if you got those eggs is that they probably do come from someone with an Ameraucana flock. I'd expect the eggs to be blue and the pullets that hatch from them to lay blue eggs.

I have no idea what quality in regard to the Ameraucana SOP you would get. Keep in mind that most chickens hatched by even the best breeders are not going to win grand champion or best in class. Breeeding championship chickens is hard and requires hatching a lot of chicks to select only the best. A whole lot of chicks from the best breeders don't make the cut.

Just based on MPC's reputation, what I would expect you to get is chickens that would be recognizable as Ameraucanas, but probably not a whole lot of them really show quality. But some could be. I could be totally wrong. If that is good enough for you, that is fine, but if I wanted show quality chickens to show, I would want to know the parent flock and the breeder.

 

[NewHopePoultry]

Quote:


X2

 

[StarLover21]

No, I'm not planning to show, and don't really care about having EE mutts, I was just wondering if this was possible. They'd probably be very bad quality- not that'd I care if I got them! I would defnitally go to a breeder if I wanted Show Quality.

 

[Oregon Blues]

I suppose it is possible. They drop ship, so they might have a contract with a breeder of purebred Ameraucanas.

 

[BlazeJester]

You may get true Ameraucana in the sense that the birds will lay blue eggs with no brown contamination (resulting in green). You may be getting eggs from a mixed flock of true Ameraucana, meaning the parents are pure but chicks that hatch out might be deemed by the Ameraucana Breeder's Association (or whatever that one is called) an "easter egger" for not being one of the eight recognized SoP colors.

ETA: I have NOT heard good things about MPC hatching eggs. I have read many complaints on these forums about infertility, lack of hatch success by people who know what they're doing, etc. As a drop-shipper, they have zero control over fertility or packaging, and it may even be the case that eggs are shipped to them and then shipped to you, and they are of course not guaranteed.

It's a mighty risk when you have resources at your fingertips for REAL, customer-supported, APA judged Ameraucana breeders who will ship their eggs directly to you for probably the same or lower cost.