Need help with colors etc.

[Lrkel]

Please excuse my ignorance. I have had a fascination with Ameracaunas, but I'm new. I have done a ton of reading but there's so much information on type and color that I am still confused. I have three chicks about 3-4 weeks old. I bought BBS eggs from a guy that says he has a Paul Smith line. The eggs were pale blue. I had 7 but sold 4 just like the lighter bird #3. I have pics of the 3 I kept. I don't understand the shade difference between bird 2 and 3. I thought #2 was black at first but now looks blue? They ate some yogurt so excuse the messy face. I have a new bunch of Wheaton chicks too. Can these be bred together or should they stay separated? I would appreciate any thoughts and input. Thanks!

Bird #1




Bird #2




Bird #3

 

[Whittni]

Chick number three is known as a lavender. Chick number one could be what is known as a split, a black ameraucana that carries the lavender gene. Number two is either a dark lavender or a just a grey. As a person who likes to show people their chickens, I like to separate my birds so they can see the differences in each pen and so you can breed the colors true as they say. Nice birds you have there &

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

You cannot visually identify a bird that is split to lavender. The only way to know is by breeding records: either from the parents or from the offspring that the bird throws. Since this is a young bird, the only way to know at this point is from the parents, and one parent would have to be lavender. If one or both parents are known to be split to lavender, there is the potential that the bird is also split, but it cannot be determined as fact. The offspring that are split will look identical to the ones that are not.

The white markings are common on E-allele chicks, but will molt out.

 

[Lrkel]

Still hoping to get more information on the colors.

 

[Lrkel]

I was curious about the white markings too. Can you explain the E-allele thing to me? Does that mean this will be a black bird as an adult? The guy I got them from has one black and one blue rooster over hens that are the same color as the 3rd chick and one splash hen. Don't know any info beyond that.

 

[Lrkel]

Trying to bump this up to get more info on the white marking and how the genetics work for breeding. thanks!

 

[hot93chick]

Hi everyone! try out this website http://kippenjungle.nl/kruising.html ... if you know the parents of the chick, click on "show examples" and pick out what the rooster/hen looks like. then click on "calcualte crossing" and it will show you what the baby will look like! i use it all the time!