Need Info on Ameraucana Leghorn Crosses

[lomine]

"Ameraucanas" from Murray McMurray are usually considered Easter Eggers.
If you read their description, they say they've been raising Ameraucanas since before it was an accepted breed. I'm thinking that when the breed did become official, they continued with their same flock without actually making them meet the then-new standard

They have "Ameraucanas" which are EEs but they also have "Blue Ameraucanas" which are true AMs. Though I wouldn't buy them as they don't look like good examples of the breed.

 

[ShrekDawg]

They upped it to almost $25 now and see how many other Easter Egger type “breeds” they have now!?

https://meyerhatchery.com/Colorful-Egg-Layers-c39363243

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Hello people. In the future, I want to breed Ameraucana hens to white Leghorn roosters, and am wondering stuff about egg coloring. I know nothing. If the chicks come out laying white eggs, then I will just breed to Ameraucanas again or something. The goal is to (eventually) be breeding these crosses to each other, and not Ameraucanas to Leghorns anymore, but still having blue/green egg coloring. Is this possible? Thanks!

P.S Did I spell Ameraucana right @EmmaRainboe

If your goal is a white bird, then the white Ameraucanas from Cackle x white leghorns would be what I would do.

But be aware that leghorns are dominant white and am’s are recessive white... so you could get some unexpected colors from the second generation crosses.

And of course one of the reasons to do this cross vs legbars might be to get pea combs, so taking the second generation crosses back to the Am’s would help with the combs and the egg color.

I’ve had Splash Am’s from Cackle and they were nice healthy birds that laid nice blue eggs ... the whites would be a different line though.

 

[ButtonHoarder]

If this is your goal and it's not about looks, why do you not want Legbars? They're a production blue egg layer. Laying rates and egg size and color vary from line to line, but there are quite a few breeders that focus exclusively on production qualities and have Legbars that perform probably significantly better than an Ameraucana cross.

Well, for one there's none near me.
Another, is I just thought it would be fun to create this myself, I don't know

 

[ButtonHoarder]

Those are Easter Eggers, not Ameraucanas. They are essentially rainbow egg laying mutts, you'll have no consistent production quality, egg color or size most likely. Based on your stated goals, this is a bad plan.

Sad. Ok well.
I guess I'll un-plan

 

[ButtonHoarder]

What hatchery?

https://www.rochesterhatchery.com/Home

 

[ButtonHoarder]

Cackle and Murray McMurray both sell true AMs. Cackle has a big variety of colors. I haven't ordered from either, but based on the picture, I wouldn't buy from McMurray. It has all the traits but it's kind of a sad example. If that's the best picture they can get I wonder about the rest of their breeding flock.

There may be more hatcheries that sell true AMs but these are just two I found in a quick google search. When looking at hatcheries your first clue to them being true AMs is that they are labeled with their color. Second clue is price; if they are $3-4 they are probably EE. And of course check out the pictures. You should get to know what I true AM looks like. Don't go by pictures that come up in internet searches because many of those pictures are incorrectly labelled. Check out the AM breeder clubs websites. They have picture galleries with each color type and examples of what they should look like as chicks, hens, and roosters.

I'll also second the sentiment that Legbars are better layers than AMs. My Crested Cream Legbars significantly outlay my AMs. My AMs are my worst layers, but I have them for their blue eggs and I love the way they look so it's not a big deal to me.

Ok thanks!
Do those hatcheries ship to Canada?
There is so little available here and it's just so frustrating.

 

[ButtonHoarder]

If your goal is a white bird, then the white Ameraucanas from Cackle x white leghorns would be what I would do.

But be aware that leghorns are dominant white and am’s are recessive white... so you could get some unexpected colors from the second generation crosses.

And of course one of the reasons to do this cross vs legbars might be to get pea combs, so taking the second generation crosses back to the Am’s would help with the combs and the egg color.

I’ve had Splash Am’s from Cackle and they were nice healthy birds that laid nice blue eggs ... the whites would be a different line though.

Well the goal was just kinda to basically get a Leghorn that lays blue eggs. Not pure Leghorns obviously, but something...

 

[ShrekDawg]

If this is your goal and it's not about looks, why do you not want Legbars? They're a production blue egg layer. Laying rates and egg size and color vary from line to line, but there are quite a few breeders that focus exclusively on production qualities and have Legbars that perform probably significantly better than an Ameraucana cross.

Maybe they just want to experiment a little and have fun, not buy an existing breed

 

[ShrekDawg]

Well, for one there's none near me.
Another, is I just thought it would be fun to create this myself, I don't know

Sad. Ok well.
I guess I'll un-plan

Don’t let people discourage you! If you want to try this, then I say go for it!! There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun and experimenting and there’s nothing wrong with hatchery birds or mixes. Not everyone wants show birds or super high production. Seems to me you just want to experiment and see what you’ll get which is exactly what I did with my barnyard mixes from my flock and there’s nothing wrong with that!!