Real Ameraucana causing confusion

[Nocila]

So I bought a real ameraucana (she's either a wheaton, or a blue wheaton), and now I'm starting to question whether she might actually be a boy. I know that wheatons are supposed to be sexed by color, and she's definitely got the colors of a female, but her feathers are quite pointed around her neck and back. Any suggestions?

Also, when I introduced her to my coop, she got attacked by the other birds. She's pretty much healed, but she still kind of looks like Einstein because she's still missing a patch of feathers on her head...

I'll try to get some better pictures of her later, ideally ones that show her back, but anyone have any thoughts on her gender/color based on these pictures?

 

[keesmom]

It's hard with the wire in the way, but I think I see saddle feathers. If you can get a side picture it would help. It's possible it is a splash wheaten cockerel.

 

[goldfinches]

I think it's a boy, and I don't think it's a wheaten. Wheaten should be blond feathered. Maybe he's a white?

 

[Nocila]

The person I got them from had two sets of ameraucanas. They bred blue, black, splash, lavender, blue wheaten, and wheatens, so I'm not sure where the white would have come from... Here's the ad for the people I bought the bird from: http://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/grd/4437247140.html

I took a few more pictures of the bird while he/she was in the coop. (the name hasn't quite been decided... It was Franken Hawk when I thought the bird was a female (the injury made me think of Frankenstein...) Now I'm considering Frankenstein, Franken Tom, and Einstein...)

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

The bird is definitely male, regardless of his color.

Maybe he's an extremely poorly colored Lavender? Or a Splash that didn't get any splashes? I'd personally send photos to the breeder and have them help you figure it out.

 

[BantamLover21]

Not sure of the color, but it is a cockerel.

 

[Nocila]

Well that's really unfortunate... I bought several of them at the same time as him, but he's the only one I have left now (I had to sell most of the roosters, and a few had health issues). I can't really do anything with him...

Could color problems be caused by inbreeding? One of the hens I got had some major depth perception issues, and I ended up losing a fair number of chicks, so I'm starting to wonder if maybe the birds were inbred...

 

[donrae]

I agree it's a cockerel.

Inbreeding isn't necessarily a problem. Also called line breeding, when done correctly it's the foundation of a new breed or strain. It's all in the parent stock. If your parent stock isn't healthy, the chicks won't be healthy. Breeding two unhealthy, unrelated birds will give chicks just as unhealthy as breeding two unhealthy, related birds. If you had this many issues with those folks, I sure wouldn't get birds from them again.

 

[oscartame]

that's a roo. It looks all white. I would be asking the breeder what they think it is. it's definitely not a wheaten or any of the other colors they say they breed.

 

[Nocila]

I talked to a bird friend of mine, and she thinks the color may have been caused by inbreeding (sibling to sibling, not line breeding). I know that line breeding can be good for the birds, but I've heard that inbreeding, even with healthy birds, can have bad results. The parents seemed to be healthy when I saw them, so it seems like inbreeding would be a possible cause for the issues...

Once I lost over half of the birds, I decided I'd look elsewhere for my birds (and, in reality, I'm not really looking for Ameraucanas anymore, as I've moved on to Araucanas, so I don't really have to worry about buying from him anymore).

I also sent the breeder a message about him, and he asked for pictures, so I'll see what he has to say about him, and hey, who knows, maybe he'll replace the bird, and I can get a full grown, healthy looking bird...