Red Ameraucanas?

[Omniskies]

I have three Red Easter Egger roosters and some Buff Ameraucanas (pure Ameraucanas - not Easter Eggers). I'm planning on breeding Red x Buff and keeping the darker reds that lay the bluest eggs.

Is anyone else working with the Red color who would want to do an egg swap in the future? By future, I mean sometime this summer/fall, since it'll take a while for my Buffs to grow.

Does anyone have pictures of Red "Ameraucanas" they're working on? Both chicks and adults

I'm also tempted to cross the Red Easter Egger roosters with some Rhode Island Red hens and keep the hens that look the most like Ameraucanas, then start selecting for the most blue eggs.

If I only hatched out the lightest colored Rhode Island Red eggs (the ones that are, at best, tan), how difficult would it be to get an egg that is more blue-green than green-blue? Does anyone have any pictures of an EE/Ameraucana x RIR cross?

Thanks

 

[pips&peeps]

I think there is someone out there that is working on a "red" variety, it just escapes me right now.

If you do a cross with single comb birds, you will want to only keep the resulting pullets that have pea combs for breeding as they will definately carry the blue egg gene and breed them back to the ameraucana rooster. The single combs might carry the gene, but it's better not to waste your time.

It can take years to improve egg color and sometimes it doesn't if you get lucky.

Good luck with your experiment.

 

[Omniskies]

If you remember I'd love to know.

I know egg color can be crazy. It's good to know that there's a chance to make the egg color better over time even with using RIRs.

I'll definitely cull the single comb birds. If for no other reason than because I prefer pea and rose combs (my only complaint with Silver Grey Dorkings is the single comb

.

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

I would love to see a red ameraucana. I know one of the araucana breeders has red araucanas. It would be much easier to work with them because you wouldnt have to worry about egg color and comb, just tail, beard/muffs, and leg color. The type seems like it would be easy to get.

 

[chicken stalker]

I agree with flyingmonkeypoop...I think it will be easier to breed ameraucana's and araucana's and weed out the traits you don't want. Crossing with another breed will give you tons of triats you don't want or will show up down the line. The egg color definatly will be trickest. If you cross with another breed you will get green eggs and I've heard its about impossible to get it back to blue. Here is a site that has red Araucana's.
http://www.skyblueegg.com/

 

[Cottage Rose]

Jean I think Paul Smith was working on reds at one time??