Shades of blue?

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Okay... clearly I'm a dodo and am clue-free about feather colors. I just hatched out 7 BBS ameraucanas. Two are clearly black. No question on those. The other 5 were I thought three blue and two splash. Now we are starting to get feathers and I'm questioning the splashness of them. They actually look more like really soft blue greys now. Are there shades of blue? They now look like a dark blue, medium blue and light blues. What exactly do splash babies look like?

edited because not only am I a dodo, I'm a rotten speller too

 

[sangel4you]

I wanna know this!!! I think BBS ameracuanas are the prettiest!

 

[BamaChicken]

This is not a EE but an Orp but is a splash. The splashing shows up a little later on the pullets so she looks just one color now.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Hmmm... maybe I do have two splashes.

I love how the feathers get a smidge darker at the fringes.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Splash is quite variable--some birds have many splashes; others only a few. The splashing often comes in slowly. I had one silvery blue girl who was several months old before she developed any splashing. And I have young chicks just getting their feathers in that are already showing splashes.

Yes, there are many shades of blue. The lighest blues can be about the same colour as the darkest lavenders, and the darkest blues can be nearly as dark as blacks.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Cool. I love the unpredictability of the splashes.

So just as a reminder-
blue x blue= mix of blue, black and splash
blue x black= 50% blue, 50% black
Blue x splash= 50% splash, 50% blue

So to get the most variety, I should keep a blue roo, yes?

 

[pips&peeps]

There are many shades of blue when you breed blue to blue. That is why I prefer not to do it.

I have a splash roo over blue and splash hens right now. I am only keeping the splash chicks and will sell all the resulting blue birds as culls.

I prefer a dark blue from the black to blue mating and it usually yields better lacing than blue to blue.

With that said, my roo has lots of blue, you can only tell he is a splash because he has a speckled chest and thighs. His hackles and saddles are very dark blue.

 

[onthespot]

here are a couple of splash Ameraucanas. Not supposed to have rusty shoulders.

and here is a copper splash marans pullet.

and here are two splash silkie pullets. one is darker and one is lighter. They are both splash.

 

[pips&peeps]

Quote:
Very nice looking ameraucana pullet!

 

[onthespot]

Thank you! I got her when I answered a craigslist ad for a splash cockerel. The lady had two and when i chose one, she said "here, take them both" and the other one turned out to be this pullet! SCORE!!! Bad thing is, I guess if the roo has rusty shoulders, she probably carries it too?