Splash vs ermine ameraucana

[Cassi_2000]

I just bought some ameraucana chicks I wanted ermine but she said she gave me splash are they the same thing or no? New to chickens need help.

 

[NatJ]

I just bought some ameraucana chicks I wanted ermine but she said she gave me splash are they the same thing or no? New to chickens need help.

They will probably look similar, but the genes involved are quite different (so breeding Splash to Ermine would not be a good idea. Breeding Splash to other Splash will be fine.)

 

[Cassi_2000]

Interesting thank you but oh well still beautiful colors regardless, you don’t see splash ameraucanas everyday.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Interesting thank you but oh well still beautiful colors regardless, you don’t see splash ameraucanas everyday.

Hi there, welcome to BYC!

Splash is beautiful! (some more than others)

I hadn't heard of ermine before so I looked it up. and looks like Cackle *intends* to carry that variety by 2025..

https://www.cacklehatchery.com/product/erminette-ameraucanas-chicken/

They look mottled.. @NatJ is ermine different than mottled.. I did some preliminary research of my own, and looks like white feathering with black mottles as opposed to whatever color feathering with white mottles.. but is that correct? TIA

Hehe, I like splash better.. but still LOVE to see the wide array of varieties, so interesting!

 

[NatJ]

I hadn't heard of ermine before so I looked it up. and looks like Cackle *intends* to carry that variety by 2025..

https://www.cacklehatchery.com/product/erminette-ameraucanas-chicken/

They look mottled.. @NatJ is ermine different than mottled.. I did some preliminary research of my own, and looks like white feathering with black mottles as opposed to whatever color feathering with white mottles.. but is that correct? TIA

Quoting from Cackle's description:
"When mating erminette to erminette, the chicks will be approximately 50% erminette. Half of the remainder will be solid white and the other half solid black."

That sounds like the right ratios for paint: black with one copy of Dominant White. If you breed two paints, you get about 25% black, 50% paint, 25% solid white (two copies of the Dominant White gene).

That is definitely wrong for the mottling gene. The mottling gene is recessive, so when you mate two mottled chickens you get 100% mottled chicks (as in they all show the mottling gene, no guarantees about what other colors they do or don't show in addition to that.)

Cackle also says:
"Each Cackle Hatchery® order for erminette Ameraucanas will include some chicks with the erminette pattern, some black chicks, and some white chicks. All chicks will have the erminette gene."

I don't know what gene they think "erminette" is. If it is some gene that affects how the black and white are distributed on a paint chicken, then that might be correct, but I don't know what gene that might be.

looks like white feathering with black mottles as opposed to whatever color feathering with white mottles.. but is that correct?

I agree the Erminettes look like black bits on white, at least to me. But that can happen with Splash (two blue genes) or with Paint (one copy of Dominant White on an otherwise black chicken) or with Silver Spangled (like in Hamburgs and Spitzhaubens, caused by the Pattern Gene interacting with several other genes.)

The mottling gene makes white dots on the tip of the feathers, then black behind that, then the rest of the feather color is determined by whatever other genes the chicken has.

On a black chicken, of course you just see the white dots, because black and more black look pretty much the same.

On a Mille Fleur d'Uccle or a Speckled Sussex you can see the white, the black, and some gold or red. On a Tolbunt Polish or a Spangled Cornish you can see the white, the black, and the patterned gold/black or red/black behind that.

On a Golden Neck d'Uccle the black is turned to white, so you see the white tip, more white, and some gold.

I've seen a few photos of Silver Mille Fleur d'Uccles. They show the white dot on the tip of the feather, a v-shaped black marking, and then the rest of the feather is silver (white). So they do look like they have little black bits all over a white chicken, but the black bits sort-of have a different shape than some of the other colors/patterns that look like black bits on white.

Any of those mottling gene expressions will tend to look a bit more messy and less crisp than what I described, but the basic patterning does seem to be there any time I have the opportunity to look closely. (I have seen some of them in person, and some only in photos.)

 

[EggSighted4Life]

That sounds like the right ratios for paint

Nice, thank you for the catch and deeper explanation re: mottling gene, look on different backgrounds, etc..

Going back and reviewing the look.. they *almost* look like paint splash.. Very nice, there's more beauty to the color/variety whatever it is, than I saw or noticed at first glance!

I can see why OP is interested! Both colors are gorgeous.