This is why I like duns over blues, their color is pretty predictable. With blues, you get the super dark birds, then you get the 'powder puff/powder blue' birds. They all breed like blues, just different shades. When McKinney & Govero were still around, we got some blue ameraucanas from him. We had a couple average birds and a couple that looked nearly black but were blue, none of them had lacing and it seems that the ameraucana breeders still haven't been able to get any lacing on their blues.