Talk To Me About Breeds Laying Blue Eggs

[drangle]

Maybe not what you are looking for colorwise but privet hatchery out of New Mexico sells cream legbars that aren’t super high priced. I think there were around 6 dollars a chick. I ordered 5 from them and got an extra. All have been very healthy and active although they are too young to lay yet so I can’t speak to that.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Likewise my Creme Legbars have all come from Privett. They are truly wonderful birds, beautiful, sweet, very dependable layers of always blue. I also have EE's from Privett. One of them lays blue eggs, another green. They never lay a color that is not blue or green but you know that chipmunk color and it's probably not the color of bird you want.

 

[SourRoses]

I absolutely adore my Ameraucanas but agree with @pipdzipdnreadytogo that you may not find them the best choice in your heat and early maturity laying. Mine both started laying at 7 months and they are definitely a bit more medium sized and I get about 4 eggs a week from them.

Wait, what? I haven't found heat to be any kind of issue for real Ameraucanas. I'm in Florida and they do great here.

The only drawback is waiting a bit longer for laying onset, they're right around 5-6 months.
Of the Ameraucana we've had in the past, we had one everyday layer who never rested (a Silkied splash) and many who lay 4-5/wk. So they're not a production breed but they're not slouches either. Large eggs are normal for the breed (from breeders).
A lot of laying traits depend on the line, that's especially true of Ams which have been shown a lot (black Ams tend to get all the highest titles) so breeders have hoarded the best blood. And then you have hatcheries making a mess with the name. So sourcing good birds is a big headache.

For the Op, WTB may fit the production characteristics better. I'm personally a little too picky about looks for the surprise color factor, but some people love that.

Another factor to consider is temperament. Real Ams have very mild mannered girls who tend to get picked on by tougher breeds. But they are also clever, alert birds who do well ranging / free ranging.

 

[3KillerBs]

Wait, what? I haven't found heat to be any kind of issue for real Ameraucanas. I'm in Florida and they do great here.

The only drawback is waiting a bit longer for laying onset, they're right around 5-6 months.
Of the Ameraucana we've had in the past, we had one everyday layer who never rested (a Silkied splash) and many who lay 4-5/wk. So they're not a production breed but they're not slouches either. Large eggs are normal for the breed (from breeders).
A lot of laying traits depend on the line, that's especially true of Ams which have been shown a lot (black Ams tend to get all the highest titles) so breeders have hoarded the best blood. And then you have hatcheries making a mess with the name. So sourcing good birds is a big headache.

For the Op, WTB may fit the production characteristics better. I'm personally a little too picky about looks for the surprise color factor, but some people love that.

Another factor to consider is temperament. Real Ams have very mild mannered girls who tend to get picked on by tougher breeds. But they are also clever, alert birds who do well ranging / free ranging.

Very informative. Thanks.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Wait, what? I haven't found heat to be any kind of issue for real Ameraucanas. I'm in Florida and they do great here.

I only said something about that because 3KBs has mentioned having issues with Wyandottes with rose combs in the heat! Good to know that Ameraucanas seem to do fine, however! I do love them as a breed, but have unfortunately had limited experience with them, just one hatchery Blue hen that died pretty young. I hope to work with the silkie-feathered variety some day, though.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I adore my araucanas. They're silly, friendly and mine are from a mixed color flock so lots of different colors. However they're not cheap and aren't super easy to increase population wise. Plus mine are still slacking at over 6 months and no eggs yet

 

[kurby22]

I only said something about that because 3KBs has mentioned having issues with Wyandottes with rose combs in the heat! Good to know that Ameraucanas seem to do fine, however! I do love them as a breed, but have unfortunately had limited experience with them, just one hatchery Blue hen that died pretty young. I hope to work with the silkie-feathered variety some day, though.

Yeah my girls do okay with the dry heat and so do my Wyandottes, but I know nothing about the muggy heat in the South so wasn’t sure! I’m glad to hear they do well in Florida! I just love them

 

[Poultrybonkers]

I wouldnt get ameraucanas mine took 40 weeks to lay a silkie sized egg wasn't worth it not sure about clb, but anything mixed with ameraucanas take forever to lay

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Yeah my girls do okay with the dry heat and so do my Wyandottes, but I know nothing about the muggy heat in the South so wasn’t sure! I’m glad to hear they do well in Florida! I just love them

We don't get much heat up here in general, maybe a few days above 90°F every summer, and the rest of the time it's generally mid-80's, so I have relatively little experience with extreme heat with my birds if I'm being honest.

 

[FunClucks]

Greenfire Farms has some interesting land-race chickens that lay either blue or lay green (couple different land races), but $$$$

For what you're looking for, I wouldn't recommend the Hoovers Prairie Bluebell. Mine laid at 6-7 months, about 4 eggs a week. Egg color variation from almost white to slightly blue. Inching towards a large egg, but has taken a few months to get there. Chicken color variety is vast - black, blue, chestnut partridge and silver-laced partridge - they don't come in red. They're a mix, so some colors bleed through. Very flighty, curious, and active, probably good at foraging and evading predators, but not a very friendly or calm chicken, although individuals can be friendly. The listing on Hoovers states 15% chance of non-blue eggs. So far, one of my four laying pullets is laying a tan egg. Two have still yet to lay, and they were born around the first week of April.

Next time, I'm probably going to get some Whiting True Blues and see how those work out. I hear those occasionally lay white or tan, but hopefully not as often.