The EE braggers thread!!!

[Kilsharion]

Quote:
I must have an old, old copy of the comparisons because mine shows "Blue Only" for both Araucanas and Ameraucanas.

 

[Gifa]

I must have an old, old copy of the comparisons because mine shows "Blue Only" for both Araucanas and Ameraucanas.

I am willing to bet that the goal of the Ameraucana breed development is to eliminate the green eggs from the breed, but because they were developed from Araucana's and some other Araucana crosses... the brown egg gene is still floating in there and gets expressed from time to time...

So, I don't think your copy is necessarily wrong... green egg layers that result from their Ameraucana breedings are probably considered EEs by the very hard core Ameraucana enthusiasts/breeders who are actively working to breed that out.

Other folks might be more relaxed about it, and I think therein lies a LOT of the confusion about these three names.


Edited to add:
I just looked at the Ameraucana standard
http://ameraucana.org/standard.html

It definitely describes blue eggs in the standard, but it does not disqualify for green eggs... as the green egg is still a blue egg, just with a brown pigment overlaying it. I think they might do well to list green eggs as a disqualification if that is truly something they want to work on. It sure would help clear up confusion for consumers regarding hatchery "Ameraucanas".

 

[Kilsharion]

Quote:
Well, it had me wondering if they meant "shell" not necessary "colour the eye sees". Considering there are three (some say four) egg shell colours - white, blue and brown (some add plum)....Some green egg layers are blue shells with brown pigment. Others are brown shells with blue pigment. So.../technically/ some of the green egg layers are actually laying a blue egg...while some are technically laying a brown egg. How's that for awesomely exacerbating an already complex situation?

 

[Gifa]

Well, it had me wondering if they meant "shell" not necessary "colour the eye sees". Considering there are three (some say four) egg shell colours - white, blue and brown (some add plum)....Some green egg layers are blue shells with brown pigment. Others are brown shells with blue pigment. So.../technically/ some of the green egg layers are actually laying a blue egg...while some are technically laying a brown egg. How's that for awesomely exacerbating an already complex situation?

From what I understand there are only two colors of shells, white, and blue. And this is only because the blue pigment is introduced to the new white shell at the beginning of the shell formation and thus the pigment penetrates it more thoroughly. Whereas brown pigment is added late, and only coats the shell, whether that's a white shell or a shell that has been pigmented to be blue. I have never heard of a plum egg other than as an additional descriptor to the shade of brown. The more brown pigment, the darker the brown... if it is over a white shell, it's a brown egg, if it is over a blue shell it is a green egg, and again, the more brown pigment, the darker, more Olive the green.

So... I am not sure anything has been exacerbated.

 

[Kilsharion]

Quote:
That's been a debate for a while (white and blue) since there are many browns that permeate the entire shell. It has lead to some more recent mutterings of the shell pigmentation actually allowing for a third (and possibly fourth) shell colour. Let me dig through my stack of books and see if I can find the explicit reference.

There are definitely plum eggs. Granma had them all the time from her girls; and my Aunt Dee still does. They vary in colour from a lavenderish colour to a rich, deep ...well...plum.

Anyway, as I said, let me dig through my material here and find the reference.

 

[Flowerbh]

I'm glad i have EEs and don't have to worry about all that stuff!

 

[flower]

I like my mixed breeds best because the have good personalities. But I do like all the colors

My Ameraucanas are DIVA'S

 

[flower]

Oh boy I am missing PLUM but I have seen some mauve colored eggs in the past. They are lovely !

 

[Outrun Acres]

I like my mixed breeds best because the have good personalities. But I do like all the colors

My Ameraucanas are DIVA'S

Wow what beautiful eggs! I can't wait to have a more colorful egg basket this summer. Right now the most color variation we have is one welsummer egg, and it's not even very dark! Lol.

 

[Hangtown Farms]

Araucanas are a breed originating out of South America that have the blue egg gene. They are rumpless, and tufted. They lay Blue Eggs.

Ameraucanas were developed from Araucana's, but have a very specific breed standard of their own now. They have tails, muffs, beards, and only come in 8 recognized colors (Black, Blue, Blue Wheaten, Brown Red, Buff, Silver, Wheaten and White). They lay Blue or Green Eggs.

Easter Egger is a catch-all name for any bird that carries the blue egg gene but neither conforms to the specific Ameraucana or Araucana breed standards. So... you could have a bird that was hatched out of an Ameraucana X Ameraucana breeding... but if it isn't one of the 8 recognized colors, or has the wrong shape of comb, or isn't bearded, or has yellow legs... or some other expression that falls outside of the standard, it's called an EE. Often times they are mixed breed birds, so they can lay anything from Blue to Green, to Brown, to Pink, to White depending on their individual heritage.



More or less...

This should be a sticky under FAQ or some place because it is one of the most concise explanations of a very frequently asked questions

just dont post this on the Ameraucana thread. There is much angry debate wether a Ameraucana to a Ameraucana cross or a Ameraucana that doest not meet standard is actually called a a Non Standard Ameraucana , Project Ameraucana or easter egger. I wonder if they have any idea how bad it makes the breed look to novice ameraucana fans or newbies.
When people on the thread can not even decide.

Well, it had me wondering if they meant "shell" not necessary "colour the eye sees". Considering there are three (some say four) egg shell colours - white, blue and brown (some add plum)....Some green egg layers are blue shells with brown pigment. Others are brown shells with blue pigment. So.../technically/ some of the green egg layers are actually laying a blue egg...while some are technically laying a brown egg. How's that for awesomely exacerbating an already complex situation?

I have had Ameraucana's from different sources and honestly all the eggs are blueish green tinted that I have seen. My blue ameraucana I have now lays a Green egg.