Quote:
The "typical EEs that you see comming (sic) out of hatcheries" are the original Ameraucanas which were bred from the Quechua. They were called the "World's Fair Quechua" aka "Ameraucana" back in the '30s. They are still, for the most part, the "typical EEs that you see comming (sic) out of hatcheries." Other breeds are mixed in here and there, but with much more strict care and control than the backyardigan crowd crossing them with Buff Orpingtons.
BTW, "Whisperer" is spelled...well, "Whisperer"...with an "h".
Sorry, but from what I've gathered (both in research and from conversations here in BYC) EE stock in hatcheries is more closely related to the Quechua. The hatcheries didn't create the Ameraucana - the Ameraucana bantam was accepted in 1980, created by breeders. The EEs were never included in the standard.
The hatcheries are crossing them with more strict personal guidelines, but they are still crossed with other breeds - making them mutt EEs.
Yes, I'm highly aware that whisperer has a h in it. I'll explain this to everyone, I left out the h so that I could have the username.
You and I are about 99% in agreement, it's just a matter of semantics. The part I neglected to make clear was that the "World's Fair Quechua" was called the Ameraucana long before (decades before) a small group of hobbyists decided to breed them true to a few colors and then seek APA acceptance, stealing the Ameraucana name. Clear as mud now?
Also, regarding the process of introducing different breeds into a line here and there - it's a process that's done with, oh, just about every breed of chicken. For example, Buff Leghorn exhibitors have dipped into Buff Plymouth Rock. Sure, the immediate cross - the F1s - are mutts, but then when that line is selectively bred back to Buff Leghorn (exhibition quality no less), nobody is calling that a mutt. That's similar to what I mean as the difference between *most* hatchery EEs ("World's Fair Quechua") and the backyardigans' EEs (total mutts).
