The True Truth: How to tell an Easter Egger from an Ameraucana. Even if you think you have an Ameraucana, do check!

[TheOddOneOut]

Ok. I have seen too many posts with people saying "Here's my pure Americana (note the spelling) what color is it?" The pic is always of a beautiful EE.

So here goes: THESE TRAITS are what determine whether yours is the rare pure Ameraucana...or the very common EE!
(EEs are mixes that lay Blue/green and often resemble the pure breed Ameraucana, and are sold as such A LOT.)

THESE ARE VERY IMPORTANT!

#1: Colorations
Here I will show some pics of EE colors vs Ameraucana colors.
Ameraucanas come in solid colors; black, blue, silver, wheaten, and a few more. Don't be fooled by your brain going "hey, mine looks wheaten!"
Here's an EE pattern similar to wheaten vs the real color:
EE:

Ameraucana:

See the difference?
Here are some common EE colors. THESE ARE NOT COLORS YOU FIND IN AMERAUCANAS!

NEXT: LEGS.
I'll give it to you straight: Ameraucanas never have green legs. Or yellow. Or whatever. They only have slate, with pink skin underneath. So if your "ameraucana" has purdy lil' green feet, rethink what you're calling her.

NEXT: COMB. Ameraucanas always have pea combs. None of those weird lopsided modified peas, or a single, or anything. Only a normal pea comb.
Modified pea:

NEXT: Eggs.
Ameraucanas lay blue. EEs lay blue/aqua/green/sometimes pink.
If you're getting brown green or aqua, you've got yourself an EE.
Blue, likely still an EE.

NEXT: Source. Did you buy from a feed store or hacthery? Was it under 20$ per chick? If so, EE.

Hope this helps, y'all. My two EEs are some of the best things that ever happened to me, and I hope it's the same for you.
If you read through this and still aren't sure, I can tell you if you post a pic.
Good luck!

 

[orloffer]

Thank you TheOddOneOut, this is a very informative post.
Also, my Easter Egger's name is Ameraucana.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Anyone have any birds to post pics of? Even if you know they are EEs, it would help viewers to see more patterns and examples!
Here are mine.

 

[Quaicken108]

Ok. I have seen too many posts with people saying "Here's my pure Americana (note the spelling) what color is it?" The pic is always of a beautiful EE.
So here goes: THESE TRAITS are what determine whether yours is the rare pure Ameraucana...or the very common EE!
(EEs are mixes that lay Blue/green and often resemble the pure breed Ameraucana, and are sold as such A LOT.)
#1: Coloration.
Here I will show some pics of EE colors vs Ameraucana colors.
Ameraucanas come in solid colors; black, blue, silver, wheaten, and a few more. Don't be fooled by your brain going "hey, mine looks wheaten!"
Here's an EE pattern similar to wheaten vs the real color:
EE:
View attachment 2367240
Ameraucana:
View attachment 2367241
See the difference?
Here are some common EE colors. These are NOT colors you will find in the pure breed.

View attachment 2367243


View attachment 2367242
View attachment 2367244View attachment 2367245
NEXT: Legs.
I'll give it to you straight: Ameraucanas never have green legs. Or yellow. Or whatever. They only have slate, with pink skin underneath. So if your "ameraucana" has purdy lil' green feet, rethink what you're calling her.

NEXT: Comb. Ameraucanas always have pea combs. None of those weird lopsided modified peas, or a single, or anything. Only a normal pea comb.
Modified pea:View attachment 2367246
NEXT: Eggs.
Ameraucanas lay blue. EEs lay blue/aqua/green/sometimes pink.
If you're getting brown green or aqua, you've got yourself an EE.
Blue, likely still an EE.

NEXT: Source. Did you buy from a feed store or hacthery? Was it under 20$ per chick? If so, EE.

Hope this helps, y'all. My two EEs are some of the best things that ever happened to me, and I hope it's the same for you.
If you read through this and still aren't sure, I can tell you if you post a pic.
Good luck!

You should make an article!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Either way! I’m not sure how many peeps out there have pure ones.

This is Hedwig, named by my daughter for her similarity to a certain well known owl.
She is a 20 week old purebred splash Ameraucana . No eggs yet, but they will be some shade of blue. As you can see, body type, appearance and everything except color look very similar to most EEs.
I bought her as a 10 week old from a breeder. Understandable that people are confused especially with the kind of marketing that most hatcheries use.

 

[black_cat]

This is such a great and informative post! I know that so many people struggle with this. You also may want to touch upon muffs, beards, and body type standards-I know that real ameraucanas have muffs and beards, while EEs can have one, none, or both. You could also mention that there's a body type, tail angle, head shape, etc all specified for ameraucanas, while there's nothing for EEs.

 

[Reinventme127]

My Easter Egger roo and hen that were listed as Americanas at feed store. Tricksters huh. I have a second EE that matured much slower and started out looking like a crow But now looks like runt less pretty version of other EE rooster. The info on how to tell apart is very helpful. When I was looking up how to tell apart I couldn’t find good info and many people unknowingly have pics of EE chickens on internet but have them listed as the other. The cost part is right. After posting my pics and having someone tell me I looked at strasberg and saw just that. There should be another poll option that is

Bought as feed store thinking it was Americauna but it was EE

 

[TheOddOneOut]

You should make an article!

Ooh! Good idea!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Ok. I have seen too many posts with people saying "Here's my pure Americana (note the spelling) what color is it?" The pic is always of a beautiful EE.
So here goes: THESE TRAITS are what determine whether yours is the rare pure Ameraucana...or the very common EE!
(EEs are mixes that lay Blue/green and often resemble the pure breed Ameraucana, and are sold as such A LOT.)
#1: Coloration.
Here I will show some pics of EE colors vs Ameraucana colors.
Ameraucanas come in solid colors; black, blue, silver, wheaten, and a few more. Don't be fooled by your brain going "hey, mine looks wheaten!"
Here's an EE pattern similar to wheaten vs the real color:
EE:
View attachment 2367240
Ameraucana:
View attachment 2367241
See the difference?
Here are some common EE colors. These are NOT colors you will find in the pure breed.

View attachment 2367243


View attachment 2367242
View attachment 2367244View attachment 2367245
NEXT: Legs.
I'll give it to you straight: Ameraucanas never have green legs. Or yellow. Or whatever. They only have slate, with pink skin underneath. So if your "ameraucana" has purdy lil' green feet, rethink what you're calling her.

NEXT: Comb. Ameraucanas always have pea combs. None of those weird lopsided modified peas, or a single, or anything. Only a normal pea comb.
Modified pea:View attachment 2367246
NEXT: Eggs.
Ameraucanas lay blue. EEs lay blue/aqua/green/sometimes pink.
If you're getting brown green or aqua, you've got yourself an EE.
Blue, likely still an EE.

NEXT: Source. Did you buy from a feed store or hacthery? Was it under 20$ per chick? If so, EE.

Hope this helps, y'all. My two EEs are some of the best things that ever happened to me, and I hope it's the same for you.
If you read through this and still aren't sure, I can tell you if you post a pic.
Good luck!

Great post! Hope it helps all those folks out there who continue to confuse the two.

I had two Easter Eggers in a past life, Galaxy and Nebula who were the most gorgeous chickens and both laid pale green eggs.

 

[orloffer]

"Ameraucana," my EE.