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

[VegaCoyote]

… Well, they all have slate legs, I think, but I don’t know enough about chicken colors yet to know if they’re off-model in any other way.

The top boy looks to have a pretty patchy beard, too, but I don’t know if that’s disqualifying, or if he has a pea comb or a modified pea comb… but it’s taller than the other boy’s, so, throwing out a guess- EE, Ameraucana, Ameraucana?

 

[NagemTX]

… Well, they all have slate legs, I think, but I don’t know enough about chicken colors yet to know if they’re off-model in any other way.

The top boy looks to have a pretty patchy beard, too, but I don’t know if that’s disqualifying, or if he has a pea comb or a modified pea comb… but it’s taller than the other boy’s, so, throwing out a guess- EE, Ameraucana, Ameraucana?

Patchy beard and muffs is from the girls picking it. Top boys comb is to tall so could be modified but he's still an Ameraucana but with faults. I need to breed him to a female with an outstanding pea comb to fix that in his line. They are all Ameraucana in the rare color of Silver. It's rareness is why they have faults. Its very hared to find breeders of the Silver variety. Work to get them back on track is going to take alot of work.

 

[StarOnFire59]

Patchy beard and muffs is from the girls picking it. Top boys comb is to tall so could be modified but he's still an Ameraucana but with faults. I need to breed him to a female with an outstanding pea comb to fix that in his line. They are all Ameraucana in the rare color of Silver. It's rareness is why they have faults. Its very hared to find breeders of the Silver variety. Work to get them back on track is going to take alot of work.

I have 3 Ameraucana Bantams: A blonde, a brunette, & a redhead.The redhead looks great. Still all her feathers; no molting. But she's not laying. The blonde is molting, not laying, also seems upset & missing Betty, the brunette. We pulled Betty, the black one, out in a separate pen to work on her toes. Betty kicks everything & stands in everything: the food dish, poop, straw, water out of the water container. She got everything stuck on her toes & it hardened on in round balls. So we have her in a separate hutch, soaking her feet twice a day in warm water to get the hard balls off. Only 2 toes left to uncover. Fritatta, the blonde, will be glad to have her friend back. P'Eggy, the redhead, is stand offish & kind of a loaner. Betty is still laying. I thought she was molting, but she seems to have a nervous condition. She just keeps pulling her feathers out. Her beard is almost gone. I use the nesting herbs with a pretty good amount of lavender, etc. trying to make her calmer, but at least she's laying (the only one of 3 currently).

 

[SilverChic]

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:
View attachment 2367240
Ameraucana:
View attachment 2367241
See the difference?
Here are some common EE colors. THESE ARE NOT COLORS YOU FIND IN AMERAUCANAS!

View attachment 2367243View attachment 2367851View attachment 2367853


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!

Here I thought all this time I had Ameraucanas, but I have EE instead, which is totally fine with me! Thanks for getting me straight! Great article!