this is my splash ameruacana is it a boy?

[WooingWyandotte]

@WooingWyandotte This isn't true at all. Ameraucanas have slate legs and the bottoms of their feet are white. Black Ameraucanas can have black legs. Period. That's the breed standard. However, some lines of Ameraucana are hatched with lighter legs that darken over time, usually by six weeks.

The blue egg gene does not cause willow legs. Instead it is the mixing of the genes that make Ameraucana legs slate colored with the yellow skin of whatever is mixed in the Easter Egger that causes willow legs.

Also, brief genetics lesson: The blue egg gene causes blue eggs. Period. It can't cause pea combs, or beards, or willow legs. There are other genes that do those things. What does happen is that the blue egg gene is on the same chromosome very near the gene(s) that cause pea combs. That means that during meiosis when the cell splits the blue egg gene and the pea comb gene move together most of the time. The genes for beards/muffs are also very close to the blue egg gene as well. That's why you most often get pea combs in Easter Eggers and why you should always look for a pea comb when you're choosing Easter Eggers. If a breeder used an Easter Egger crossed with another breed or another Easter Egger to make their crosses, then some of the offspring might not lay blue or green eggs. The birds with the pea combs are most likely to have inherited the blue egg gene.

Slightly hurt, but thanks for the advice.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Slightly hurt, but thanks for the advice.

Well I certainly didn't mean to hurt your feelings, and sorry for the genetics lesson if it was something you already knew. There are just so many misconceptions about Ameraucanas floating around out there (encouraged by the hatcheries that are selling EEs as "Ameraucana/Araucanas") that I try to put as much information out there as I can.

 

[WooingWyandotte]

Well I certainly didn't mean to hurt your feelings, and sorry for the genetics lesson if it was something you already knew. There are just so many misconceptions about Ameraucanas floating around out there (encouraged by the hatcheries that are selling EEs as "Ameraucana/Araucanas") that I try to put as much information out there as I can.

No I try to learn everything I can about chickens and I appreciate clear writing. Nothing you did.

 

[steph0601]

Well roo or pullet, it is a fantastic chicken, when I sit outside it jumps in my lap. The leg color is a grey tint it is not the best camera to tell the tint of the legs, and either way if I use him to breed it's perfectly fine, I just have a backyard chicken farm, I'm not a breeder for others we are just looking hatch a small clutch for ourselves sometime next year. I know the splash isn't even a recognized ameraucana by breed standards so I guess it puts this chicken in the EE category even though breeding can still produce a black or blue ameraucana, plus you can never be too careful when hoping to buy ameraucana chicks but like I said wasn't looking to argue about breed, just wanted some first hand experience on gender. Which my guess is roo, but at this point it is so hard to tell, my other pullets are starting to get red combs this week, so either I have a slow maturing roo or a.fast maturing pullet

 

[SummerSaige]

Looks very pullet-ish to me!