What breed is she? my all black hen

[ChickenRisa]

I bought two new pullets this summer from a backyard farmer that was moving. These two girls were chicks that one of the hens had hatched out, but the owners didn't know who the mom was. The rooster was an Americauna, but there were four other hens, one Americauna, one buff orpington, and I don't remember the other two. I am curious if anyone can take a guess as to what breed mixes these two girls might be, especially the black one! She is ALL black, including her beak and feet (comb is red)! I've never seen a chicken like that before. Both girls have started laying and lay light-medium brown colored eggs.

Also, can anyone tell me what the difference is between an Americauna, Aracauna (I don't think I'm spelling that right) and Easter Egger? I've been told so many different things, about them all being different names for the same bird, or different breeds, or two are the same breed and one is different...

Thanks!

The two I'm looking to ID are the black one and the darker colored one on the bottom. Sorry the quality is not fabulous, it's from my phone.

 

[Wyandottes7]

The dark one looks like a Black Australorp to me. The other one you're wondering about looks like an Easter Egger.

"Americanas" and Easter Eggers are the same thing. Many hatchery Easter Eggers are called "Americanas", which differentiates them from Ameraucanas, a purebred blue egg laying breed of chicken. Easter Eggers are cross breeds that are bred to lay colored eggs. This egg color can vary from bird to bird. Not all Easter Eggers share the same traits, but most do have muffs and a beard and of course lay colored eggs (though some just lay brown eggs).

Araucanas, like the Ameraucana, are a purebred breed. Both breeds MUST lay blue eggs and come in specific color patterns to be considered Ameraucanas or Araucanas; if they don't, they are techinically Easter Eggers. Araucanas are a rumpless breed of chicken. You will rarely get a pure Ameraucana or Araucana from a hatchery. Some hatcheries do sell purebred Ameraucanas, for a greater price, but in general, hatchery "Americana" = Easter Egger.

 

[BantamLover21]

The dark one looks like a Black Australorp to me. The other one you're wondering about looks like an Easter Egger.

"Americanas" and Easter Eggers are the same thing. Many hatchery Easter Eggers are called "Americanas", which differentiates them from Ameraucanas, a purebred blue egg laying breed of chicken. Easter Eggers are cross breeds that are bred to lay colored eggs. This egg color can vary from bird to bird. Not all Easter Eggers share the same traits, but most do have muffs and a beard and of course lay colored eggs (though some just lay brown eggs).

Araucanas, like the Ameraucana, are a purebred breed. Both breeds MUST lay blue eggs and come in specific color patterns to be considered Ameraucanas or Araucanas; if they don't, they are techinically Easter Eggers. Araucanas are a rumpless breed of chicken. You will rarely get a pure Ameraucana or Araucana from a hatchery. Some hatcheries do sell purebred Ameraucanas, for a greater price, but in general, hatchery "Americana" = Easter Egger.

x2 on this.

 

[Michael OShay]

The dark one looks like a Black Australorp to me. The other one you're wondering about looks like an Easter Egger.

"Americanas" and Easter Eggers are the same thing. Many hatchery Easter Eggers are called "Americanas", which differentiates them from Ameraucanas, a purebred blue egg laying breed of chicken. Easter Eggers are cross breeds that are bred to lay colored eggs. This egg color can vary from bird to bird. Not all Easter Eggers share the same traits, but most do have muffs and a beard and of course lay colored eggs (though some just lay brown eggs).

Araucanas, like the Ameraucana, are a purebred breed. Both breeds MUST lay blue eggs and come in specific color patterns to be considered Ameraucanas or Araucanas; if they don't, they are techinically Easter Eggers. Araucanas are a rumpless breed of chicken. You will rarely get a pure Ameraucana or Araucana from a hatchery. Some hatcheries do sell purebred Ameraucanas, for a greater price, but in general, hatchery "Americana" = Easter Egger.

X3 on this.

 

[donrae]

The black hen must have had a black momma, and the most common black breed is the Australorp. The other two hens look like Easter eggers, or if they're not laying colored eggs I'd just call them barnyard mix.

 

[Oscarsgravett]

X3 on this.

X4 Very good answer

 

[Mountain Peeps]

The dark one looks like a Black Australorp to me. The other one you're wondering about looks like an Easter Egger.

"Americanas" and Easter Eggers are the same thing. Many hatchery Easter Eggers are called "Americanas", which differentiates them from Ameraucanas, a purebred blue egg laying breed of chicken. Easter Eggers are cross breeds that are bred to lay colored eggs. This egg color can vary from bird to bird. Not all Easter Eggers share the same traits, but most do have muffs and a beard and of course lay colored eggs (though some just lay brown eggs).

Araucanas, like the Ameraucana, are a purebred breed. Both breeds MUST lay blue eggs and come in specific color patterns to be considered Ameraucanas or Araucanas; if they don't, they are techinically Easter Eggers. Araucanas are a rumpless breed of chicken. You will rarely get a pure Ameraucana or Araucana from a hatchery. Some hatcheries do sell purebred Ameraucanas, for a greater price, but in general, hatchery "Americana" = Easter Egger.

The black hen must have had a black momma, and the most common black breed is the Australorp. The other two hens look like Easter eggers, or if they're not laying colored eggs I'd just call them barnyard mix.

X2 and X5

 

[ChickenRisa]

Cool, Australorp, a new breed for my flock!

Thank you for that awesome clarification! So it sounds like Ameraucana and Araucana are separate pure breeds and Americana/Easter Eggers are the same name for mixes or non-breed standard birds of those two breeds? Do the fluffy cheeks mean anything? The light colored hen in my pic has fluffy cheeks and lays bluish green eggs, and I've got another hen with the same coloring as the darker one in the pic who has fluffy cheeks and lays light brown eggs, and the darker hen in the pic has no fluffy cheeks and lays light brown eggs. So would they all still be considered Americanas?

 

[Duckbreeder2020]

X2 and X5

X6

 

[Rhodebar Lover]

This thread is from six years ago