We have an Americauna rooster and we have hens (a mix of Buff Orpington, Barred Rock, and Black Australorp). We are wondering what color eggs the offspring from these mixes would produce? Would the mixed hens lay either brown eggs or the colored eggs? Or, would they lay a mix of them all?, Or, would they lay odd colored eggs blending the brown into the color mix? Anyone out there that has had this mix or knows, please let us know. We are debating getting a few Americauna hens this spring, but that depends on this answer. Maybe we'll just stick with our muts! Thanks! Andrew
I'm thinking it would take a couple of generations of breeding the mixed babies back to the Ameracauna rooster to get the blue egg to show up.
Some of it will depend on whether your Ameraucana rooster is really an Ameraucana or an Easter Egger. Easter Egger hens can lay any color egg anyway, so if he is an Easter Egger, the offspring could very well just lay plain brown eggs. There is a chance that you could have some greenish ones. You probably will not get any blue eggs.
Mmm... unless you got the rooster from a breeder, he's probably an Easter Egger (mutt) rather than an Ameraucana. (If you do a search on this topic, you'll find oodles of explanation as to the difference between Ameraucana, EE and Araucana, just in case you're not familiar with the differences). The fact that he might be an EE is not that much of a big deal, except that you won't know whether he's got two blue egg genes to pass along, or just one... or none--sometimes EEs will lay "pink" (or brownish) eggs rather than blue, and since he's a rooster, there's no way to tell at this point what he ended up with, short of having his DNA tested. But, say your guy is going to pass on a blue egg gene to brown egg laying hens: probably, that would produce a green or olive egg. The egg would be blue through the shell, but with the brown laid over top, making it look greenish, usually. If you want a pretty mix of colored eggs including blue, green, brown, pinkish, olive, etc., it can be nice to get EEs from a hatchery. If you get EEs, though, you may not be as sure what you will get when you breed them together later. That's half the fun for some people, though. If you want all blue (or blue-ish) eggs, Ameraucanas and Araucanas will lay them. If you want to show your birds or sell them as their specific breed honestly--unlike what the hatcheries do-- or if you just have a special color you want to see in your chicken yard--I love Wheaten!-- you'd want to get Ameraucanas or Araucanas through a breeder.
Sorry... I cross posted, Cynthia! I was apparently typing quite slowly while you had already posted a reply a quarter as long that said just as much (if not more!).
LOL, no problem! Sometimes one person will say the same as another and it will come out more understandably to the third party just because of different wording, you know?
Our roo came from McMurray Hatchery. After looking at their web page it hard to tell. They say they sell Araucanas/Americanas, but the description they give sounds like Easter-Eggers. It was sent as their mystery chick, so that complicates it even more. It looks a lot like a Brown Red or Wheaten. He has the puffy cheeks, soft feathered beard, and the greyish colored legs. Pics I have seen of the Brown Red and Wheaten types both had black feathers on their lower bodies, but ours has a redish-gold colored lower body. Anyway, does anyone know if McMurray does sell real Ameracaunas or do they just sell EE's? Thanks all! Andrew
Before I sold my EE roo he bred a few of the hens he free ranged with. Hens from the Buff Orpington X EE cross all laid green eggs. Hens from the Leghorn X EE cross all lay a light cream tinted egg. Donna
I recieved the same colored EE or Americauna Roo From McMurray this last spring!, he has a dark tail, and is creamy yellow chest and has red on the middle section. He is my only roo, I have wondered what his offspring would lay for colored eggs too? I will keep checking this post to see what happens with yours? (I do have a friend who has an Americauna Hen to breed him with this spring, which we plan to do.)