What is the difference in EE's and Ameracaunas ??

[kbreak]

How can you tell the difference between Easter Eggers and Ameracaunas? I have 2 that I was told were Ameracaunas. They both lay blue eggs.

 

[Illia]

That's an Easter Egger, and there's a 90% chance your other(s) are too.

Easter Eggers are commonly sold at feedstores, hatcheries, and local breeders who wouldn't know the difference if you asked them.

Easter Eggers come in assorted colors but most often brown marked coloration like your gal, they have different leg and egg colors too but most of the time have green or yellow legs and lay greenish to blue-green eggs.

Ameraucanas are a recognized, purebred breed who only have slate blue or blackened blue legs, only come in 8 recognized colors (but also a couple unrecognized ones like Lavender and Splash) , and only lay blue eggs. They are only offered by breeders, usually exhibition breeders.


Easter Eggers, being usually colored laying mutts, can have muffs/beard or a clean face, tail or no tail, tufts or no tufts, crest or no crest, whatever. Most being hatchery based though are indeed a mimicry of true Ameraucanas but can be differentiated by their skin color, leg color, and plumage color.

 

[Rainwolf]

How can you tell the difference between Easter Eggers and Ameracaunas? I have 2 that I was told were Ameracaunas. They both lay blue eggs.

First I'm not a expert so best thing is to go to http://ameraucana.org/ and do some reading...

That said... First few things to look for.

1) Did you buy the chick from a hatchery or Breeder?
2) Does the Bird have a beard and muffs?
3) Are the legs/shanks Slate color with white soles?
4) Does the bird match one of the standard colors?
5) Does the bird fit the standard body conformation and skin color?
6) Does the hen/pullet lay Blue eggs?
7) Does the bird breed true or throw many different colored chicks?

All hatchery birds are EE no mater what they claim. Green legs/shanks are a obvious EE trait as well as non standard coloration. It is possible to have a mix of 2 different standard Ameraucana colors and the chicks are and will be EE's since they will no longer breed true.

Hope this helps some.....

 

[Illia]

I think that's a great answer/reply.

 

[Rainwolf]

I think that's a great answer/reply.

Thanks
I do pay attention to whats what of the breeds I raise

 

[NYREDS]

First I'm not a expert so best thing is to go to http://ameraucana.org/ and do some reading...
That said... First few things to look for.
1) Did you buy the chick from a hatchery or Breeder?
2) Does the Bird have a beard and muffs?
3) Are the legs/shanks Slate color with white soles?
4) Does the bird match one of the standard colors?
5) Does the bird fit the standard body conformation and skin color?
6) Does the hen/pullet lay Blue eggs?
7) Does the bird breed true or throw many different colored chicks?
All hatchery birds are EE no mater what they claim. Green legs/shanks are a obvious EE trait as well as non standard coloration. It is possible to have a mix of 2 different standard Ameraucana colors and the chicks are and will be EE's since they will no longer breed true.
Hope this helps some.....

Never pays to paint with too broad a brush. Urch /Turnland Hatchery sells some very nice Ameraucanas.

 

[Rainwolf]

First I'm not a expert so best thing is to go to http://ameraucana.org/ and do some reading...

That said... First few things to look for.

1) Did you buy the chick from a hatchery or Breeder?

2) Does the Bird have a beard and muffs?

3) Are the legs/shanks Slate color with white soles?

4) Does the bird match one of the standard colors?

5) Does the bird fit the standard body conformation and skin color?

6) Does the hen/pullet lay Blue eggs?

7) Does the bird breed true or throw many different colored chicks?

All hatchery birds are EE no mater what they claim. Green legs/shanks are a obvious EE trait as well as non standard coloration. It is possible to have a mix of 2 different standard Ameraucana colors and the chicks are and will be EE's since they will no longer breed true.

Hope this helps some.....

Never pays to paint with too broad a brush. Urch /Turnland Hatchery sells some very nice Ameraucanas.

That may be but so far every chicken from a hatchery that I have seen has been a EE not a Ameraucana. That being said I have not seen chickens from every possible hatchery so if there is one that sells true Ameraucana's that is good news.

Do you have some from Urch /Turnland Hatchery? Do you have some photos of those birds?

 

[Illia]

Well, "Chick Hatchery" has true Ameraucanas too, but, I guess I'd be thinking of commonly, easily found and large business hatcheries. Urch far as I know you gotta do some digging to find the availability list to and ordering isn't exactly easy-peasy from what I remember, chickhatchery.com also isn't very well known outside the Ameraucana breeders circle.

I don't have photos of Urch's Ameraucana stock but I wouldn't doubt at all they have real Ameraucanas.

They breed good stuff.

 

[Rainwolf]

Well, "Chick Hatchery" has true Ameraucanas too, but, I guess I'd be thinking of commonly, easily found and large business hatcheries. Urch far as I know you gotta do some digging to find the availability list to and ordering isn't exactly easy-peasy from what I remember, chickhatchery.com also isn't very well known outside the Ameraucana breeders circle.

I don't have photos of Urch's Ameraucana stock but I wouldn't doubt at all they have real Ameraucanas. They breed good stuff.

Nice to know there are a couple places that sell true Ameraucana's!
Thanks!

I would still like to see photos of the birds from those hatcheries.

 

[Illia]

chickhatchery is actually run by John Blehm, previous Ameraucana Breeders Club president. There's photos of adult stock on his site, plus loads of Ameraucana thread-goers posted photos of stock they got from him (in the am thread).