I got 5 Ameraucanas. (I'd been thinking they were the next kind that I wanted for a while) They arrived today and 2 are black and look the way Ameraucanas should. and 3 are barred. As far as I know Ameraucanas can't be barred am I right? the barred chicks don't have the fluffy neck feathers ether but they do have bluish legs. Should I assume that all 5 are not pure bread? Also, they are missing a bunch of feathers. I'm guessing this is due to overcrowding. Is there anything else that could cause lack of feathers that I should worry about?
Ameraucana question
I'll post a photo of them as soon as I can
AFAIK, Ameracaunas come in all colors. None of mine look alike, although I seem to have a "pair" that are blue wheaten (maybe). Mine now (at almost 4 months) have the muffs, and some have beards, but as babies it wasn't alway apparent.
I look forward to the pictures:)
Margo
Technically, if they aren't the "approved" colours, they can't be shown as Ameracaunas...so you may have a mix of Ameracaunas and Easter Eggers. All nice birds laying colored eggs.
Ameraucanas come in 8 colors. EEs come in a zillion colors.
Blue eggers are my favorite.. I love em all.
Whoops! Busted [G]. What I meant was that they come in more than one color, unlike some breeds. My "Ameracaunas" are surely EE's, but the colors are lovely. I'll have to find the Ameracauna Standard, and then a picture of what the accepted colors look like.
Margo
they are nice....it just makes me mad to pay for Ameraucanas and receive EEs. However, they will be loved and be in a happy home where they're not overcrowded. In the end I guess that's all that matters. I am disappointed though :-(
Batflower, where did you get them from? How old are they?
Apparently "Black, Blue, Blue Wheaten, Brown Red, Buff, Silver, Wheaten & White" are the accepted colors.
Looking at the pictures on;
http://home.sprynet.com/~rribbeck/index.html
I have a wheaten and a blue wheaten rooster, a blue wheaten and a silver hen, and a hen and roo who are not accepted colors. The rooster is white with red splash, and the hen is partridge.
Margo
And whoever sold you them, batflower, may not even realize they are not true Ameracauna--a lot of hatcheries sell EE as Ameracauna--or even Aracaunas!
I met a man at the county fair (showing his chickens) who knew someone who bread Amaraucanas. He set it up for me and dropped the chickens off when they arrived at his house. 4 are about 3 months old and he threw in a 1 year old laying hen. I also got a silver registered roo who is 2 and arrived this morning. (the roo is from a different place) It is possible that they had no idea they were not true Ameraucanas
thanks for the link catmad, my 2 black girls look just like they should. and so does my rooster
I think in many areas (including mine) and even at some hatcheries, "Ameracauna" is a synonym for "easter-egger". Many people I've spoken to didn't realize that Ameracauna is actually a "breed". I'm pretty sure at least one of my catalogs stated that the Ameracaunas were bred for egg color, not exhibition. Meaning (I thought) that they're mutts. And I love 'em :)
So, the good news is that you've got a trio or correct birds. It's a start {G}.
not the best photos but here they are: the 3 barred pullets
the black hen - notice the bare spot on her neck
the smallest little black pullet my son named Dragon
and my lovely rooster
Don't go by me (you've seen how accurate MY comments are [g]), but could the pattern be cuckoo instead of barred?
could be, or penciled....looking at pictures of all 3 color patterns, I'm not sure what the difference is. Could someone explain the differences please?
Cuckoo looks like barred (and you can use the same colour differences in sexing the chicks) but the colours are more blurry, less distinct and checkered. In chickens it is suppose to be bluish. I don't know what that means for "golden cuckoos."
here is a close up of their plumage which also shows the plucked feathers, they are still pulling feathers off each other constantly. Any tips on how to make them stop?????
"and you can use the same colour differences in sexing the chicks" Catscan, how do you do that?
sorry for the never ending stream of questions. hope I'm not annoying you all too much. I just want to learn as much as I can ;-)
In barred coloured chickens and maybe even more so in cuckoo (especially cuckoo marans) the male chick is much lighter and silvery than the pullet--the pullet also has darker legs. Also, in the barred boys the head spot is larger and diffuse (big and blurry at the edges) while the girls have smaller, tighter, more clearly defined head spots. You can see this from the moment they hatch and dry off--although you need both sexes to see the difference.
It seems in most colours, if there is a difference, it is that the pullets are darker.
But there are always exceptions:0)