Ameraucana - How/When to Detect a Pure Breed?

[ugachickenmama]

Oh how I have enjoyed scrolling through the MANY posts about Ameraucanas vs Easter Eggers vs Olive Eggers.
Fascinating!!!

That said, I have been dying to enter the world of chickens for YEARS and finally got to the point in life where I could dive in . . . convienently, my older son is also diving into and loving his Ag class and has joined FFA . . .

When ordering, he was ADAMANT about wanting a blue laying egg. I did what I think was a honorable effort on hatchery research and had a great experience with mail order, day old chicks.

That said, we ordered/recieved one Blue Ameraucana (bnaded for ID) and a couple of other (MAYBE) Ameraucanas as part of a "colorful egg layer assortment" . . .

My question is . . . at what point/age can I determine whether the Blue Ameraucana is truly pure and whether the "maybes" (bc they are potluck and not banded when part of such assortments) are Ameraucanas?

IF they are pure, THEN my son may have an interest in showing . . . but I hesitate to get him excited without knowing now that I have read all of the drama. Hahaha.

NOTE: one chick in question hatched on Sept 12 and two others on Sept 19 . . . so we are currently at 3.5 and 4.5 weeks . . . happy to post pics if they are of an age where you experts can already make a call!

 

[TheOddOneOut]

If you are willing, posting photos every week as they age would be great.

 

[JedJackson]

There are two ways to narrow it down.

One is the coloring under the feet. That will always be white or pinkish white for pure Ameraucanas. Any yellow means some kind of Easter egger.

The other is coloring. Ameraucanas only come in certain color varieties. Black, blue, white, wheaten, blue wheaten, silver, brown red, and lavender. Any other colors are Easter eggers.

 

[ugachickenmama]

There are two ways to narrow it down.

One is the coloring under the feet. That will always be white or pinkish white for pure Ameraucanas. Any yellow means some kind of Easter egger.

The other is coloring. Ameraucanas only come in certain color varieties. Black, blue, white, wheaten, blue wheaten, silver, brown red, and lavender. Any other colors are Easter eggers.

Checking feet color was fun . . . ha . . . that was not a tip I had read yet so thank you for sharing. No yellow that I can tell. I will upload photos shortly.

 

[ugachickenmama]

Okayyyyy here are some photos for you …

A - is the bird that was banded as a blue Ameraucana … she is 4.5 weeks and seemingly amid her teenage feathery disaster - if it matters to you she was a gray (blue) chick

B - is a mystery (as such she was not banded - assortments are not banded by the hatchery even if they are typically a banded bird) … she is also 4.5 weeks - as a new baby she was yellow all over (her pic is actually my profile pic) … this hatchery notes that “splash” is an option for Ameraucana - to me she looks to have a tinted feather here and there amongst the white

C - also an assortment but looking awful similar to A is a week behind them at 3.5 weeks of age and was also an assortment

Thanks for any help!
I’m okay with it if they’re pure or not - I’m just super curious!
I’ll post more pics in a week or so if you don’t immediately label them EEs.

 

[JedJackson]

A and B could well be pure Ameraucanas. C has some feathering on its legs and is likely an Olive egger, not a pure Ameraucana.

 

[ugachickenmama]

A and B could well be pure Ameraucanas. C has some feathering on its legs and is likely an Olive egger, not a pure Ameraucana.

Thank you! I will watch them and send a couple of updated photos of A and B later on to see if you all have any additional thoughts. Appreciate you taking the time to check them out.

 

[ValarieF]

Oh how I have enjoyed scrolling through the MANY posts about Ameraucanas vs Easter Eggers vs Olive Eggers.
Fascinating!!!

That said, I have been dying to enter the world of chickens for YEARS and finally got to the point in life where I could dive in . . . convienently, my older son is also diving into and loving his Ag class and has joined FFA . . .

When ordering, he was ADAMANT about wanting a blue laying egg. I did what I think was a honorable effort on hatchery research and had a great experience with mail order, day old chicks.

That said, we ordered/recieved one Blue Ameraucana (bnaded for ID) and a couple of other (MAYBE) Ameraucanas as part of a "colorful egg layer assortment" . . .

My question is . . . at what point/age can I determine whether the Blue Ameraucana is truly pure and whether the "maybes" (bc they are potluck and not banded when part of such assortments) are Ameraucanas?

IF they are pure, THEN my son may have an interest in showing . . . but I hesitate to get him excited without knowing now that I have read all of the drama. Hahaha.

NOTE: one chick in question hatched on Sept 12 and two others on Sept 19 . . . so we are currently at 3.5 and 4.5 weeks . . . happy to post pics if they are of an age where you experts can already make a call!

True Americaucanas have red eyes when they get older.

 

[sourland]

Adult Ameraucanas are suggested to have reddish/bay colored eyes - some tending more brown others more red.

 

[MysteryChicken]

True Americaucanas have red eyes when they get older.

Ameraucanas amongst most other breeds have Orange/Dun eyes. Not an indicator of breed purity.

Dun eyes can vary in shade.

Brownish Dun eyes are called Bay.