OmGoodnes! I can't! They are just the cutest things EVER! Those little puffy cheeks get me EVERY TIME! LOLHere are a few of my bantams I hatched this year. Blues and self blues mainly, but a splash too!
Sorry I lost this thread! Yes, I do breed bantam Ameraucanas
Depends on the color and parental lines what the shank colors will be exactly. Self blues and blues should both have slate colored shanks. Splash will have sort of pink legs that get slate as they get older. Some self blues can have that same thing…more pink colored that get slate with age. My blacks have really black legs and most of my blues have really dark slate color. 
They are so prettySorry I lost this thread! Yes, I do breed bantam Ameraucanas
This is how some of my blues and blacks look as grow outs so far
!!!! So excited to get into this breed. Planning on maybe simultaneously doing a line of Easter eggers as well. I just purchased an Ermine Ameraucana rooster today that I am in love with. He is really nice except for the beard and muffs. Which when I was looking him over he actually seems to have fuzz feathers where his beard and muffs should be? Have you ever seen this before? I'm wondering if one of two things are happening, one maybe another rooster/Cockerel actually ripped them out and he is just now growing them back in? Or two he actually does have beard and muffs gene just isn't very good and it displays as fuzz instead of true feathers and nice and floofy (yes, I'm pretty sure that's a word! 
). Btw taking suggestions for names 
He’s very handsome!! I just love Ermine coloring, it’s so striking!And BTW- this handsome hunk actually isn't photogenic and his pictures do not do him any kind of justice. Glad I went ahead and got him, bc boy when I saw him in person was absolutely thrilled at my find. He is a bit of a project but I'm happy to start with him as a foundation
Beard or not he’s gorgeous! 
There is a good chance he’s had his beard pecked out by the ladies…I have several bearded birds with a beard picking problemThey are so pretty
My next question is if you get birds from a breeder who has mixed up eggs from a blue pen and a self blue pen, how do you tell the chicks apart? Is there any way to know a bird is actually self blue and not just really light blue? Do they have different characteristics in how they feather out?
Attached is a picture of the rooster I am a proud new owner of
I had to scratch two from the Fair because the beards are gone 
Thank youHe’s very handsome!! I just love Ermine coloring, it’s so striking!
I told my daughter to be nice to her new "brother" lol. She didn't appreciate it! So, I really appreciate that little tidbit about the blue/lavender feather shafts.... So I went and checked my chicks over for what color their were. They were purchased as lavenders (probably) and one of them all I see is white shafts. The other (the pullet, and the first is a suspected male which is great because I intend to use them to breed) has almost all white shafts but I did see maybe two-3 shafts that were blue/grey. What does this mean? Have you seen that happen before? Is it possible for a bird to be showing lavender but also have the genes for blue? Like could a bird be blue but split to lavender and then that split have a chick with another blue split that ends up lavender? Would that make that chick carry both genes?There is a good chance he’s had his beard pecked out by the ladies…I have several bearded birds with a beard picking problem
As for the mixing of the blue and self blue…there aren’t a lot of ways to identify them when they carry blue or are blue other than breeding to test them. I have found that my lavenders that are also blue instead of black like they should be—have blue feather shafts instead of white. Thats the only thing I’ve found, and it may not be a consistent thing either—although it has been so far with mine. Your blues should be nice and dark even if they’re really light gray babies.
Blue is actually incomplete dominant (only needs one copy to show blue color), so a lavender bird could also be blue if the breeder mixed pens. Lavender is double recessive so you need to have both birds to give a copy in order for lavender to cover the base color of the bird. So while lavender is typically found on black birds, it can also be found in blues if the breeder hasn’t been careful to keep them apart. In your case, the mainly white shafts is a good sign! From what I’ve found, some breeders choose to use blue birds as the base for their lavenders because the blue acts as a cleaner base for lavender feather qualities. Sometimes blacks have feather issues with stress bars and random black feathers, with a less bright and clean lavender color. The issue is that the blue can become so light you can’t distinguish between your lavenders and your light blues…so breeding gets tougher. That’s my experience anywayThank you
So, I really appreciate that little tidbit about the blue/lavender feather shafts.... So I went and checked my chicks over for what color their were. They were purchased as lavenders (probably) and one of them all I see is white shafts. The other (the pullet, and the first is a suspected male which is great because I intend to use them to breed) has almost all white shafts but I did see maybe two-3 shafts that were blue/grey. What does this mean? Have you seen that happen before? Is it possible for a bird to be showing lavender but also have the genes for blue? Like could a bird be blue but split to lavender and then that split have a chick with another blue split that ends up lavender? Would that make that chick carry both genes?
Hope that helps and doesn’t confuse you more 
