True Ameracauna or not?

[Ocho 8 Farm]

Hello!
I spent a good amount of money on some hatching eggs that were supposed to be true Ameracaunas but I’m wondering if I was scammed… I did purchase eggs from the same person 5ish months ago and everything was fine. I got some Ameracaunas. But this time I am questioning it. I’m posting pictures of a 6 week old “Ameracauna” so if anyone who is knowledgeable with this breed could give me some input I would greatly appreciate it.
I’m questioning it because it doesn’t have a beard and it has very small muffs. It just doesn’t look right to me but I’m not an expert with this breed, I’m still learning about them. Also, if you can tell if it’s a pullet or a cockerel that would be helpful too!
Thanks!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I spent a good amount of money on some hatching eggs that were supposed to be true Ameracaunas

What color were they being sold as? Did you see pictures of the parent stock?

What do the birds from your previous hatch look like? Do you have pics of those?

 

[Ocho 8 Farm]

What color were they being sold as? Did you see pictures of the parent stock?

What do the birds from your previous hatch look like? Do you have pics of those?

They were being sold as BBS and my avatar is a picture of one of the girls I got. But I’ll attach a few more.
I only saw the parent stock in pictures tho.

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Maybe they're just feathering in slowly? I will try giving him a few more weeks to see if maybe they just have a small beard. There's always going to be a little bit of variation with genetics, fingers crossed you weren't scammed or anything, pretty birds!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

They were being sold as BBS and my avatar is a picture of one of the girls I got. But I’ll attach a few more.
I only saw the parent stock in pictures tho.

Based on your answer and your prior experience being good enough to go back.. along with the many things I've seen breeding and hatching.. I agree with post #4 that it's possibly still just funky juvenile plumage.. but also note that not everything that hatches will be show or breeding quality even from the highest quality breeding stock. I don't see any reason to feel scammed, though if the beard doesn't develop as expected I could certainly understand disappointed. With a final note that I'm not an expert and haven't worked with this breed for a while now.

Nothing pointing to cockerel just yet that I can see.

According to my current understanding the bearding gene is dominant.. and even non bearded bird bred to bearded ones would produce breaded offspring However alternatively two bearded birds could throw a non bearded offspring.. Genetics are complex and some keepers might not know what "partial" bearding looks like or might think it's caused by grooming, crowding, etc rather than genes. The following link has a decent explanation..

https://amerpoultryassn.com/2021/11/muffs-and-beard/

 

[Ocho 8 Farm]

Based on your answer and your prior experience being good enough to go back.. along with the many things I've seen breeding and hatching.. I agree with post #4 that it's possibly still just funky juvenile plumage.. but also note that not everything that hatches will be show or breeding quality even from the highest quality breeding stock. I don't see any reason to feel scammed, though if the beard doesn't develop as expected I could certainly understand disappointed. With a final note that I'm not an expert and haven't worked with this breed for a while now.

Nothing pointing to cockerel just yet that I can see.

According to my current understanding the bearding gene is dominant.. and even non bearded bird bred to bearded ones would produce breaded offspring However alternatively two bearded birds could throw a non bearded offspring.. Genetics are complex and some keepers might not know what "partial" bearding looks like or might think it's caused by grooming, crowding, etc rather than genes. The following link has a decent explanation..

https://amerpoultryassn.com/2021/11/muffs-and-beard/

Thank you! I appreciate your feedback! I was not aware of those particular genetics for bearded/ non bearded. Im not necessarily in it for show quality (yet) but I did want to start off with a good breeding stock and eventually get better and better. I really appreciate your help! I’m hoping this one is a pullet as I already have a nice looking blue roo.

 

[NatJ]

it doesn’t have a beard and it has very small muffs.

There is one main gene that causes the chicken to grow muffs or beard or both. If your chicken has muffs, then it has that gene.

The details of whether it has just a beard, or just muffs, or both, and how big they are, are controlled by other genes. I don't know any details about them.

I do not see any reason to think that bird is mixed instead of purebred. At this young age, I wouldn't even try to say whether it will be a good or a bad quality bird when it grows up.

not everything that hatches will be show or breeding quality even from the highest quality breeding stock. I don't see any reason to feel scammed, though if the beard doesn't develop as expected I could certainly understand disappointed.

According to my current understanding the bearding gene is dominant.. and even non bearded bird bred to bearded ones would produce breaded offspring However alternatively two bearded birds could throw a non bearded offspring.. Genetics are complex and some keepers might not know what "partial" bearding looks like or might think it's caused by grooming, crowding, etc rather than genes. The following link has a decent explanation..

https://amerpoultryassn.com/2021/11/muffs-and-beard/

And to add to that: if the bird shows muffs, it DOES have the beard gene, because muff/beard is one gene. But it may have the wrong set of other genes that control how big the muffs and beard are, or which one is how obvious.

 

[Ocho 8 Farm]

Wow! Thanks Natj !! I’m learning so much from both you and eggsited4life about the beard and muff genes. I appreciate the help and all the information