Question Ameraucana?

[muffin57]

I am considering purchasing a couple of pullets that are suppose to be pure Ameraucana. I have my doubts. What do others think that raise this breed?

[WLLady]

easter eggers. These are e locus birds, and unless they are trying for the brown red - in which case ask to see the male-he should be mostly black with NO orange in the wing triangle. If he was orange/gold in the wing triangle they are 100% e locus easter eggers.
To me the girls do not look dark enough across the body from hackle to tail to be brown red.
they look like the black gold project birds i was working on (and ultimately sold) that are not a recognized APA ameraucana colour and are technically easter eggers.

[muffin57]

Thanks WLLady for the quick response. She is asking $15. each. I'm thinking they should probably only be worth $10. for EE's. What do you think?

[WLLady]

if they lay well and you just want coloured eggs 15$ for a laying hen is reasonable. i expect to pay 20-25 for a pure ameraucana. depends on your location and prices in your area....down here 15$ for a layer or ready to lay bird is the going rate - for mutts

[windwalkingwolf]

I agree with WLLady, they will be pretty partridge patterned EEs. They look like Performance Poultry birds, PP calls their EEs, Ameraucanas, which misleads loads of people :/ 15$ is more than reasonable price for well-started pullets of any breed, but it couldn't hurt to offer a little less if you decide you want them!

[muffin57]

Thanks WLLady and WWW. She has never had these birds before and they are about 7 weeks old. She does not know what kind they are when I inquired before the pictures if they were ie blue, black. She purchased them from a hatchery. Do EE's do well in cold weather? What's their personality like? Do you like them? We raise Partridge Chanteclers and Cuckoo Maran and Cuckoo Maran X. I would really like to have the colored blue eggs. I just hope they won't be aggressive.

[WLLady]

i had a lot of ees just like these guys, they're really pretty, most ees are pretty laid back, and they do really well in cold because they have pea combs that don't freeze very easily. they are a little on the smaller size for standard birds, with good feed conversion. actually i don't think i have ever seen a nasty easter egger. i like the ee's because their eggs tend to be a little larger than true ameraucanas.

[muffin57]

Thanks, so much WLLady for your info. I think I will get them.

[Jaye]

One thing, though - if they are EEs, you're not guaranteed blue eggs. They could be blue, but they could also be green, brown, pink ... too.

[windwalkingwolf]

I breed EEs deliberately, I just love them. My experience has been nothing but positive, VERY winter hardy, lay eggs like crazy, inquisitive but not constantly underfoot, great mother's and foragers. I love playing with colours and patterns, so if I want to extrapolate something specific, they're my go-to birds.