They\'re E. E. EEEGS!
But her brown hens can\'t match them!
Nothing like a little ZZ Top to announce my first BLUE(ish?) egg. Can you tell I\'m crowing a little? B)
First, a big thank you to members who continue to help out us newbies. Thanks, Patty (faithvalley) for the list of characteristics and the photos and info on blue/wheaten genetics. I am hoping to work on blue wheatens (LF) here before too long. Also Thanks bantamhill for explaining mixed color that way. The 2 fanciers close to me that I\'ve been in contact with are working on up-breeding from hatchery stock and as we all have Ameraucanas (EEs) from the same hatchery, we have been sharing info on their traits. As disappointing as it is to have paid good money to a hatchery to find out that your birds may be mongrels, it is reassuring to hope that maybe they started with good (if not show quality) stock, but just didn\'t focus on separating colors into proper breeding pens. After stepping back and looking at the many good traits that most of my birds possess, I know that I have a source for blue(ish) egg layers and a good starting point for experimenting with genetics and selection.
I\'ve been silent for a while because I\'ve been learning. About genetics, about Ameraucanas, their origins, blue eggs, candling, incubators, hatching, building and reinforcing varmint- proof enclosures... You name it! There\'s so much to learn and your sites and posts and photos have been very helpful. I hope to one day do some breeding, but in the meantime am learning heaps from my first EE flock.
I\'ve looked around lots up here and have been to 2 local fair- (one quite large) type shows. Others nearby are raising hatchery Ameraucanas- EEs or mixed color Ameraucanas, but I have yet to find anyone with standard-breds. I have found one breeder, Wayne Osbourne, out on Vancouver island who is focusing on blue egg color and has crossed his Ameraucanas with Araucanas to improve that among other traits- am still waiting to find out more and exploring all the info on his website:
http://groups.msn.com/BCsBlueEggerslots of great resources and some interesting info on origins of blue eggers...
I am still hoping to order standard- bred chicks this spring either from ChickHatchery or Cree Farms~ depending on types available and possible travel to WA. (John & Lisa please advise me if your hatches are becoming booked up and I will go ahead and make my decision- I\'ve just been waiting for replies from folks in Canada about what types of eggs they may have available in the spring before I choose.)
In the meantime, thanks again for all the info, especially photos!
I\'ll post some of my own for you to look at & offer opinions advice, suggestions. I\'d love to see photos of the new colors some of you are working on: Black Gold, Blue Silver, Lavender etc. if you have photos to post...
First my eggs: the white one is a duck egg, the brown a sex link layer, and the bluish one is my very first Ameraucana (EE) egg. I know thay are hard to photograph , but does this look like a good blue color? We haven\'t broken it open yet to compare inside & outside shell colors, because it was laid after my husband left for work and I want him to see it first. Let me know what you think.
Second, 3 of my EE pullets (all are at least slightly willow legged) Marge, the layer of that first egg is in the middle.
Third, a majestic (I think) mostly blue wheaten (and red), cockerel, Barney, who escaped culling because his legs are very slate and feet bottoms pinkish white even though his comb is more rose? than pea. I don\'t have any girls with really slate legs, but I didn\'t keep any boys with any green at all in theirs, so I\'m hoping to fix that.
