The Official Forum of the Ameraucana Breeders Club > Breeding

Light Vs. Dark Blue Wheaten

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Guest:
I have these two blue wheaten cockerels that are two completely different shades of blue.  I\'m going to let them finish getting their adult plumage before I make my decision.  I\'m hoping they grow out some nice blue muffs.  Which shade of blue would be preferred?

Both boys


Light boy: Has nice lacing but is he supposed to have lacing like the solid blues?


Dark Boy: little to no apparent lacing

Birch Run Farm:
No claims to expertise here but I had a judge tell me one time that a bird I was showing would have placed better if it was a lighter blue with sharp lacing.  

Guest:
I really like the color of the  lighter blue but he has whitish fluff at the base of his tail which tells me his beard is going to have white in it.  The darker boy has darker fluff.  Guess I\'ll wait it out a little longer.  I have a coop full of boys right now who are as bad as teenage human boys, constantly at the feeder!

Mike Gilbert:

--- Quote from: chicken stalker ---  I\'m going to let them finish getting their adult plumage before I make my decision.  
--- End quote ---


Good decision.  I can think of a couple dozen factors more important than the exact shade of blue in a blue wheaten, most of them having to do with breed type, temperament, their ancestry, size, and disease resistance.  Also, the strong and weak points of the hens/pullets they/he will be mated with.  That said, and all else equal, I believe the lighter blue with dark edging/lacing would be preferable in the eyes of most judges.

Tailfeathers:
Karen, I agree with Mike.  I would give them both time.  The only thing I would add is that I see a lot of red in the lighter one\'s tail and I don\'t see that in the darker one\'s.  

Personally, I don\'t like to see any red in the tails of the males and, after a couple of years, I\'ve finally gotten rid of it in most of my male chicks showing up.  Still have a few that I see with it but I cull them out.  Right now I\'ve got one good Wheaten and one good BW male each and plan to use them for the next few years unless I get something that really tops those two.

I\'m trying to think but I don\'t recall hearing a judge ever comment on light vs dark - although there have never been that many BW males at the shows I\'ve attended.  If I can remember, I\'ll ask the next time I go.  That being said, I would agree with Mike.  I think most judges would prefer the lighter.

God Bless,

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