The Official Forum of the Ameraucana Breeders Club > Ameraucana Marketplace
egg color
John:
--- Quote ---The crest can be eliminated in just two generations. Very simple to do.
--- End quote ---
I crossed LF Polish with my buffs several years back and as Mike said eliminating the crests is easy.
The biggest problem may be getting back to a good pea comb.
--- Quote ---And what are your (or anybody elses) thoughts on breeding Ameraucana X Araucanas to improve egg color if they indeed have better egg color?
--- End quote ---
Some Araucana varieties/strains are bound to have better egg color than some Ameraucana varieties/strains and I would guess that the opposite is true. Some people have the misconception that Ameraucanas were bred from Araucanas. They were both bred up from non-standard chickens that have the blue egg gene (aka Easter Egg chickens). I do know at least one Araucana breeder bought bantam Ameraucana buffs from me to develop buff Araucanas, so some crosses have been made. Due to the willow legs of Araucanas I would not advice anyone to us them to develop or improve Ameraucanas, unless they have no other options and are looking for a long term breeding project.
I think the best way to improve egg color is to breed Ameraucanas to Ameraucanas. Hatch as many as possible and only hatch from the bluest eggs - year after year.
Guest:
So if willow legs are a concern why would one use brown egg layer breeds to improve Ameraucanas because the brown egg breeds can result in yellow beaks and skin and willow legs, right?
If Ameraucanas were bred up from Easter Eggers...what breed did the Easter Eggers get the blue egg gene from?
Does anybody know of any hatcheries or breeders that have good quality blue egg laying Easter Eggers?
John I do not have the facilities to raise hundreds of chicks in hopes of getting a handful of blue egg layers.
I really would like to find some blue egg layers that I could buy to increase my odds.
John:
--- Quote ---If Ameraucanas were bred up from Easter Eggers...what breed did the Easter Eggers get the blue egg gene from?
--- End quote ---
From the chickens that were imported from South America. Refer back to the Nat. Geographic mag. that I sent.
Remember that the blue egg laying birds were already crossed with many other breeds before they were bred up to Ameraucanas and Araucanas. It is not as if Easter Eggers laid beautiful blue eggs and Ameraucana breeders diluted the egg color. We have been working for decades to develop standard breeds and varieties and at the same time breeding for blue eggs. If we only bred for egg color we could have had it years ago, but that is only part of the goal.
--- Quote ---So if willow legs are a concern why would one use brown egg layer breeds to improve Ameraucanas because the brown egg breeds can result in yellow beaks and skin and willow legs, right?
--- End quote ---
Yes, from some but not all. Some brown egg laying breeds have been used when there was nothing better to use.
Guest:
Please don\'t get the wrong picture here...I am not disresepecting what many of you have done to create this breed and I don\'t think in any breed you should breed for just one thing. I whole heartedly agree there must be a balance in type, vigor, egg production, egg shell color and temperment, but I for one would like to see less green eggs and I\'m just trying to find some blues and/or blacks with better egg color. Maybe its easy to fix egg color but I don\'t know how I can do that if I can\'t find any blues or blacks with good egg color.
John:
--- Quote ---Maybe its easy to fix egg color but I don\'t know how I can do that if I can\'t find any blues or blacks with good egg color.
--- End quote ---
I have cut back on a few varieties that Barbara and Paul have and I feel confident that those varieties won\'t die out because they are in good hands.
Some LF varieties do lay nice blue eggs. If you are just interested in LF blacks and blues I would suggest first finding out if Paul has enough hens that lay blue eggs to get an order from just those eggs.
To breed to improve the egg color of the LF blacks and blues I would cross to LF whites that lay \"blue\" eggs. The second best cross may be to bantam blacks and/blues that lay \"blue\" eggs.
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