ameraucanas???

[Guest]

We just bought some new chickens, they lay some beautiful blue eggs. We have 10 total, 7 hens and 3 roosters, they all have the same coloring and build. They look alot like the silver ameraucana, but I would love to get your input. I have dialup which makes it next to impossable to attach any pictures to this, but we have pictures on our website, larkllin.com on our whats new page. Thanks!!

[John]

I too have a dialup modem.  It really is doesn\'t take much time to upload the photo attachments since we don\'t accept any over 35kb.  Just crop and reduce them to 35kb or less before attaching.

[Guest]

Okay, I am trying to add the picture of one of the roosters and a few hens on here now. Thanks for the information, I think I have it small enough.

[grisaboy]

Hello Larkllin,
Welcome to the site.  I looked at your web page and the pictures that you have posted there.  It looks like what you have are what we call Easter Eggers.  These are very close to Ameraucanas but not quite there because they don\'t quite meet the standard description.  These are what I call white headed silvers.  I am using some hens like this in my silver breeding program to try to improve the color of my silver males. Your male has the same problem that I have with the red/yellow color on the wings.  If he were all white where he is yellow, then he could be called silver.  He has some leg color issues too,  should be slate color.
I don\'t quite understand the genetics of these white headed silvers.  True silver females should have a salmon colored breast.  I don\'t know if these white headed birds are missing the gene for salmon breasts or if they have some gene that covers up the salmon.  Any ideas?
I think that if we could get a better understanding of the genetics of these white headed (and yellow headed)  birds, we might be able to use them to develop color varieties or patterns unique to Ameraucanas.
Larkllin, If you were to get a true silver male to put over those white headed hens,  you probably would hatch some true silver offspring.  It is a nice looking flock.

Good luck
Curtis

[Guest]

The salmon breast in females is due to the wild type gene e+. The females in the picture could be eb , dark brown or ebc butter cup. If the backs of the birds have stippling they are eb or ebc. If the backs are a solid dark color they are ER or birchen.

There are unidentified red diluters that cause the red color to clear from the wing bows and upper back of quality silver birds. Old english game bantams carry these diluters and that is why they look so good. I do not know if they are dominate or recessive.

Silver is not comletely dominate and if a male bird is heterozygous (S/s+) they will show the red or straw colors. You do not see the same effect in females because they are hemizygous. They only carry one gene for silver or they carry one gene for gold. They can not carry both.


Rooster

[grisaboy]

Rooster,
There is something different with these white headed birds.
Another factor or combination of factors that I can\'t quite figure out.
I know that some of the ones I have are at least part wild type e+, But they still don\'t have the salmon breast.  I don\'t think they have eb because I don\'t have anything on my farm that have eb except bantam cochins.  They could be wheaton since I do have some of them.  I do have some E^R birds out there, but they tend to be mostly black or brown red or birchen.  These birds came from uncontrolled matings so I can\'t say for sure.
I suspect that these birds are wheaton e^wh with Db (like Gingers in OEs) and maybe something else.  The backs on mine are not solid color, not quite stippled either (I wish they were).  They have a lot of shafting.  Also, some of them will have black beards which contradicts the theory of the beard being the same color as the breast.  This coloration shows up more in females, but I did get a white headed male last year, so this trait may be sex linked.  Most of the males I have are black breasted like e+ or e^wh.  I have seen an OE color called Mealy Gray that looks similar.
What do you think?

Curtis

[Guest]

Curtis,

I do not think it is Db. Db has little or no effect on the salmon breasts of e+ birds. It may cause the salmon to be a bit lighter. Db has little effect on wheaten color in females.  Males that are e+,eb or ewh and Db/db+ will have red tips on the breast feathers like they are spangled.

I would say they are wheaten/birchen. Birchen can sometimes be incompletely dominate to wheaten. Hens that are ewh/ER will be brown like the bark brown leghorns. They will have small patches of black stippling and not dots.
Wheaten would help clear the black from the heads of the birds leaving the silver to color the heads.

Columbian will clear the salmon from the breast of e+ birds. If they carry silver that will cause the breasts to be white and not salmon. Any chance they have columbian in them?

When the birds were chicks did they have dark brown down? ewh/ER chicks have a dark brown down.

Check the under color of your birds, I bet the muffs are the same color as the under color on your birds. All of my muffed birds have muffs the same color as their under color. I have birds with red muffs, blue muffs, black muffs and white muffs. I have a red pyle easter egger that has white muffs.

I do not know the genetics behind mealy gray.

That is all I can think of for the moment.

Rooster

[grisaboy]

I looked up Mealy gray in one of my books and they are E^R birchen with Db.  But I don\'t think  these birds are E^R because if they are, I should be getting some birchen or brown red chicks from them.
Its possible that they are E.  I don\'t know much about E and how it interacts with other pattern genes. I always thought E would act like E^R.
Columbian genes are possible.  I think some strains of wheaton have Columbian genes.
I don\'t keep many of these birds.  They are just a few running loose out in the barn.  The hens are excellent setters and mothers so I let them hatch a few chicks for me each year.  They are good at hiding their nests so that is how I always end up with a few more.  The rooster that is with them is beautiful Golden color.  He is a Wheaton/Silver cross.  I have kept him around because I like his color and as a third string breeder for my silvers.  I know he carries the Silver gene and I could get some Silver chicks out of him if I lost all of my other Silver males.  

Curtis

[Guest]

Thanks for all the information, we are new to ameraucanas or easter eggers, which ever these are. I am trying to research the information ya\'ll have told me, right now its all cana foreign language. I do really enjoy reading the information on here and learning alot about the breed, thanks.

[grisaboy]

Larklin?
Are you still coming to this site?
I was wondering if you hatched any chicks from you bantams, and if you could tell us what the chicks look like?

Curtis

[John]

I have been getting some of those white headed pullets each year from the bantam silvers.  This year I only had one.

I notice that the silver pullets with the darkest breasts and that have the dark salmon color coming all the way up their necks also have some on top their heads, near their combs.

[grisaboy]

I have a few white headed birds this year.  I used a white headed hen in the breeding pen.  The interesting thing is thet the white headed birds start out with brown down color.  Not the typical chipmunk color that you expect for silvers.  I thought that I had a gold gene in one of the males and I was getting some light browns, but they are all growing  out white feathers.  That is why I was asking about these Larkllin birds.  I was curious to find out if they are hatching out these brown chicks.