What variety to start with?

[Guest]

Hi all - I currently have Silkies and Marans, but would like to give Ameraucanas a try. I\'ve been trying to decide on a variety to start with. Do any tend to have better egg color than others? Any thoughts or comments on which you find most attractive or interesting?

[Mike Gilbert]

Am I correct in assuming you are considering large fowl as opposed to bantams?    Either way, it will depend on your priorities, many of which may be conflicting.   Your best show strains may not lay the best colored eggs for example.   Some prefer a solid color, others parti-colored birds.   Perhaps the best show strain or the best for egg color may not have the best temperament.   And on and on.   The nice thing about the Ameraucana breed is the variety.   We have eight varieties recognized in bantams and eight in large fowl.
Several other varieties are in the making and near the point where they may be considered for qualifying.   The best thing to do is decide what your priorities will be, go to the breeders listing on this website (under the downloads link) and contact members directly with your questions.   I say this because there are differences even within the same varieties as there may be a number of strains for a single variety.     Having said all that, with regard to egg color, I have seen very nice egg color in large fowl and bantams from the Silver variety.
I\'m hoping others will add comments here as to which variety(s) they see the best egg color coming from in their own stock.

[Guest]

I should have specified large fowl.

We call our chickens \"Mobile Lawn Ornaments\" and \"The Beetle Patrol\". Our Silkies are the \"Edible Chinese Handwarmers\". We like having fresh eggs, and having our garden tilled and fertilized, but mostly we just enjoy the life, movement and entertainment they add to our yard.

I don\'t know why, but I think white eggs are boring. That\'s why I got Marans, and it\'s what initially attracted me to the idea of Ameraucanas.  

So I guess egg color is my first priority, temperament is second*, and color is third.

(* I\'ve learned to take what people say about temperament with a grain of salt. Our guinea fowl are so tame that they sit on my arm like hawks.)

[bantamhill]

In large fowl I would say in my flock the best color egg is from the silvers. Second place would be wheaten/blue wheaten and a close third are my blues and black. As Mike stated when contacting breeders it is best to say that your priority is egg shell color. Best of luck!

Michael