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Chick phenotype.
Does it matter?
Does it tell us anything?
There are presently 10 approved color varieties for the Ameraucana breed.
Some breeders recommend selecting for chick uniformity at hatch. What does this mean?
It means we are looking for, and selecting for, a level of consistency as we pull our Ameraucana chicks out of the hatcher.
Yellow skin, lack of muffs and beard, narrow skulls, stubs, and beak placement are all things we can take into consideration visually as we pull chicks out of the hatcher. We can also take note of some color variations in chick down.
First and foremost, remember when observing general chick down and shank color that the Standard is written for sexually mature birds.
Over the years I have received various questions about chick down. Some of the questions and answers are detailed below.
Q) Is it okay that my black Ameraucana chicks have yellowish-white underbellies? Should the chick down be solid black?
A) It is perfectly fine that your black chicks have yellowish-white underbellies. In fact, it is desirable and does not convey that the chick will have color leakage as it matures. The chick down on black Ameraucana chicks is often referred to as penguin down descriptively speaking. Our black Ameraucana are based on Extended black.
Q) Do my wheaten, blue wheaten and splash wheaten Ameraucana chicks have yellow shanks? They seem light in color. I thought slate was required.
A) Given that yellow skin is not present in breeding stock, wheaten, blue wheaten, and splash wheaten Ameraucana chicks have flesh colored shanks at hatch that gradually turn slate with age. The eWh allele is known to dilute shank color generally speaking. Shanks gradually darken with age.
Q) Can I tell my black Ameraucana chicks and my black Ameraucana chicks that have a copy of the lavender gene apart at hatch?
A) No, you will not be able to tell a difference and will need to mark them separately at hatch.
Q) Does it matter if my white Ameraucana have a smokey/grey cast to their chick down?
A) No, the chick down on white Ameraucana can vary from yellow down to having a smokey/grey cast. Many breeders actually select for white Ameraucana chicks that have a smokey/grey cast on their chick down at hatch!
Q) Does it matter what color beak I select for in lavender/self blue Ameraucana chicks?
A) The standard calls for horn to black. I personally select for black beaks at hatch as reflected in the chick photo provided.
Q) Does it matter if my brown red chicks don't have a lot of variance in color regarding the top of the chick down and the underbelly?
A) No, our brown red chicks are based on Er and this is typical. You will notice a difference in the down of chicks based on Er and chicks based on E.
Q) What is selected for in day old buff Ameraucana chicks?
A) It is ideal for the chick down to have a uniform golden buff cast from the top of the head to the top of the shank.
Q) The chick down on my blue Ameraucana chicks varies from light blue to dark blue. Does this matter?
A) What you are seeing is a result of how the Blue gene works. It is an incompletely dominant dilution gene and one will notice a variance in the shade of blue present on blue Ameraucana.
Q) Is it okay that there is a brown spot on the forehead of my black Ameraucana chick?
A) It likely indicates that there will be color leakage at maturity. You can mark it and observe it as it grows if you would like to learn via experience.
Q) Are there genes that affect and dilute shank color?
A) Yes, in regard to the approved color varieties of Ameraucana read up on the id locus, recessive white gene, dominant white gene, blue gene, and e locus alleles to get started.
I will add more to this educational piece as I review additional questions that have been received. Hopefully this post is helpful to you as you begin the process of observing and studying variances in your Ameraucana chick down.
In closing, don't forget to also select for vigor in your day old chicks!
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