NH Homesteader- turkeys!

[NH homesteader]

They're huge birds! Well my doms aren't that big so these girls seem really big!

 

[CntryBoy777]

Yeh have to be careful around here, cause people will sell those for RIR and most don't know the difference. Mom had a rooster too....but, I had to take it out...mean, Mean I tell ya he got fed to the buzzards...

 

[NH homesteader]

Well I did check to make sure, since most people don't know and I do not want any RIRs at all. I am not 100% that they are NH but I am 100% that they are not RIR and they look exactly like the NHs I've seen.

I also don't think they had enough space where they were. It was a small pen but I didn't see many chicken footprints in the snow so I think they've been in the coop for a while. Which is not good for large birds that like to free range! Also one was sitting on a pile of eggs which means they just stoppes collecting. We'll get them settled and evaluate!

 

[Bruce]

That is why you get all colors of eggs as it will sometimes partially "over-ride" the brown gene and other times will nearly completely override it. And the brown color is "put on" the egg after it is formed where the blue/green is a part of the shell. The true blue egg chicken is the Araucana, which is tufted, rumpless bird with a lethal gene. Then there is the Ameraucana that is bearded, muffed and tailed.

IIRC:

• The shell of a white egg is white all the way through
• The shell of a brown egg is white all the way through with the brown "wash" added just before the egg is laid. And that is why brown eggs are no more healthy than white eggs, they ARE white eggs "under the covers"
• The shell of a blue egg is blue all the way through. The hen that laid it either has 2 blue genes or 1 blue and 1 white
• The shell of a green egg is blue all the way through with the brown "wash" added just before the egg is laid. You can't "override" the brown gene with the blue. The blue is dominant so a hen with 1 blue gene and 1 brown gene will never lay a blue egg. She will lay green.
• While an Easter Egger SHOULD have a blue gene, it may not which is why some EEs lay neither blue nor green.

The hen of a blue laying offspring will have at least 1 blue gene, the rooster may or may NOT have the blue gene. If he doesn't he is from a white laying breed so the offspring can still lay blue.

Both Arauna AND Ameraucana (that would be the true APA Ameraucana, not hatchery "Americana" or "Ameraucana/Araucana" which are actually Easter Eggers) are blue layers. The "original" Araucana chicken back before there were APA Araucana and Ameraucana could be anything that could lay blue eggs and be muffed and/or bearded and/or tufted and/or tailless and/or tailed. Two factions decided to breed for specific traits. One wanted the rumpless, tufted type, the other wanted the tailed, muffed and bearded. Both have to lay blue eggs, have specific feather coloring, etc. Thus it would be most correct to say BOTH the current APA Araucana and Ameraucana came from Easter Eggers. Easter Eggers were not created by crossing an APA Ameraucana with a chicken of another breed though you can certainly do so. Easter Eggers will not breed true.

 

[NH homesteader]

So... The easter egger is the Amaricauna /Aracauna cross? I didn't know if they were the same thing. I've got some of those coming in may! Don't care how they breed fortunately!

 

[Bruce]

No. The Easter Egger, NOT an APA recognized breed (never will be because they don't breed true), is the precursor to the APA Araucana and APA Ameraucana. Think if it like this. You have a bunch of black and white goats that pop out kids that are black, white or black and white. So do those goats when mature. You decide you want a line that will be ONLY white and one that will be ONLY black so you start selectively breeding for that. Of course the black and white goats still exist and when bred, will have kids that are black, white or black and white as they always have.

There is no such breed as "Americana", "Amaricana" or other intentional misspelling of "Ameraucana" which is the APA recognized breed. Some hatcheries list something like Americana/Araucana or Ameraucana/Araucana and MIGHT also call them "the Easter Egger chicken". They might list Americana, Ameraucana, Araucana separately but they are EEs.

None of the big hatcheries sell Araucana, You will only find them with breeders. You will never find an Araucana or Ameraucana in a farm store no matter what the sign says. They put up what the hatchery calls them.

I think there are only 2 big hatcheries that sell an Ameraucana. Meyer is one, they have a line of Blue Ameraucana that they got a couple of years ago from one of the people that created the original Ameraucana and got it accepted into the APA. Ameraucanas are ALWAYS sold by color. If someone tries to sell a bird they are calling an Ameraucana but don't have an APA recognized color for it, it is an EE. They either don't know any better or they are trying to slip one by.

I have 3 EEs, getting one more in April along with 2 Welsummers, 2 Barnevelders and 2 Exchequer Leghorns

 

[NH homesteader]

OK I think I am more confused now. Lol. I ordered from Murray McMurray and it says Aracauna /Ameraucana (Easter Egger). I just looked in the catalog. I think online it didn't add EE. It says they are a mix and not for show but lay cool colored eggs. To be honest, I got them solely to be able to sell different colored eggs. Which is so not how I usually make bird decisions haha

 

[NH homesteader]

Escape chicken is sitting on the stone wall watching me... She survived! And came back. Now the hard part...

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Good luck!

 

[Bruce]

Yep, MM is selling EEs and ONLY EEs

This is what their website says:
"Loosely referred to as the "Easter Egg Chicken", our Araucanas/Ameraucanas lay beautiful colored eggs of blue-green shades from turquoise to deep olive. Our chicks have some Araucana and some Americana blood mixed and consequently are not for show."

I will buy you lunch if there is a single Araucana in their hatchery and note the spelling of Americana in the last sentence. They sell "Sex Links" and include 2 by "name" - Black Star and Red Star. NEITHER is an APA recognized breed which is different from calling an EE an Araucana or Ameraucana since those ARE recognized by the APA and must have specific features to be that breed.

I truly do not understand why they don't just call them Easter Eggers instead of muddying the waters and providing false information as to what they are selling. Easter Eggers are VERY POPULAR birds!! Also note that while they say their birds will lay blue-green, they MIGHT NOT! They may lay some shade of brown if that particular girl didn't get a blue egg gene. White is unlikely but possible.

Does escape chicken like scratch or BOSS???