Ameraucana

Our APA Standard Blue Wheaten pullet was purchased from a reputable show breeder. SOP Ameraucanas should have slate legs but Wheaten, Blue Wheaten, and Buff colors tend to have lighter slate to whitish legs so she probably would not be the ideal show bird. Otherwise she has great attributes - fluffy cheeks, sweet temper, calm, talkative, coos when petted, approaches seeking treats and eats out of our hand when INDOORS. But after several weeks OUTDOORS she generally acts like a wild child running to and fro keeping her distance from man or fowl. Our mixed flock consists of hens all under 5 lbs with gentle temperaments but the Ameraucana keeps distant. As she matures - she is over 6 months now - she is less skittish so hope she calms down when she starts laying. We value her as the prettiest, sweetest, gentlest pet we have ever owned but is taking more time than other breeds to mature and integrate into a gentle mixed flock We hope she outgrows her idiosyncrasies soon.
UPDATE: Our B/W Ameraucana is still a sweet kooky gentle girl. She has integrated normally into the flock though still skittishly alert to sudden noises or movements in the yard. Her eggs are light blue and average 2 oz each. She has been prone to cracking the ends of her eggs and we do not know if it is because she is pecking at them, or breaking when they drop being layed, or stepping on them in the nestbox since she is so skittish in her movements. If she were pecking at them to eat we figured she would be able to peck hard enough to break the inner membrane to get to the middle which has not been the case. So now we have to guess if she is stepping on them or if they are cracking as they fall being layed. Only the egg ends show crack damage but not the middle.
2nd UPDATE: We increased straw in the nestboxes and increased the fish/protein in her diet and no more cracked shells. She was slower to mature than we expected but worth the wait and we upgrade her from 3 to 5 stars!
3rd UPDATE: We love our BW Amer so much we ordered a Blue Amer and she is every bit as sweet as our BWAm! These girls can get up in weight/size yet are gentle souls around the bantams. Slow to mature but never lose their alert edge. Better as flock sentinels than pecking order queens which is why I love them.

Our Ameraucana, Livingston, is the most even tempered bird in our small backyard flock. She loves attention from people and the dog and enjoys being held and stroked. She likes to be held in the crook of my arm , on her back, like a baby. When I hold her like this and pet her chest, she will make soft chirping noises. At just over a year old, she lays about 5 light blue eggs per week.
When we introduced new chicks, the other birds pecked at them to establish the new pecking order, but Livingston, just watched. She welcomed the new chicks and just let them be.

Ameraucana's are a beautiful addition to a flock to add color to the egg basket or to sparking a conversation while educating young children.