Ameraucana vs. Easter Egger - The Blue Egg Layers
Ameraucanas are a pure breed recognized by the APA since 1984. They were most likely originally bred from South American blue egg laying breeds but were developed and standardized in the United States. They come in eight distinct colors including, Blue, Black, White and Wheaten, which all share these distinct Ameraucana traits:
Pea comb
Muffs and beard
Red earlobes
Tail
Blue legs
White foot bottoms
Always lay blue eggs
Easter Eggers are not a recognized breed. They are mongrels - mixed breed chickens that do possess the blue egg gene but don't fully meet the breed specifications of either Araucanas or Ameraucanas. They can come in any color or combination of colors and share these traits:
Any kind of comb
Muffs/beard/ear tufts or none
Any color earlobes
Tail or tail-less
Any color legs
Any color foot bottoms
Can lay blue but also sometimes lay green, tan, pink or even yellow