What the chicks of a Ameraucana and a Buff Orpington look like and lay, worked out from both breeds' standards.
A Ameraucana hen crossed with a Buff Orpington rooster gives you what keepers call a first-generation (F1) cross. Every pullet should lay green eggs (some may be blue or olive): both sides pass the blue gene. Most chicks (50%) get a pea comb. Expect a large bird, a good layer, calm, the average of the two parents.
Preset to a Ameraucana hen and a Buff Orpington rooster. Change either side to see how the blue gene and the brown coat move the shell colour.
He never lays, so his blue gene is read from his mother's eggs.
Probably Blue (possibly Green): 50–100% blue-based; otherwise White.
Brown shade shifts with a hen's age, diet and stress, so identical genes still lay a little differently. Speckling and bloom are cosmetic and not modelled.
| Trait | Ameraucana hen | Buff Orpington rooster | Chicks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comb type | Pea | Single | Pea 50% · Single 50% |
| Barring | Not barred | Not barred | Not barred |
| Fibromelanosis | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Skin color | White | White | White 75% · Yellow 25%yellow depends on a hidden carrier, so it could be 0%; a hatch or a known genotype can confirm (uncertain) |
| Leg color | Slate | White | varies: polygenic, parents differ |
| Trait | Ameraucana | Buff Orpington | Chicks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frame height | medium | large | large |
| Egg production | good layer | good layer | good layer |
| Broodiness | rarely broody | often broody | sometimes broody |
| Docility | easygoing | hand-tame | calm |
| Bone density | medium | sturdy | sturdy |
| Foraging skill | good forager | fair forager | decent forager |
| Cold hardiness | cold-hardy | very cold-hardy | very cold-hardy |
Chicks land near the average of the two parents for these traits. Reaching one parent's extreme takes another generation of selection.
This is the breed-standard version. Add your flock, set a breeding goal, and the pairing engine ranks every hen and rooster you own against it. Free for up to 15 birds.
Checked September 2026. Hybrids and breeds no reference covers are marked approximate. Egg colour on these pages follows one rule: Brown is any shade a buyer would call brown; Cream/tinted is off-white.