Araucana
Golden Duckwing, Silver Duckwing, Black Breasted Red, AOV (Non-Standard Colors)
Created by Anne

Breed Information, Comments, and Experience with breed:

I started raising Araucanas several years ago, after having decided that I wanted to work with a "challinging" breed. While turning out a show-quality Araucana can indeed be challenging, they are actually extremely practical birds: good layers, decent eating, good foragers, and very "family-oriented" - the hens make good mothers and the other birds, even the roosters, are friendly towards the young. Araucanas can be challenging to breed because their rumplessness can cause reduced fertility, and the tufted gene is lethal (the chick will die before hatching if it receives a copy of the gene from both parents). Breeding a show-quality bird is even harder. "Real" Araucanas (that is, birds that meet the description in the Standard of Perfection) are few and far between. Even in the flocks of well-established breeders, the majority of the birds may not be fit for show. They might be tailed or partially tailed, have no tufts or only one tuft, have the wrong plumage color or wrong leg color, or a multitude of other imperfections. I have been raising Araucanas since the spring of 2005 and so far am greatly enjoying the challenge. The gentle, non-aggressive nature and practicality of the breed is perfect for my family. My two small children can toddle through the flock without fear of being pecked or attacked by any of my half-dozen roosters. Our supply of eggs for eating is plentiful, and we butcher our extra roosters for eating. The hens hatch enough chicks that I don't need to use an incubator, and they are excellent mothers. When hand-raised, my birds are as tame as a cat or dog, but still very active and good foragers. I spend significantly less on feed when I let them free range. For more information on the breed, visit my website: www.araucanasonline.com. Please note that all the pictures you see here are of my own birds and are NOT TO BE USED ELSEWHERE WITHOUT PERMISSION. I have had problems with other people using my photos to sell eggs on ebay - please don't!