Araucana

We just purchased four chicks and are looking forward to the 'easter eggs'. One of the chicks was marked just like a chipmunk... very cute.

According to the store these are the birds I purchased, but looking at the pictures here I am wondering since my chicks don't look too much like the ones pictured.  Wondering if they have varying looks as chicks.  My chicks do have the little tufts of feathers at the cheeks, so maybe?

Upon further investigation I found a thread that posted pictures of araucana's as chicks and it seems that I have silver duckwing and golden duckwing araucana chicks.  

We got these birds as chicks and raised them in a cold mountain environment. They take the cold well, but their molting period is a little longer than desired (up to 2 months). They are beautiful, colorful birds that give us large blue-green eggs. However, we usually have to go to the coop several times a day (usually every couple of hours) because they love to eat the eggs!

This has been a difficult obstacle for a family that works most days, so our next round will be a different breed.

When I first started researching chickens, I was fascinated to learn that some breeds lay blue or green eggs. This led me to the breed known as the Araucana. While Easter Eggers are commonly called Araucanas, the true Araucana is a unique and amazing bird. I'd describe them as quirky. I am glad to have the real deal in my flock!

As chicks I found them much more outgoing than some of the other breeds I raised. You can tell who is tufted and rumpless from the first day. The eggs are more difficult to hatch than other breeds, due to the lethality of the tufted gene (25% of chicks die in shell if the parents were both tufted). And they seem to be more delicate in general. But the payoff when you get an incubator full of tufted chicks is well worth it! They are easily socialized and at least for me, are the first to come running when I step outside!

They do a great job at foraging, always actively searching out food if allowed to free range. They're lighter on the feed compared to other breeds. For example, my marans and australorp are pigs, while the large fowl Araucanas literally eat like birds. Yet they regular producers of nice sized eggs despite being more petite than other large fowl chickens.

You can only get them from other breeders, since no hatchery produces true Araucanas. A few sell live chicks, but most sell hatching eggs. So startup can be more difficult than the average breed, but is the challenge is also rewarding.

Note on the tufting gene: the tufting gene is dominant and potentially lethal, all live tufted birds are only heterozygous for the trait. Which means they only have one copy of the gene. It is 100% lethal for those who are homozygous, which is why approximately 25% of chicks die in shell if both parents were tufted. Tufted x Tufted results in approximately 25% cleanfaced birds (no tufting gene at all, cannot pass it on), 50% tufted, and 25% dead in shell. Tufted x Cleanfaced results in 50% tufted and 50% cleanfaced, so no lethal gene action.

Note on rumpless gene: also a dominant gene. This gene is not lethal, but it may reduce fertility since it can interfere with a proper cloacal kiss (which is required for successful insemination). But there is nothing more unique that a bootyless Araucana!