Quote:
Originally Posted by
Barnmaradotte 
Alright chicken snobs!! Educate me. How do we tell the difference? I should know this already but I've never been a huge fan of beards or muffs or tufts. No offence. But now I should know because I just got what are suppose to be blue aracaunas.
OK...a quick run down...
TRUE Ameraucanas have beards and muffs, lay blue eggs only (some have a greenish tint) have slate legs and white skin only, have pea combs, and only come in one of the following colors: black, blue, blue wheaten, buff, brown red, silver, wheaten, white. Non-recognized varieties that are very near recognition: Splash, lavender, splash wheaten.
Araucanas have tufts (1-3 feathers near their ears) no beard or muffs, have pea combs, are rumpless, lay blue / blue-green eggs, have yellow skin.The only recognized varieties of Araucanas are black, black breasted red, golden duckwing, silver duckwing, and white.
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry///CGA/Arau/BRKArauTrue.html
EEs or Easter Eggers can come in any color, or variation of color combinations. They can lay any color egg (I have one that lays brown eggs right now, have had one that laid pink eggs with white speckles on them, one that laid grass green eggs, and one that laid the bluest eggs I have ever seen in my life!) May or may not have beard and muffs. Can have any color skin, and often have green legs, though can have any color legs. They should have pea combs, but can have any comb. Long story short, they are a mixed breed chicken that may or may not carry the blue egg gene, though they should. If I wanted EEs again, I would get them from a private breeder, so I would KNOW what color eggs they would lay. Problem when you cross a blue egg layer with a brown egg layer to make green egg layers is that when those green egg layers are bred to each other, you will get blue egg layers, green egg layers, and brown egg layers, and you won't know which bird will lay what until the eggs start coming out...
More info on Ameraucanas can be found at www.ameraucana.org
A thread dedicated to the differences in the three breeds: http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/128806/differences-ee-ameraucana-araucana-pls-post-pics
