Breed: Araucana
All pictures were taken from a poultry show in 2008 and all of these birds are winners.
If you are a club member and will permit me to use pics of your birds, PM me with your pics and I will edit the pic to show your club name on the pic. I am showing one standard size bird of each color.
All pictures were taken from a poultry show in 2008 and all of these birds are winners.
If you are a club member and will permit me to use pics of your birds, PM me with your pics and I will edit the pic to show your club name on the pic. I am showing one standard size bird of each color.
Araucanas have a most interesting and controversial history, having originated in a remote area of Chile ruled by fierce Araucana Indians who resisted European domination until the 1880’s. The distinctive traits of blue egg, tufts and rumplessness originally were found in two distinct breeds from this region. The first breed, named “Collonocas”, laid blue eggs and was rumpless. The second breed, called “Quetros”, had unusual tufts, but was tailed and laid brown eggs.
Where did these unusual traits come from? The true answer is lost in the mists of time. However, there is circumstantial evidence that the blue egg color came from crosses of chickens with pheasants. While most hybrids are sterile, a small percentage is not. And the motive for crossing the two was the belief that the offspring made superior game fighting stock. The novelty of a blue egg meant that these rare fertile hens were used for breeding. The first written evidence of the existence of blue eggs in Chile was in 1883, and by 1914 they were commonly found throughout South and Central America.
The rumpless breed called Walle Kiki, or Persian Rumpless, was introduced by the Dutch during the colonial period and became widespread. The Araucana Indians preferred this trait since they believed that lack of tail feathers made it harder for predators to catch them. This trait quickly became common in their flocks.
The tufts gene is the most mysterious of all. Presumably there was a mutation in a gene that resulted in these ornamental tufts. Left to natural selection the trait would soon die out because of its negative affects on the developing embryo. The gene mutation is lethal if two copies are present, and the embryo dies in shell. Even one copy of the gene is associated with about 20% mortality. Therefore, the Araucana Indians must have decided that it was a desirable trait and consciously propagated it. Many of the original tufted birds had a distinctive “laughing crow”, although that is seldom heard in modern Araucanas. Perhaps there was some religious or ceremonial aspect involved in their maintenance.
The development of the modern Araucana breed begins with the great Chilean breeder, Dr. Ruben Bustros. As a young man in the Chilean army, he encountered the Araucana Indians in remote areas and observed their unique types of chickens during the 1880’s. He returned later and obtained some of the Quetros and Collonocas stock. Crossing these two breeds, over many years he developed tufted, rumpless birds that laid blue eggs, the first Araucanas. He was visited in 1914 by Professor Salvador Castello Carreras of Spain, who introduced them at the World Poultry Congress in 1918.
Attempts to import Araucana stock into the United States over the years met with great difficulties. The original Quetros and Collonocas breeds were especially hard to obtain because the Araucana Indians had been defeated and disbanded and their birds mixed with other breeds. Also, evidently Dr. Bustros’s flock was not maintained. However, a few breeders managed to get birds with the required traits of tufts, blue egg and rumplessness. But these birds were fairly pathetic mixes of a number of other breeds and much effort was required for improvement. However, there was no common goal among these few dedicated breeders until the 1960’s when Red Cox started an Araucana breeders group. His untimely death set things back, and it wasn’t until the late 1970’s that the Araucana was recognized as an official breed.
There is much more to this story, as well as controversy over the origins of the Quetros and Collonocas. Some believe that chickens were brought to the Americas before Columbus by Polynesian travelers. If you want to learn more of this fascinating history, 16 pages of details can be found in Cathy Brunson’s book “Araucanas Rings On Their Ears”.
The Araucana is a challenging breed that combines the unusual traits of tufts, blue eggs and rumplessness. Tufts are unique to Araucanas, and each is composed of a group of feathers that grow from a protruding flap of skin located near the ear, called a peduncle. Araucanas are rumpless, which means that they do not have a tail, any remnant of a tail, or even an oil gland. There is wide variability in the size and shape of tufts. But a bird with large showy tufts makes an unforgettable impression!
The Araucana belong to the following APAPoultry Class AOSB "All Other Standard Breed "
while the belongs to the following class " All Other Comb Clean Leg "ABA
The varieties recognized by the APA/ABA are :The Araucana belong to the following APAPoultry Class AOSB "All Other Standard Breed "
while the belongs to the following class " All Other Comb Clean Leg "ABA
The recognizes 5 varietiesAPA
Black
White
Black Breasted Red
Silver Duckwing
Golden Duckwing
The recognizes 6 varietiesABA
Black
White
Black Breasted Red
Blue
Buff
Silver
The standard Araucana are rumpless and have tufts of feathers protruding from each side of the head/neck. The Araucana also has a pea comb and they have the distinction of laying Turquoise or blue shelled eggs. There is close genetic Linkage between those two traits so that selection for pea comb is effective in maintaining blue Egg
Disqualification:Lack of ear-tufts, comb other than Pea, Rudimentary presence of tail, Stubs or feather on their shank, or more or less than four toes, white skin.
Weight:
Cock....5 lbs Hen ....4 lbs
Cockerel...4 lbs Pullet...3 1/2 lbs
