We have 3 blue Ameraucanas from an established bloodline. Great personality, always following us around. Very active foragers and will run down flies, butterflies and about anything that moves. They can outrun any chicken in our flock. They adapted quickly to handling and seem very gentle by nature. The rest of our flock is mostly heavy breeds that don't hesitate to peck the Ameraucanas when they get the chance (if they can catch them!). That could be because the little blue girls are masters at stealing food out from under the others. Good layers of medium-large light blue eggs. We typically get 5-6 per week. 2 of the 3 went broody during their first summer. They fiercely protect the nest, so I expect they would make good mothers. We were not ready for a raised brood, so we separated them from the nest boxes and they came out of it in a few days. They are a little higher maintenance if you want to keep their muffs clean. They dive into the food with gusto and look like 1 year old kid after a spaghetti dinner. We will wipe them down after a juicy melon, oatmeal or corn-on-the-cob. They also get wet muffs after drinking from an open container. The other day it was 9 degrees and one had little icicles hanging from the muff. I understand they can be prone to mites in the muff area, but so far we have not had any problems. I can't imagine not having Ameraucanas in our flock, we love them!
