Americana, Araucana, or Easter Egger???

[Chicken5555]

I agree with everyone else...

not an Araucana
maybe easter egger or Ameraucana
$15 is a good price for a healthy pullet that age regardless
There are plenty of lookalikes - I have some blue easter eggers that look like Ameraucanas, but they lay olive eggs.

Just for reference...

Black Ameraucana at 4 months and eight months. She comes from great stock.




Blue easter egger at about 4 and 8 months.

 

[donrae]

Sounds like you'll be pretty happy with them regardless. I hope they work out well for you!

 

[Tiffany24]

Yes ill be happy regardless. It'll just be an added bonus if they are Ameraucana.

 

[moving coops]

Okay I get what Araucana and not many truly have this breed! But seems some are saying EEs are the same as Amerucaunas(Americanas). My assumption is Amerucaunas are true blue Eggers with muffs and such though the odd one seem not to.

And I thought EEs where Amerucaunas that you cross with another breed of chicken but still get a bluefish or green tint egg because of mix! Can also possibly lay tan eggs? Basically a mix of a blue egger!

I know I am not using technical terms here but just trying to see how the two are different. By what I thought was the difference definitely makes a huge difference in what your paying for.

 

[lomine]

Araucana, Ameraucana and EE are all descendent from the same birds from Chile.

Ameraucana are a breed that have been accepted by the American Poultry Association with there own set of breed standards. Most notably is that they must be one of the accepted colors. If two of the same color are breed you know what colors the offspring will be. Also they must lay blue eggs.

EEs have many of the same characteristics but they don't have a breed standard. They come in many colors and most times you can't predict what their offspring will look like. They can also lay different colored eggs, including blue. Most hatchery EEs are not mixes of Ameraucana and some other breed. They are usually descendants from the Chilian birds. Though some people breed Ameraucana to other breeds to make their own line of EEs or OEs.

Just because a bird matches an accepted color of Ameraucana does not make it an Ameraucana. It has to be the offspring of Ameraucana and if breed to another Ameraucana if has to produce predictable offspring.

Americana is an intentional misspelling of Ameraucana used by hatcheries and breeders to pass off EEs to misinformed buyers. (Or maybe breeders who don't actually know the difference either.)

 

[junebuggena]

Okay I get what Araucana and not many truly have this breed! But seems some are saying EEs are the same as Amerucaunas(Americanas). My assumption is Amerucaunas are true blue Eggers with muffs and such though the odd one seem not to.

And I thought EEs where Amerucaunas that you cross with another breed of chicken but still get a bluefish or green tint egg because of mix! Can also possibly lay tan eggs? Basically a mix of a blue egger!

I know I am not using technical terms here but just trying to see how the two are different. By what I thought was the difference definitely makes a huge difference in what your paying for.

I'll give you a quick breakdown of these different birds' histories.
When the first blue egg layers from South America were imported to the U.S., in the 1900s, they were far from being a standardized, consistent breed. These birds were introduced as Araucana. Some had muffs, some had tufts, some were rumpless, some tailed, some laid blue eggs, others laid brown. Basically, they were very similar to the Easter Eggers we know today. It's these birds that hatcheries obtained and have been breeding from to this very day. It's these birds that were used to create the recognized breeds of the Araucana and Ameraucana.
In the 1980s, the American Poultry Association accepted a breed standard for what we now know as the Araucana breed. They also accepted a breed standard for what we now know as the Ameraucana. Everything that met the standard for Araucana was then considered an Araucana. Birds that met the standard for Ameraucana, were now considered Ameraucana. Everything else, that didn't meet either breed standard were given the title Easter Egger.
It's not that Easter Eggers are mixed breeds, it's just that they haven't been bred to meet any particular breed standard.

 

[moving coops]

Makes sense but does make hard if sold something wrong! I paid a lot for blue black and splash ameraucanas and blue wheaten and wheaten!
But I do have some without muffs and tuffs! Are they considered EEs for sure?
And how do I tell with others? Don't want to mix those in my pen!

 

[junebuggena]

Makes sense but does make hard if sold something wrong! I paid a lot for blue black and splash ameraucanas and blue wheaten and wheaten!
But I do have some without muffs and tuffs! Are they considered EEs for sure?
And how do I tell with others? Don't want to mix those in my pen!

To see what each variety Ameraucana is supposed to look like, check out the link below. Anything that doesn't match is an Easter Egger. Ameraucana never have tufts. They should always be muffed. Two very different genes.
http://ameraucanabreedersclub.org/gallery.html#_self

 

[moving coops]

Thanks!
What is the difference between muffs and tuffs. Are tuffs what are on Araucana's?

 

[moving coops]

So should alway have muffs and beards?