Araucana thread anyone?

[smoothmule]

Forgive me, but I am now utterly confused - NOT by what you have said here farmerChef, that was very helpful especially the second sentence, but by the number of posts that claim the Ameraucana IS the only accepted and approved bird from the original Chilean Araucana by show people in the U.S. ... ( that is rumpless, beautiful colours, no head muff etc. ). The Australian bred Araucana ( which is the only name they go by here I believe ) usually is white, or lavender/white, wheaten/white, cuckoo etc., has a lovely muff on the head, two small tufts either side of the face, no wattles, a pea comb and a very nice upright tail. As a show bird or pure bred, that would not be acceptable to the standards in the U.S. So - are we talking about two distinctly different breeds, that have come from the original Chilean Araucana's, by breed development, or what ? I have what is classed an Araucana myself. She has a beautiful high muff of feathers on her head, small tufts either side of her face, a nice fluffy 'muff' beneath her beak, a lovely upright tail, sprinklings of what I think might be cuckoo or gold cuckoo through her originally all white feathers - and she lays blueish to olive coloured eggs. ( has only just started to lay this week - in our Autumn ?? ). She makes the most extraordinary sounds for a chicken, and yesterday I went outside to see if we had a duck in the back garden, as she was QUACKING ! I kid you not. She makes gutteral noises in her throat, an occasional try at a real rooster crow, a few chicken clucks here and there, and some very odd moaning croaky sounds, especially when she wants out of her coop. I keep her separated from my 3 other larger chickens as they don't like her much, and tend to have a real go at her.

Anyway, there seems to be such a huge variety of opinions on what is, or is not an Araucana / Ameraucana ? I have seen on BYC, where people have shown pics. of their rumpless beautifully coloured birds - and they have called them Araucana's ? Anyone who can help me to be a little less confused - it would be much appreciated. Below are several photo's of "Mindy" - my Araucana. She is about 6 months old now.

Mindy at 9 weeks old - with dear little Moppit behind her ( Moppit did not survive a nasty infection about 2 months back )



Mindy - 7 weeks ago.

The next two photographs were taken today ( 23 April 2013 ).


So - now what is she please ? Just an Aussie Araucana ? has she something else in her ? is that gold cuckoo colouring ???

Sorry to be pesky in asking so many questions - thought someone out there might help. She's a gorgeous chook, and loves being cuddled.

Cheers,
AB

What you are trying to discuss here is like discussing apples and oranges. This thread might have been better called the American Araucana. Trying to compare your Araucana's to the ones here in the US is impossible because they are not the same breed, they just share the same name and possibly origins. You might be better off finding a group in your area to discuss them, I love seeing your pics but they just don't fit the breed here so you're not going to find a decent discussion regarding qualities in a group that has no idea of what your standard of perfection is for your breed.

 

[poularde]

Anniebee, you might check ot this thread. It is no longer active, but it gives you great info. One of my favorites.

 

[smoothmule]

O.K,

You can get Rumpless and Non Rumpless PURE BRED Araucana's.

They both have a standard and are both recognized as a breed.

Here is Aus, rumpless are rare so tailed Araucana's are more popular. They are still a Pure breed and are completely recognized. I am not entirely sure what it is like in the US.\
In the US an Araucana is a rump or tailless bird. An Ameraucana is the same as an Araucana but has a tail. And an EE is mix of either Araucana or Ameraucana with any other breed of chicken.

EE's are they result of a pure bred rumpless ( Araucana ) or non tailed ( Ameraucana ) that is crossed with ANY other breed of chicken.

When you cross two colours of Araucana, eg Lavender and Black, it make a splash. Still Pure.

When you cross a rumpless and a non rumpless you will get 50% rumpless offspring and 50% tailed offspring.

Pure Bred Araucana's have certain colours. Here are some of them. Wheaten, black, Lavender I think there is 2-3 more.
Pure Bred Araucana's will have either Slate or black legs, they should have a pea comb.

There is a whole list of what a pure bred Araucana should and shouldn't have. Some one must have explained it on this thread some where. There is thread on it some where.

But this is all I could find. Still helpful - https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/128806/differences-ee-ameraucana-araucana-pls-post-pics


I think people are getting confused because people mis spell the name as well so that gets really confusing.
I have seen on BYC all these names - Americana, Ameracana, Americauna, Ameraucana.
the last one Ameraucana is the correct one.
I have seen Americana the most, I think because that's what spell check agrees with.lol.

Hope this helps.

Your post is just more confusing to those wanting to know if they have an Araucana or not. Mis-spelling is not the issue, some people just mispell. The Araucana, The Ameraucana and The EE (Easter Egger) are all different. Araucana's and Ameraucana's are 2 different breeds here in the U.S. The Easter Egger is simply a mixed poultry breed of unknown origins that lays colorful eggs, from blue to green to brown and even a pinkish color. The US type of Araucana is the focus of this thread. It's interesting to note the differences in the breed here and the different breeds called Araucana in the UK, Australia and elsewhere but when people come here to learn about the Araucana, comments that are not correct can be extremely confusing.

There is No Lavender in the US Araucana breed standard. There are Lavender Araucana's as bred by Hinkjc but they are not in the standard yet. I'm working on chocolate Araucana's and they will eventually look like an Araucana but until they are accepted into the standard, they will also be AOV. Wheaten in the Araucana is called BBR, they are based on wheaten but they are called BBR. Pea combs yes, Slate legs "NO" for Araucana's. The Araucana has yellow skin, the leg color for the Araucana is Yellow for the white variety, green (willow) for the BBR's and Duckwings and for blacks the leg color is black (which is black over the yellow with yellow soles).

This thread is very busy so expecting new visitors to be able to find information quickly is not fair with over 7000 posts so I'll post the information sites again so that our newer visitors can read about the breeds and understand the differences, these are all United States breed clubs.

http://www.araucana.net/ This is where you should find the information for this breed
http://www.ameraucana.org/ The Ameraucana information can be found here
http://www.eastereggers.com/ Easter Egger information can be found here. They are not APA or ABA but they do seem to have a standard, rumpless is a disqualification for an Easter Egger. What that means is that a mixed breed that is rumpless is not an Easter Egger, it's simply a mixed breed unless it meets Araucana standard.

The Australian breeds have a different thread here and it would be nice not to confuse the two breeds for those trying to learn. The Australian breeders can find information about their breed here https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/343609/uk-australian-nz-araucana-topic

 

[smoothmule]

Okay now I have to ask -- how do you know if it's an EE? I went to "Chick Day" at a nearby farm and walked away with three "Araucanas" and two Buff Orpingtons. I've read a lot things about how tons of places sell chicks as Araucanas but they actually aren't. What's the difference between them and EE's? The coloring of the hen in this picture is a heck of a lot like mine.

As a reminder here, any so called Araucana's at a hatchery, feed store or chick day is always an Easter Egger. They all originated from hatcheries and are not Araucana or Ameraucana as they are listed. You'll see a LOT of hatcheries who know the difference but they could care less whether they are lying to you as long as you buy chicks. They are not a good source for buying any purebred chick in my opinion.

 

[smoothmule]

Hello,

Glad I found this topic thread! I have 34 8 week old Americans and I have about 50 coming from my neighbor's farm tomorrow! I love the Olof scheme of Americanas and I am ready to supplement my RIR Brown Eggs with some color.

Question I have:

My Amerecanas have fully feathered, but have seem to be cold tolerant. They still want to stand on each other in a huddle. Is this normal for Amereicanas to develop slower than others?

What you have are nothing to do with the thread here. You have Easter Eggers as well. Nothing wrong with them but this is an Araucana thread. You might also check out the Easter Egger thread so the information for your chicks will relate to them.

 

[smoothmule]

I don't know of another breed that has so many misconceptions about it. The Araucana breed is a rare breed, you will not find it at the local hatchery, farm store, feed store or chick day. Calling Easter Eggers by the name Araucana goes Way back and seems to be impossible to repair. Many hatcheries have come out and stated to me that they Know they are not Araucana but that is what they call them and have always called them and to change it now is not going to happen. I don't know if it's the embarrassment of admitting they have been lying all these years or simply costly to change the name on all the ads or what but it's very frustrating.

There are frequently posts from people wanting to know if what they have are Araucana's. In general, if they have to ask then it is probably not an Araucana. Most Araucana breeders that I know do a great job of educating buyers who want to know more when they buy. There are always going to be some people with a few Araucana's or mixes that are rumpless and/or tufted. Posting photo's and some background information is the best way for an Araucana breeder to assist someone to figure out if they have an Araucana.

If you are not in the United States, then the Araucana is not going to be the same breed so we can't really help so much and the discussion can be confusing to new breeders or owners here.

As I usually do about Any purchase, I recommend educating yourself before buying. Learn what the breed is and is not before buying. Find a breed club or read up on the APA Standard of Perfection.

 

[smoothmule]

Smokey is supposedly an Araucana too,she came from the same feed store as Ruby.she has a tail,its just little b/c she's younger

None of these are Araucana. What did you mean when you said "she has a tail, it's just because she's younger" ???? A rumpless Araucana chick is rumpless at hatching. You can't feel a tail bump because they are hatched without one. This one is from a feed store so she is definitely an Easter Egger.

A rumpless chick will have a round rump, you'll be able to run your finger across the back and down the rump and feel no tail bump

 

[Slinglings]

can you tell me if what I have is 100% for sure an Araucana? Are there any other breeds that are rumpless?

 

[BooPeeps]

Annibee, The U.S. standard for an Araucana is different than for an Araucana in Australia. Australian (and U.K.) standards for the breed permit a tail, etc. Here is a link to the Araucana Breeders Group of Australia http://araucanabreedersgroup.webs.com/. There are pictures of Australian Araucana's on the website which look very much like your adorable Mindy. Hopefully, this helps some. And Smoothmule has done an outstanding job clarifying the breed standard for U.S. Araucanas, as well as providing BYC links to more information on Ameraucanas and Easter Eggers. Thanks so much Smoothmule!

 

[Anniebee]

Many many thanks to all those who answered my questions about the differences between Araucana ( Australia ) and Ameraucana. And thanks too for the informative links many have
provided. I will be looking at all of them. Another day on line, learning about chickens which is a fascinating subject no matter the time taken to explore it.

It is such an awful shame that people selling an allegedly specific breed, throw in a cross bred, and claim a pure bred - as in Easter Eggers that get sold as Araucanas. All for profit ! Ugh.

I purchased 3 breeds from a well known and highly respected chicken farm / hatchery. A Barnevelder, Rhode Island Red and Welsummer. And that is exactly what I got. They were all 8 weeks old when purchased. At first I wondered ?? as they were young and not totally identifiable to me ( newbie ), but they have grown up to be beautiful examples of their breed. I now know this as I have been researching them all - and cannot find fault with my lovely layers. As this is an Araucana thread, I will not post photographs of my 3 'big' girls here - but if anyone shows interest, I will post them.

Again - thank you .... you are a wonderful lot of people --- all in love with chooks ( as we call them in Australia ).

Cheers,

AB.