Arucana, Americauna, EE

[The Orange Ferret]

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I believe that a chicken's temperament is directly related to how much they are handled when chicks until adulthood. I got my chickens very young & handled them very often. Every morning after feeding etc I sit in their coop & they sit on my lap to be pet & snuggled. My Americaunas are my favorites, they are not my best layers (seasonal green egg layers.. too hot they lay less often & as soon as it is cold they stop) but they are the most affectionate & have the sweetest personalities. They are also at the bottom of the pecking order in my coop probably due to their affectionate & passive nature.

 

[The Orange Ferret]

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My chickens do not ever feather peck. I learned an old trick from a natural farmer... 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar & 1 teaspoon of sea salt (I use "real salt" it is a brand) to every gallon of water. They won't peck each other. I have never had a feather pulled. I have 9 chickens & 2 turkeys in 3 big runs. Make sure they also have enough room to run or they will peck each other too.

 

[BlazeJester]

The Meyer 2012 catalog now says Easter Egger, not Ameraucana.

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[Dagirls]

Araucanas are a pure breed of rumpless chicken with cheek tufts. True Araucanas can be hard to find as the genes that create the cheek tufts can be a fatal gene which leads to high chick mortality.

Americaunas or Easter eggers are crosses with Araucanas to make a rumped chicken that generally, not always, lays colored eggs and sometimes has cheek tufts. The appearance of the crosses depends on what they were crossed with. Egg color is a roll of the genetic dice. I've had them lay pure white, pink, green even robins egg blue all from hens that were full sisters to each other.

I've lost my taste for raising them as they always seem to be the lowest birds on the social pecking order and frequently the dumbest. I have one left, we call her the shorty bus hen.

I have to send a picture of my rooster. He does not look anything like those photos. He does not have any tail feathers but thought he was a Arucana. If he is he is with black stars wonder what they would produce?