Need info on americaunas

[polychickens]

Is an 'easter egg' and an americauna the same bird?

Is an americauna some kind of mutt or mixed breed?

I have 7 of these and they are among my most beautiful hens. I notice a fair amount of variety between them even though they came from the same cage at the feed store. Is there actually some pure version of this breed?

Thanks!
Polychickens

 

[EweSheep]

I would guess so but a true Amercuana breeder would say no.

However with an "I" in that Americuana, I would assumed that word is an Easter Egger chicken and often I have used that AmerIcuana for my Easter Eggers. Maybe someone who is more knowledgeable would post their opinions. To me I think it is an American cross bred bird and why not call it Americuana since some of us dont like the word Easter Egger....

The Easter Egger chicken would not consider Amercuana.....its not a true breed. Easter Eggers are a mixed breed that lays all sorts of colors of eggs but mostly olive or green eggs are common here.

I would imagine way back in their lines there was an Amercuana in that line but in all means, it does not mean that your birds would be purebred Amercuanas. A good deal of brown egg layers may have been used for the Easter Eggers.

Just about all the hatcheries like Ideal, McMurray, Meyers, etc. most certainly have Easter Eggers, not Amercuanas or Araucanas......they like to use the word because it sells...

 

[seedcorn]

Can't answer entirely but Americana lay sky blue eggs only according to Bantam guide.

 

[Anne]

There are two legitimate colored-egg-laying breeds:

1) Araucana

2) Ameraucana

"Americana" is a misspelling of "Ameraucana." Unfortunately, many hobbyists and even some hatcheries are using the misspelled "Americana" to mean "Easter Egg Chickens."

In the past, "Easter Egg Chicken" was a term used to describe any blue-egg layer, whether Araucana, Ameraucana, or colored-egg-laying mixed breed. Nowadays, it's considered PC to use the term only when referring to the colored-egg-laying mixes sold by most hatcheries and feed stores. The reasoning behind this is that Araucanas and Ameraucanas are legitimate breeds listed in the Standard of Perfection, and should be called by their proper names to avoid perpetuating misinformation.

I believe it is unfortunate that some are using "Americana" to mean "Easter Egger" because it makes things extremely confusing for beginning hobbyists -- like it's not complicated enough already, LOL!

I have a page on my website that explains the differences -- here is the link:

http://www.araucanasonline.com/page5.html

-Anne