I would like to get blue eggs . . I just am starting out and have 2 Araucanas chicks but what I have read on the breed is that we don't have a true Araucanas. That Araucanas/Americanas are not true Araucanas with what I have read (excerpt below) how will you breed them without the problem of the genetic mortality?
The Araucana, also known in the USA as a South American Rumpless,[1] is a breed of chicken originating in Chile. The Araucana is often confused with other fowl, especially the Ameraucana and Easter Egger chickens, but has several unusual characteristics which distinguish it. They lay blue eggs, have feather tufts near their ears, and a tail. To comply with the north American standard they must have no tail and are rumpless.
Older family The ancestors of the modern Araucana chicken were purportedly first bred by the Araucanian Indians of Chile hence the name "Araucana."
When the Araucana was first introduced to breeders worldwide, in the mid-20th century, it was quickly realized that the genetics that produced tufts and rumpless also caused chick mortality.[4] As it turns out, two copies of the gene causes nearly 100% mortality shortly before hatching. One copy causes about 20% mortality. The tufted gene is dominant however. Because no living araucana possesses two copies of the tufted gene, breeding any two tufted birds leads to half of the resulting brood being tufted with one copy of the gene, a quarter being clean faced with no copy of the gene, and a quarter of the brood dead in the shell having received two copies of the gene.
In the decades to follow, most breeders took one of two tactics either to preserve the old style of bird, or to breed out the tufts while increasing productivity.
The gene for blue eggs is dominant, so the term "Easter Egger" is used to describe birds of mixed breeding that produce such eggs. Unfortunately, these mixed breeds are often incorrectly labeled as Araucanas or Ameraucanas, and marketed to backyard poultry hobbyists who are not aware of the difference.
In short, the differences are as follows:
USA & Canada Araucana Tufts (lethal allele), rumpless, blue eggs, green legs and yellow skin (with exceptions).
US Ameraucana Beards and muffs (NO lethal gene), with tail feathers, blue eggs, blue legs and white skin.
British, Irish, New Zealand, Asian, Japanese, Russian, Dutch, French, Spanish, Bellarus, Ukrainian, Scandinavian, Argentinian, Chilean, South African, Pacific Islands, Brazilian, Mexican, Peruvian, Arabic Nations, Indian, Pakistan, Nepalese and Australian Araucana Beards, muffs and crest, with tail feathers, blue eggs, slate legs and grey/white skin.
Easter Egger Variable traits.
