Araucana - Araucana, Ameraucana or Easter Egger?

Araucana, Ameraucana or Easter Egger?

When the Araucana was first introduced to breeders worldwide in the mid-20th century, the genetics that produced tufts were recognized to also cause chick mortality. Two copies of the gene cause nearly 100% mortality shortly before hatching. 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 tacks — either to preserve the old style of bird, or to breed out the tufts while increasing productivity.

In 1976, the first standards for the breed were accepted by the APA, conforming to the traditional style. This was followed, in 1984, by a second standard for the "improved" variety.

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 labelled 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 and Canada Araucana – tufts (lethal allele), rumpless, blue eggs, willow legs and yellow skin (with exceptions)
• US Ameraucana – beards and muffs (NO lethal gene), with tail feathers, blue eggs, slate 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 or olive/willow legs and grey/white skin
• Easter Egger – variable traits