The Ameraucana is a singular hen amongst its friends.
It’s a pretty latest addition to the hen breeds making its’ debut within the Seventies.
It has a staunch band of breeders and followers on this nation and lots of others and is slowly gathering extra of us who’re turning into devoted followers.
The historical past of the Ameraucana is a bit convoluted, as we will see.
This text will discover Ameraucana’s temperament, egg-laying, coloration varieties, and extra.
Ameraucana Look and Temperament
The coloring of the Ameraucana is sort of variable, with a number of coloration palettes to select from – wherever from black to white, blue to wheaten.
The number of colours obtainable makes this a phenomenal chicken.
It’s thought-about a winter hardy, dual-purpose breed.
The beard and muffs give the chicken a considerably ‘chipmunk face,’ wanting like their cheeks are puffed out!
With the eyes being bay purple, they will look a bit fierce, however they’re fairly a docile chicken. The look is deceiving.
In studying opinions for the temperament of this chicken, I seen all kinds of behaviors.
Whether or not or not this displays upbringing or different circumstances is tough to find out. Its temperament has been famous as wherever from skittish to docile and delicate.
It’s usually a pleasant chicken however doesn’t essentially get pleasure from being picked up and cuddled.
The Ameraucana is often sociable with its’ personal type and often sits within the center of the pecking order.
It additionally enjoys human contact and interactions; most folk say it’s a sensible and predator-savvy chicken.
The Ameraucana is alleged to have a hawk-like look, and a few lovers recognize this high quality for free-range flocks.
It’s thought that mimicry deters assaults from precise hawks or different animals. The laser-focus of their bay purple eyes solely provides to this principle.
Breed Commonplace
The Ameraucana was accepted to the American Poultry Association in 1984. There’s additionally a bantam Ameraucana which the American Bantam Affiliation accepted in 1979.
The Ameraucana has a purple pea comb, as are the wattles. Wattles are on the small aspect or could be non-existent.
Eyes are a reddish bay coloration.
Ameraucanas have each beards and muffs. It may be troublesome to distinguish between the muffs and beard, however it needs to be clearer to see shut inspection.
The tail needs to be carried upright nearly at 45 levels to the physique.
Relying on the colour of the plumage, the legs and ft needs to be slate blue to black.
There needs to be 4 toes on every foot, and the shanks needs to be clear of feathering. The pores and skin on the underside of the foot is white, as is the pores and skin of the chicken.
There are eight acknowledged colours for the Ameraucana:
- Black
- Blue
- Blue wheaten
- Brown purple
- Buff
- Silver
- Wheaten
- White
The Ameraucana is taken into account a lightweight fowl, and weights needs to be round 6.5lb for males and 5.5lb.
Bantams ought to weigh in at 26-30oz. For males and 24-26oz. For females.
Egg Laying and Broodiness
The Ameraucana is beloved for its’ mild blue eggs. It’s a reasonably good layer, producing about 3–4 medium-sized eggs/week. It may be a little bit of a late starter, so don’t anticipate your eggs at 18-20 weeks.
Some of us reported that they had waited 5-7 months earlier than any eggs appeared.
In previous occasions blue eggs have been promoted as having much less ldl cholesterol and extra protein. This was merely a market ploy to get folks occupied with blue eggs.
It could appear unusual now, however blue eggs weren’t all the time standard.
The eggs have the identical dietary worth as a inexperienced, brown, pink, or white egg.
Ameraucanas are non-broody for essentially the most half. Sometimes one will go broody, however it isn’t a daily incidence.
“There’s a trick you should utilize to be sure to hatch Ameracauna eggs as a substitute of utilizing an incubator,” reviews Animal Reply Information.
“You’ll be able to mark a couple of eggs within the nest and wait till one of many hens goes broody after which set the eggs from the opposite hens below that brooding hen.”
Well being Points
The Ameraucana doesn’t have any important well being points, not like its father or mother, the Araucana.
They’ll stay round 7-8 years on common. And as a consequence of their predator-savvy talents, they have a tendency to outlast different breeds of their flock.
They’re implausible foragers and good about their enemies, one other feather of their caps.
Background and Historical past of the Ameraucana
The latest historical past behind this breed extends again into the Nineteen Twenties’ and to South America – Chile, to be particular.
The Mapuche Indians initially had two sorts of chickens – the Collonca and Quintero.
These breeds had been historic even to the Indians and had been first famous and written about by the Spanish invaders within the 1500s.
The 2 breeds had been bred collectively both naturally or by human intervention – nobody is aware of – and from this union got here the Araucana.
The Araucana is a father or mother chicken of the Ameraucana hen.
The Araucana hen was (and is) a scarce chicken. The genetic make-up is such that it carries a deadly gene that may kill chicks within the shell.
The deadly gene provides the Araucana its’ distinctive tufted ears. If each dad and mom contribute a tufting gene (ET) – the chicks will die within the shell.
Ameraucanas had been bred to retain the blue egg gene however get rid of the deadly gene of their dad and mom.
The Araucana was dropped at the US in restricted portions within the Nineteen Twenties following the chicken’s presentation by Professor Salvador Castillo at a convention in Santiago, Chile.
One of many of us instrumental in elevating Araucanas and finally ‘creating’ the Ameraucana was Mr. Keller of the Pratt Experimental Farm in Pennsylvania.
He cross-bred the Araucanas with different birds leading to a mélange of various birds.
Some with ear tufts, some with muffs and beards, some rumpless, some with full tails, and so forth. – all had been known as Araucanas.
Apparently, within the UK, Australia, and lots of different nations, Araucanas and Ameraucanas are accepted as the identical breed, whether or not they’re rumpless or tailed.
Is the Ameraucana Proper for You?
These birds are thought-about to be docile and people-friendly. They’re fairly hardy -although some folks say they don’t tolerate freezing climates.
They appear to tolerate NY winters pretty effectively so long as they’ve dry and draft-proof lodging.
The Ameraucana will bear confinement however don’t do it effectively. They’re pretty impartial birds, so that they do like to free-range if they will.
An enormous plus for a lot of of us is that they lay a average to an excellent quantity of sunshine blue eggs.
It appears blue eggs have gotten ‘a factor’ in lots of supermarkets the place they promote for a not-insignificant quantity!
Most roosters can get a bit cranky at occasions, however they aren’t overly aggressive that I’ve discovered throughout analysis.
Others have reported that their Ameraucanas battle to deal with extremely humid and sizzling environments.
The differing experiences might have loads to do with the colourful lineage of the chicken in query.
Cautionary Notice
Many hatchery and different breeders provide birds labeled as Americana or Americauna. These are not Ameraucanas – observe the spelling…
It has been used as a advertising and marketing ploy for a few years now. In reality, what they’re promoting is Easter Eggers – which isn’t a pure breed.
An Easter Egger is a hybrid, and whereas there’s nothing mistaken with Easter Eggers, you must know the distinction – as a result of many non-public ‘breeders’ apparently don’t.
In a few of the hatchery catalogs, a telltale signal is that if the birds are marketed as ‘beneficial for laying or not for exhibition or 4H use’.
Ameraucanas are nonetheless uncommon birds, so in the event you pay $5-10.00 for a chicken, it’s possible not a pure breed.
True, pure Ameraucanas promote for round $20.00 for a hen and $18.00 for a rooster.
The Easter Egger is a hybrid of both the Ameraucana or the Araucana and one other breed of hen.
Then again, the Ameraucana and Araucana are thought-about to be pure breeds.
Just like the Araucana and Ameraucana, the Easter Egger may lay blue eggs, have muffs, and even beards.
Abstract
The Ameraucana continues to be thought-about to be a uncommon breed right here within the US. If you happen to can afford the outlay to get a few of these beautiful birds, they’re effectively definitely worth the cash.
As we talked about, in Australia, the UK, and lots of different nations, the Araucana and Ameraucana are thought-about the identical breed, in order that it may be complicated!
The Ameraucana is definitely a fairly addition to your flock – each in plumage and coloured egg-laying.
Do you’ve gotten Ameraucanas? Tell us within the feedback part under…
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