Araucana chicken breed: description

Content

1 Russian-language version of the appearance of the breed
2 English version of the history of the breed
3 Description of the Araucana chicken breed
4 Peculiarities of reproduction of Araucanas
5 Reviews from owners of Araucanas on Russian farmsteads
6 Conclusion

Araucana is a breed of chickens with such an unclear and confusing origin, seasoned with an original appearance and an unusual color of eggshell, that there are many versions about their origin even in America itself. From the almost mystical “Araucanian ancestors were brought by Polynesian travelers and the chickens were later crossed with a “pheasant-like American bird” (tinama) to produce blue eggs” to the honest “no one still knows.”

Tinamou eggs are really blue.

And it even somewhat resembles both a chicken and a pheasant at the same time, which is caused by similar living conditions.

Russian-language version of the appearance of the breed

According to the most widespread version on the RuNet, which has even penetrated Wikipedia, Araucana chickens were bred by the Chilean Indian tribe long before Columbus discovered the American continents.Moreover, the Indians of one of the Araucanian tribes turned out to be not only excellent navigators who managed to deliver pheasants and domesticated chickens from the Eurasian continent, but also excellent genetic engineers. The Indians managed not only to cross a chicken with a pheasant, this in itself is not surprising, they created hybrids capable of reproduction. Why did they cross? To obtain green or blue egg shells. Just in case, where the pheasant and chicken tails went is kept silent. And the color of pheasant eggs is different from the color of Araucan eggs.

A version much closer to the truth says that in fact, the region of origin of the ancestors of the Araucanians is Southeast Asia, where the population has long loved cockfighting and bred fighting breeds of chickens, which later became the ancestors of meat chickens. The first mentions of chickens similar to Araucanas actually occur almost immediately after the discovery of America by Columbus: in 1526. Considering that the eastern border of the range of this variety of chickens was in Japan and Indonesia, it seems more likely that the chickens were brought to Chile by the Spaniards, who, unlike the Indians, were indeed excellent sailors.

Attention! When cryptohistorical versions of events appear, it is better to use Occam’s razor, cutting off unlikely versions.

The Indians also turned out to be enthusiastic spectators of cockfights, but they tried to select tailless roosters for the tribe, since they believed that the tail interfered with a good fight. The Araucana chicken breed, apparently, finally took shape in Chile, but after the discovery of America by Columbus.

The Americans, in addition to “we don’t know,” have a version that is as close as possible to the real one, which also explains the high mortality rate of Araucanian embryos while still in the egg.

English version of the history of the breed

Although in the English versions there are assumptions about the import of chickens to South America by the Polynesians, until 2008 no evidence of the presence of the inhabitants of Southeast Asia on another continent was found. Therefore, the question of the appearance of chickens as a species in Chile remains open.

But the development of the modern Araucanian breed can already be traced quite well. The Araucan Indians fiercely resisted first the Incas and then the white conquerors until 1880. The Indians did raise chickens, but the Araucanas were not among these birds. There were two different breeds: the tailless "Colonacas", which laid blue eggs, and the "Quetros", which had tufts of feathers near the ears, but were tailed and laid brown eggs. In fact, the first mention of South American chickens laying blue eggs appears in 1883. By 1914, the breed had spread throughout South and Central America.

At the same time, the Indians themselves most likely captured chickens during the Dutch colonization, since it was the Dutch who bred the tailless breed of chickens “Valle Kiki” or Persian tailless. In this case, the version of the appearance of blue eggs due to crosses with pheasants may have some basis, since a small percentage of such hybrids are capable of reproduction, and the Dutch could have brought pheasants along with chickens. But there is no direct evidence of this, only indirect evidence.

In addition, the theory of hybridization assumed crossing with tinamous, and not with pheasant.More serious theories explaining the appearance of the blue shell are the theory of mutation and the theory of the action of a retrovirus. But these versions also need further research.

The absence of a tail in captured chickens was highly valued by the Indians, as it made it difficult for predators to catch the chickens. For this reason, Indian tribes cultivated taillessness in their chickens.

The appearance of tufts in the second breed remains a mystery. Most likely, this is an unfavorable mutation, which, with homozygosity, leads to 100% mortality of embryos, and with heterozygosity, it leads to death of 20% of the total number of fertilized eggs. But for some reason, religious or ceremonial, the Indians decided that the presence of tufts was a very desirable trait, and they carefully cultivated it.

The history of the Araucana as a breed begins with the Chilean breeder, Dr. Ruben Butrox, who, having seen Indian chickens in 1880, returned a little later and obtained some stock of Colonacas and Quetros. Mixing these two breeds, he selected “eared” tailless chickens that laid blue eggs - the first Araucanas.

In 1914, Ruben Butrox was visited by Spanish professor Salvador Castello Carreras, who presented Butrox and his chickens at the World Poultry Congress in 1918. Breeders from the United States who became interested in the breed encountered great difficulties when trying to obtain these birds. The Indians were defeated and the ancestor breeds of the Araucanians mixed with other chickens. The population of Butrox himself was degenerating without an influx of fresh blood. Nevertheless, breeders managed to get a few chickens with parotid tufts of feathers, without a tail and laying blue eggs.These chickens were poor crosses with many other breeds and it took a lot of effort to improve their characteristics.

The breeders did not have a single goal, so work on the Araucana proceeded slowly until 1960, when Red Cox organized a group of Araucana breeders. His premature death slowed down work on the breed and was officially registered as the Araucana breed only in the late 70s of the last century.

Thus, there is nothing mysterious or mystical in the origin of Araucana chickens. Scientists have questions about the progenitor breeds Colonacas and Quetros.

Description of the Araucana chicken breed

There are two forms of Araucanas: full-size and dwarf. Due to the fact that the Araucana is a mixture of two breeds, Araucanas can be either tailed or tailless. In addition, given the lethality of the “eared” gene, even a purebred Araucana may not have parotid feather tufts. The main characteristic of this breed: blue or green eggs.

Weight of large chickens:

adult rooster no more than 2.5 kg;
adult chicken no more than 2 kg;
cockerel 1.8 kg;
chicken 1.6 kg.

Weight of the dwarf version of Araucan:

rooster 0.8 kg;
chicken 0.74 kg;
cockerel 0.74 kg;
chicken 0.68 kg.

Breed standards vary significantly from country to country. For example, the lavender color of the Araucana is recognized by the British standard, but denied by the American one. In total, there are about 20 color types of Araucanas in the world, but the American Association recognizes only 5 colors for the large variety and 6 for bantams.

Common to all Araucanian chicken standards

Araucana chickens of any color may have shins and toes only a gray-greenish color, similar to the color of a willow branch.The exceptions are pure white and pure black colors. In these cases, the paws should be white or black, respectively.

The comb is only pink-shaped, of medium size. It has three rows of teeth, standing vertically and arranged in parallel rows from the beak to the top of the head. The middle row is higher than the side rows. The number of fingers is only 4. The absence of a tail and the presence of parotid tufts of feathers are preferable, but here the requirements of the standards of different countries contain their own characteristics.

Important! A non-rose crest indicates a crossbred bird.

Colors adopted by the standard of different countries for large chickens

American standard allows only 5 types of colors for large chickens and 6 for bantams: black, black and red (wild), silver-necked, golden-necked and white. In dwarf Araucanas, the following colors are allowed: black, black-red, blue, red, silver-necked and white.

European standard recognizes 20 types of colors among Araucanians.

English standard allows 12 species: black, black-red, blue, red-blue, mottled black-red, mottled (English version of “cuckoo”), speckled, lavender, silver-necked, golden-necked, mottled red and white.

IN Australian standard there are black, motley, lavender, faint speckled, white, plus any colors acceptable by the standard of the English organization for breeding old fighting chickens. This organization oversees the breeding of three old English chicken breeds, and its standards allow for more than 30 color variations. Thus, the Australian Araucana standard covers almost all colors of chickens existing in the world.

Presence or absence of tails and parotid tufts in various breed standards

The American standard recognizes as an Araucana only a chicken that has parotid tufts of feathers and no tail at all.

Disqualifying characteristics according to the American standard:

absence of one or both parotid bundles;
vestigial tail;
stumps or feathers in the tail area;
not a rose-shaped comb;
White skin;
number of fingers other than 4;
any egg color other than blue;
In dwarf Araucanas, the presence of a beard and muffs is also unacceptable.

Other standards are not as strict on the appearance of birds, primarily due to the fact that the gene that determines the presence of parotid tufts is lethal.

Australia allows the presence of a tail, while also recognizing tailless Araucanas.

Britain allows both tailed and tailless Araucanas for breeding. In addition, the British type of Araucanian can boast of having a beard and muffs. But this type often does not have parotid bundles. In this way, the British tried to “escape” the lethal gene.

Among European lines, “earless” Araucanas are also often found.

Photos of the most common and interesting colors of Araucanas

Variegated black and red.

Motley red.

Mottled.

Speckled with mild spotting.

Black.

Black and red.

Silver-necked.

Golden-necked.

White.

Lavender.

Attention! Although the gene that determines the lavender color in birds is not lethal, it does have a negative effect on the size of the birds. Therefore, mostly lavender Araucanas belong to British lines.

Pied (cuckoo).

Since breeders usually calmly cross Araucanians of different colors with each other, intermediate options are possible, such as variegated lavender or red-blue instead of red-black, where the black color of the feather is replaced by blue.

Egg characteristics of Araucanas

The famous blue eggs of the Araucanas are not as blue as you might think. Their difference from the eggs of other chickens is that the Araucanas actually have blue egg shells, while the other “colored” breeds have a true egg shell color that is white. The photo shows an Araucana egg compared to the white and brown eggs of other chicken breeds.

Large Araucana chickens have good egg production and produce up to 250 eggs per year. May be bluish or greenish in color.

Attention! The American standard allows only blue eggs.

The eggs are medium size, weighing about 50 g.

Dwarf Araucanas have a lower egg production, up to 170 eggs per year. The egg weight of the dwarf araucana is about 37 g.

Peculiarities of reproduction of Araucanas

Chickens of the Araucana breed, unfortunately, are characterized by low vitality at a young age and difficulty in breeding at maturity. Due to the lack of a tail, Araucanas have difficulty reproducing. Either the tail works as a counterweight, or simply, instead of a tail to protect the body, too many feathers have grown at the back. But the facts say that for more successful fertilization of the hen, both she and the rooster need to trim the feathers around the cloaca and shorten the feathers on the lower back.

Many poultry farmers, when giving instructions for propagating Araucanas, advise trimming the feathers. Others believe that if this is not done, then over time fertility will increase on its own, since the Araucanas, unable to reproduce naturally, will die out. Still others cross tailless Araucanas with tailed ones, often resulting in a bird that does not meet any standards.

Due to the lethal gene, the hatchability of Araucanian chickens is very low. Hatched Araucana chicks also do not understand the joys of life without a tail and do not strive to survive.Among those who decided to live in spite of everyone, there are very few specimens that meet all the requirements of the breeding bird standard. Typically, about 1 in 100 chicks can be further bred.

Araucana chickens

Reviews from owners of Araucanas on Russian farmsteads

Lidia Sukhinova, Ust-Kamenogorsk

I've lived in the city all my life, but now we decided to move to the village. We've been living here for several years now. To be honest, it’s hard to find anything to do here, so we decided to try raising chickens and selling eggs. Ordinary white and brown eggs were taken reluctantly and cheaply, even large ones. And then I read on the Internet about one breed - the Ameraucana, which was bred by crossing with the Araucana, which lays multi-colored eggs. I thought, why not take the Araucana itself and cross it with other breeds of chickens. I found the contacts of the breeders. At the same time I bought myself Marans, which have brown eggs. The purebred Araucana was disappointing because it really reproduces very poorly. In addition, we had to build different enclosures for the Maranos and Araucanas. Araucanian roosters are indeed very pugnacious. For now I'm trying to cross a Marana rooster with an Araucana hen and an Araucana rooster with a Marana hen, raise the offspring and see what happens. Then, perhaps, I will cross the crosses with each other.

Oleg Beloyanov, p. Mizhgorye

I would not advise anyone to breed purebred Araucanas for meat or eggs. Roosters are constantly looking for someone to fight with, chickens have low fertility rates, and even only a few chicks survive. Eggs are not particularly inspiring in color; many other breeds have much brighter egg shells. But if you cross Araucanas with other breeds of chickens, you can get very interesting colors in the laid eggs, and the egg production of such crosses is often higher than that of pure breeds.

Conclusion

The Araucana is a very original and interesting-looking chicken, but the breed is not well suited for novice chicken breeders. It is better for beginners to take simpler breeds first, while experienced ones can experiment with both purebred birds and crossbreds.