It is one of the more unique-looking chicken breeds around. An Araucana egg (left) with white and brown eggs for comparison. You don’t need to do much with them that is different from other chickens. It is the same as raising any other chicken. Types of Chickens that Lay Colored Eggs. Ameraucanas come in a mini version too! Saving Money – Economics of Home Produced Eggs, Selling Your Surplus Eggs from Home – Farm Gate Egg Sales, What to do with Surplus Eggs? Well, at least for those who want eggs regularly. The blue colour of an Araucana egg is created from a bile pigment as the egg shell is made. Araucana eggs are blue, a very pretty blue, but not as blue as robin eggs. The ability to lay blue eggs was the main reason for breeding Araucana chicken. Blue X Brown (eg, RIR) = Green Contrary to the blue-green egg of the Araucana hen which is tinted throughout the thickness of the shell, one realizes when one breaks a Marans egg that the internal colour of the shell is perfectly white, offering an unexpected contrast, and given its colouring right before laying, is ⦠Egg Color Chart - Find Out What Egg Color Your Breed Lays Author Cats ⦠Basically, the back of the bird is completely rounded off. They are blue egg layers with yellow skin, no tails, no beards and no muffs. The Araucana chicken is an easy bird to raise. Know Your Eggs? In fact, once this bird hit the United States, it eventually was bred into a completely new breed; the Amerecauna, which was one of the most-popular chickens during the early 20th Century, and certainly one of the most popular of the backyard chicken breeds. (You can tell of an Araucana egg is truly a blue egg by looking at the interior of the shell.) Easter Eggers are no specific breed with no specific standards for their breed and can lay eggs of any color from pink to green to blue! The origin of the Araucana is still up for debate, however many believe they originated in Chile. Araucanas can possess ear tufts, which are feathers that grow from a slender, fleshy flap just below the ear. The original shell colour of Araucana eggs is blue, but a variety of colours have been produced by crossing Araucanas with other breeds, as follows. Shell colour is the result of the pigments called porphyrins being deposited while the eggs are in the process of formation. If you see her, say hi for me. Dr. Bustos about one hundred years ago in Chile, South America ⦠The Araucana chicken originates in Chile. The Araucana is a clean-legged chicken, unlike the Brahma chicken, and the color of their legs may vary depending upon the color of the chicken. Youâll never find two Easter Eggers that look qui⦠If you see eggs that are khaki or olive in color, it might suggest that the hens were crossed with other chickenbreeds. Some refer to this as ‘rumpless’. If youâre interested in a smaller version ⦠The Araucana comes in black, black red, silver duckwing, white, and golden duckwing. When crossed with any other breed of chicken the Araucana Chickens offspring will produce a variety of colored eggs from greenish blue to green, pink, and yellow. Chickenmag.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. In addition, there are several mutt breeds that produce a lighter blue or a green-tinted egg. These birds are a bit more basic than the Araucanas and they donât have issues with lethal genes. Color cards can be purchased through the breeders club. The colour of eggshells is the result of pigments being deposited during egg formation within the oviduct. You can see the color variation between an (L to R) Olive Egger, Easter Egger and Ameraucana egg below. Most breeders are focusing on fairly similar Ameraucauna chickens. The Egg Lady on Dable Road in Mukwonago, Wisconsin has quite a good business selling Araucana eggs. However, we thought it would be wise to run you through some of the features of this bird. It isn’t prone to getting in many fights over territory in the coop. There are more than 60 breeds of chickens recognized by the American Poultry Association and hundreds of other chicken breeds that have been developed worldwide â many of whom lay gorgeous eggs in a rainbow of hues ranging from white to cream, ⦠The color of the eggshell does not change the taste of an egg, the quality of food a chicken eats and their lifestyle is what affects taste. It is a moderately good layer, producing about 3â4 medium sized eggs/week. The type of pigment depends upon the breed and is genetically determined. Easter Eggers are fun because you never know what color egg each hen will lay until she starts laying, and even identical-looking hens often lay varying shades of bluish or greenish eggs. Araucana. The Araucana (Spanish: Gallina Mapuche) is a breed of domestic chicken from Chile. With no known hereditary health issues and assuming they have all their basic needs met, Araucana chickens have a life expectancy of 7-8 years. Araucana chicken is a very beautiful breed and also known for their ability to lay colored eggs. New Egg Color Reference Card now available at in the merchandise section of the webpage. Although, this actually does seem to be based on where your chicken was bred. I have noticed that sellers will take a picture and the eggs looks really blue, but to the naked eye and in person they appear green both indoors and outside. The eggs ha⦠However, there is a faulty gene with this breed. This is, mostly, down to the fact that it is a difficult chicken to breed. Araucana chicks can be born without tails or Some people have noted that their Araucana chickens have been quite nervous and can be a bit temperamental on occasion. A pale blue egg will not be as difficult to evaluate in the sunlight because the Sunlight is reflected directly off the external surface because of the lighter color. ⦠Add to Favorites . The APA recognizes five colors of Araucana: Black, Black Breasted ⦠Itâs possible for example to have a 6-pack carton containing a dark brown speckled egg (Speckledy or Maran); a pure white (White Star or White Leghorn); a pinkish-brown (Rhode Island Red); a creamy white (Ancona or Vorwerk); a mid-brown (Black Rock or Barnevelder); and a bluish-green (Araucana or Cream Legbar). At the height of the years where the chicken will be laying the egg, you would be lucky to get more than 5 eggs from your hen each week. It is also going to be quite accepting when you approach it. All eggs are initially white. The breed was first introduced into the APA in 1976. The tufts look almost like whiskers. The former card provided reference to all the potential colors that had been observed from Araucana flocks around the world. It's a rare breed with much controversy and numerous challenges. Some folks reported they had waited 5-7 months before any eggs appeared. The different colored chicken eggs of the Araucana chicken are highly desirable! In 1933, Professor Punnett demonstrated that the blue egg factor is a dominant gene (genetic symbol O). Eggs laid per year and color. The native tribe of Mapuche Indians had been breeding and domesticating these birds for many years before they were discovered by civilization. This is how the breed really took off in the 1970's as hatcheries advertised them as the Easter egg birds that laid multicolored eggs. The blue laying gene is a genetic anomaly possibly caused by a retrovirus or way back in the evolution of the Araucana breed. How to Store Eggs. – Egg Descriptions Explained, Marketing Your Surplus Eggs – How to Sell Your Eggs. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This is a simplification, of course, and there is a considerable range of blue – green – olive hues, depending on the genetic make-up of the breeds involved. Once they have hatched, then it is easy to raise them. This new card has taken those digitally analyzed colors and gone a step further. This results in blue or bluish-green eggs. Although the chick will hatch out of a blue egg that looks identical to an Ameraucana egg, the chick will inherit appearance traits of both parents and grow up to lay olive eggs eggs. Imagine the excitement of peering into your nesting boxes and finding a rainbow of different colored eggs every day. The British Araucana Club claim that pure araucanas should lay blue eggs. Modern Araucana Chickens are a cross of at least two main lineages, one, a tail-less blue egg layer and one a relatively unknown now extinct wild ear tufted bird with a tail, that lays a pink or brownish egg. So, if you are planning to raise and breed chickens in your backyard, then the Araucana chicken is probably not for you. Bear in mind that many so-called Araucanas are themselves crosses. Eyes are a reddish bay color. Each of these tufts is completely unique to these chickens. Several specimens of Araucana were shipped to the US in the 1930s and work began on improving the breed. Araucanas that meet the breed standard are rumpless and tufted, however they are exceptionally difficult to breed because the tufted gene can cause a high percentage of the chicks to die in their shells. One of the reasons many people still opt for this bird breed is the fact that they lay blue eggs. This leads to a high chick mortality rate. This is a chicken that loves to explore. 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