The Ameraucana is an American breed of domestic

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

. It was developed in the United States in the 1970s, and derives from

Araucana The Araucana ( es, Gallina Mapuche, italic=no) is a breed of domestic chicken from Chile. Its name derives from the Araucanía region of Chile where it is believed to have originated. It lays blue-shelled eggs, one of very few breeds that do so. ...

chickens brought from Chile. It was bred to retain the blue-egg gene but eliminate the

lethal allele Lethal alleles (also referred to as lethal genes or lethals) are alleles that cause the death of the organism that carries them. They are usually a result of mutations in genes that are essential for growth or development. Lethal alleles may be rec ...

s of the parent breed. There are both standard-sized and bantam versions.

History

The Ameraucana was developed in the United States in the 1970s from

chickens brought from Chile. It was bred to retain the unusual blue-egg gene of the Araucana, but eliminate the tufted and rumpless

s of the parent breed. It was added to the Standard of Perfection of the

American Poultry Association The American Poultry Association (APA) is the oldest poultry organization in the North America. It was founded in 1873, and incorporated in Indiana in 1932. The first American poultry show was held in 1849, and the APA was later formed in respo ...

in 1984. The name derives from "America" and "Araucana". The Ameraucana is recognized in the United States as a separate breed from the Araucana. In some other countries, including Australia and the United Kingdom, both the tailed and rumpless variants of the Araucana are considered a single breed.

Characteristics

The Ameraucana is one of the few chicken breeds to lay blue eggs. It shows many similarities to the Araucana, including the pea

comb A comb is a tool consisting of a shaft that holds a row of teeth for pulling through the hair to clean, untangle, or style it. Combs have been used since prehistoric times, having been discovered in very refined forms from settlements dating ba ...

and the blue egg gene. It is tailed, muffed and bearded, whereas the Araucana in the United States has ear tufts and is rumpless. The earlobes are small and round, the wattles small or absent; earlobes, comb and wattles are all red. The shanks are slate-blue, tending to black in the black plumage variant. Eight color variants are recognized in the American Standard of Perfection: black, blue, blue wheaten, brown red, buff, silver, wheaten and white.

References

Chicken breeds originating in the United States Chicken breeds {{Chicken breeds of the United States , state=expanded