The Ameraucana is a novel rooster amongst its friends.
It’s a pretty current addition to the rooster 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 changing 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, shade varieties, and extra.
Ameraucana Look and Temperament
The coloring of the Ameraucana is kind of variable, with a number of shade palettes to select from – anyplace from black to white, blue to wheaten.
The number of colours out there makes this a gorgeous fowl.
It’s thought of a winter hardy, dual-purpose breed.
The beard and muffs give the fowl a considerably ‘chipmunk face,’ wanting like their cheeks are puffed out!
With the eyes being bay crimson, they’ll look a bit fierce, however they’re fairly a docile fowl. The look is deceiving.
In studying evaluations for the temperament of this fowl, I seen all kinds of behaviors.
Whether or not or not this displays upbringing or different circumstances is difficult to find out. Its temperament has been famous as anyplace from skittish to docile and delicate.
It’s typically a pleasant fowl however doesn’t essentially take pleasure in 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 good and predator-savvy fowl.
The Ameraucana is claimed to have a hawk-like look, and a few lovers admire 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 crimson eyes solely provides to this principle.
Breed Customary
The Ameraucana was accepted to the American Poultry Association in 1984. There may be additionally a bantam Ameraucana which the American Bantam Affiliation accepted in 1979.
The Ameraucana has a crimson pea comb, as are the wattles. Wattles are on the small aspect or will be non-existent.
Eyes are a reddish bay shade.
Ameraucanas have each beards and muffs. It may be tough to distinguish between the muffs and beard, however it ought to be clearer to see shut inspection.
The tail ought to be carried upright nearly at 45 levels to the physique.
Relying on the colour of the plumage, the legs and ft ought to be slate blue to black.
There ought to be 4 toes on every foot, and the shanks ought 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 fowl.
There are eight acknowledged colours for the Ameraucana:
- Black
- Blue
- Blue wheaten
- Brown crimson
- Buff
- Silver
- Wheaten
- White
The Ameraucana is taken into account a light-weight fowl, and weights ought 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 count on your eggs at 18-20 weeks.
Some of us reported they’d 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 individuals occupied with blue eggs.
It might appear unusual now, however blue eggs weren’t all the time widespread.
The eggs have the identical dietary worth as a inexperienced, brown, pink, or white egg.
Ameraucanas are non-broody for essentially the most half. Often one will go broody, however it isn’t a daily prevalence.
“There’s a trick you need to use to ensure you hatch Ameracauna eggs as a substitute of utilizing an incubator,” stories 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 rooster.”
Well being Points
The Ameraucana doesn’t have any important well being points, in contrast to its mother or father, the Araucana.
They are going to dwell round 7-8 years on common. And because of their predator-savvy skills, they have a tendency to outlast different breeds of their flock.
They’re implausible foragers and sensible about their enemies, one other feather of their caps.
Background and Historical past of the Ameraucana
The current 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 forms 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 mother or father fowl of the Ameraucana rooster.
The Araucana rooster was (and is) a scarce fowl. 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 remove the deadly gene of their dad and mom.
The Araucana was delivered to the US in restricted portions within the Nineteen Twenties following the fowl’s presentation by Professor Salvador Castillo at a convention in Santiago, Chile.
One of many of us instrumental in elevating Araucanas and ultimately ‘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 international locations, 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 of to be docile and people-friendly. They’re fairly hardy -although some individuals 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 unbiased birds, so that they do like to free-range if they’ll.
An enormous plus for a lot of of us is that they lay a average to a very good 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 don’t seem to be 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 fowl in query.
Cautionary Be aware
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 truth, what they’re promoting is Easter Eggers – which isn’t a pure breed.
An Easter Egger is a hybrid, and whereas there’s nothing incorrect with Easter Eggers, you must know the distinction – as a result of many non-public ‘breeders’ apparently don’t.
In among the hatchery catalogs, a telltale signal is that if the birds are marketed as ‘advisable 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 fowl, 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 rooster.
However, the Ameraucana and Araucana are thought of to be pure breeds.
Just like the Araucana and Ameraucana, the Easter Egger may additionally lay blue eggs, have muffs, and even beards.
Abstract
The Ameraucana continues to be thought of to be a uncommon breed right here within the US. If you happen to can afford the outlay to get a few of these pretty birds, they’re effectively well worth the cash.
As we talked about, in Australia, the UK, and lots of different international locations, the Araucana and Ameraucana are thought of the identical breed, in order that it may be complicated!
The Ameraucana is actually a fairly addition to your flock – each in plumage and coloured egg-laying.
Do you will have Ameraucanas? Tell us within the feedback part under…
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