Ameraucana

The Ameraucana is a medium-sized fowl developed in the United States, kept chiefly for its blue-shelled eggs and its steady, good-natured disposition. The breed is easy to pick out in a run because of the feathering around the face: a beard beneath the beak and muffs over the cheeks, giving the head a full, rounded appearance.

Ameraucanas are classed as dual-purpose, though in practice most keepers raise them for eggs rather than for the table. Hens lay consistently, and the blue shell colour runs right through the shell rather than sitting as a surface bloom, so the colour shows on the inside as well as the outside. Several colour varieties are recognised within the breed.

The Ameraucana suits back garden flocks, smallholdings, and those new to keeping poultry. Birds are watchful without being skittish, and cope reasonably well whether confined to a run or allowed to free-range. They settle calmly alongside other placid breeds in a mixed flock.

Who it suits

This breed suits keepers after coloured eggs and a bird that is calm and straightforward to handle. Children and newcomers to poultry keeping generally get on well with Ameraucanas, since the birds are tolerant and rarely aggressive. Anyone wanting a high-output commercial layer or a heavy table bird would do better looking elsewhere.

The breed's ancestry lies in blue-egg-laying fowl brought to the United States from South America. Birds carrying the blue-egg gene became loosely known across North America under the label Araucana, though that stock varied a great deal in type and characteristics.

During the 1970s, American breeders set out to fix a consistent standard for a blue-egg bird free of the lethal genetic faults associated with the tufted, rumpless Araucana. Their aim was a tailed, muffed, and bearded fowl that bred true and laid blue eggs reliably.

The American Poultry Association admitted the Ameraucana to its Standard of Perfection in 1984, and the American Bantam Association recognises a bantam version of the breed as well.

The Ameraucana is a distinct breed from both the Araucana and the Easter Egger, the latter being a mixed-type bird that may lay blue, green, or other coloured eggs but has no recognised breed standard. It is the fixed standard for colour, type, and beard that sets the Ameraucana apart from these other blue-egg fowl.

The Ameraucana has a compact, well-rounded body carried in an upright stance. Its most distinctive feature is the head, which carries a beard below the beak and muffs across the ear area. The comb is a small pea comb that sits low on the head, a trait that helps the breed cope with cold weather. Wattles are small or barely present.

Legs are slate blue to black and carry no feathering, with four toes to each foot. The tail sits at a moderate upward angle. Bantam Ameraucanas follow the same type on a smaller scale.

Plumage and colours

The American Poultry Association recognises eight colour varieties: black, blue, blue wheaten, brown red, buff, silver, wheaten, and white. Plumage lies close to the body throughout. The beard and muffs need to be full enough to frame the face clearly, a point judges pay close attention to on the show bench.

Ameraucanas have a reputation for a steady, good-natured temperament. They notice changes in their surroundings readily enough, but do not show the nervousness or flightiness seen in some lighter breeds. Handled regularly, they grow tame and will tolerate being picked up.

Within a mixed flock, the breed usually settles somewhere in the middle of the pecking order rather than taking charge of it. Hens get on well with other placid breeds and with people, children included. Cockerels tend to be manageable, though temperament varies bird to bird, and any cockerel should be supervised around young children.

The breed is not a particularly noisy one. Hens give the usual calls after laying but are not constant chatterers, which helps where noise is a concern, such as in a suburban garden.

Ameraucanas are a hardy breed and need no grooming beyond ordinary flock care. The pea comb and close plumage help them cope with cold, so winter management is straightforward across most of the UK's climate.

Grooming

• Check the beard and muffs for caked food or mud, particularly around wet drinkers
• Inspect feet and legs for scaly leg mite or injury whenever birds are handled
• Provide a dry dust-bathing area so birds can keep their own feathers in order
• Watch for external parasites beneath the muffs and around the vent

Exercise

• Allow daily access to a run or supervised free-ranging
• Give birds room to forage, scratch, and dust bathe
• Aim for at least 1 square metre (roughly 10 square feet) of run per bird where space allows

Environment

The breed copes well with cold thanks to its small comb. In hot weather provide shade and a constant supply of fresh water. A predator-proof coop with good ventilation and dry bedding keeps birds in good health throughout the year.

A complete commercial poultry feed should form the bulk of the diet. Chicks need a starter feed with a higher protein content, growers move onto a grower ration, and laying hens require a layer feed with added calcium for strong shells. Fresh water must be available at all times.

Treats and supplements

Offer treats such as leafy greens, mealworms, or cracked grains sparingly, so they do not unbalance the diet. Provide crushed oyster shell free choice for laying hens to support shell strength, and offer insoluble grit if birds have access to anything beyond complete feed.

The Ameraucana is generally a robust, healthy breed, having been developed specifically to steer clear of the lethal genetics linked to the tufted Araucana. With good husbandry, birds commonly reach 7 to 8 years old. Most health problems that arise are the ordinary ones found in any back garden flock.

Preventive care

• Keep the coop dry, well ventilated, and free of droppings
• Quarantine new birds before introducing them to the flock
• Provide a year-round dust-bathing area to keep external parasites down
• Supply free-choice calcium for laying hens
• Check weight, comb colour, and feet during routine handling

A standard hen house suits the Ameraucana well. As the breed copes readily with cold, the main priorities are dry bedding, good ventilation without draughts at roosting height, and solid protection from predators. Fit roosting bars off the floor and nest boxes for the laying hens.

Setup checklist

• Predator-proof coop with secure latches and buried or skirted fencing
• Dry, absorbent bedding refreshed regularly
• Roosting bars raised clear of the floor
• Nest boxes tucked into a quiet, dim corner
• Fresh water and feeder kept out of the rain
• A shaded spot in the run for warm weather

Ameraucana eggs incubate like those of any standard chicken and hatch in about 21 days. Fertile eggs can be set beneath a broody hen or placed in an incubator. Ameraucanas are not markedly broody, so an incubator is often the more dependable route to a hatch.

Hatching steps

1. Choose clean, undamaged fertile eggs and allow them to reach room temperature
2. Set eggs in the incubator at about 37.5 C with humidity around 45 to 55%
3. Turn the eggs several times a day up to day 18
4. Candle the eggs around days 7 to 10 and remove any clear or non-developing ones
5. At day 18, stop turning and raise the humidity for lockdown
6. Leave the incubator closed while hatching takes place, and let chicks dry off before moving them to a brooder