Why everything you’ve heard is wrong: Ameraucanas, Easter Eggers, and Arauacanas
A Show-quality Araucana hen, with ear tufts and rumplessness (i.e., no tail)
Have you ever showed a photo of your Ameraucana chicken on a forum or in a chicken group? Maybe you had a question you needed answered, or maybe you just wanted to share a sweet or funny story about your beloved hen.
Only, instead of getting your question answered or your beloved hen’s story acknowledged, you get some snide comments about how she’s not an Ameraucana—she’s an Easter Egger.
Sometimes they say it passive aggressively, “Where’s your Ameraucana? I’m only seeing an Easter Egger here.”
Sometimes they’re more direct, “That’s not a real Ameraucana. That’s only an Easter Egger, a mongrel chicken.” Yes, they actually use the word “mongrel.”
Sometimes, you can almost hear them spitting as they say it: an Easter *ptui* Egger.
And sometimes they like to throw a little jab in at you too while they’re at it, “You bought that thing at a hatchery. Didn’t you?” You imagine they must have gagged a little when they said “hatchery.”
And then they proceed to “educate” you about what makes a real Ameraucana or Araucana, and why your bird is “less than.”
And, of course, you didn’t ask for this “education,” and it really doesn’t matter what breed or non-breed your chickens are. You just wanted to talk about your chickens, and you had no idea what you were getting yourself into.
But here’s the kicker. Most of what these people say to you is totally wrong. Really. You’ll be amazed at the number of misconceptions floating around out there about what makes an Easter Egger an Easter Egger, an Ameraucana an Ameraucana, and an Araucana an Araucana.
You’ll usually hear how Araucanas must be tufted and rumpless. Wrong. Ameraucanas must have muffs and beards. Wrong. And Easter Eggers are simply mutts that came from taking a purebred Araucana or Ameraucana and mixing it with other chickens. Wrong. (Okay, in fairness, that last claim can be true in some instances, but it’s only one part of the Easter Egger story).
You are also told that Araucanas and Ameraucanas “breed true” and Easter Eggers don’t. By “breed true,” people mean that the offspring have the same traits as the parents. This seems so straightforward—the chickens either breed true or they don’t, right? But this gets really messy.
By some definitions—bad definitions, in my opinion—Araucanas and Ameraucanas don’t breed true. This is the case if you are going to claim that Araucanas must have tufts and be rumpless, for example. These traits don’t typically “breed true.”
And some Easter Egger strains do actually “breed true.” We’ll dive more into this later.
The definition of an Easter Egger
Before I pick apart the usual story you hear about blue-egg-laying chickens, let me just quickly define for you what an Easter Egger chicken is. “Easter Egger” is a broad term that is used for any chicken that has a blue-egg-laying heritage, but that doesn’t qualify as an Ameraucana or Araucana. An individual Easter Egger may or may not actually lay blue eggs herself, but she does have some genes from birds with a blue-egg-laying heritage.
Alright, let’s set the record straight on all the blue-egg-laying breeds (or non-breeds). First, let’s look at the numerous myths being spread on chicken forums, Facebook groups, and blogs.
This beautiful chicken could be an Ameraucana or an Easter Egger.
The Top 12 myths about Araucanas, Ameraucanas, and Easter Eggers
Myth #1: Araucanas are the original blue-egg layer.
Myth #2: Araucanas are an old, native Chilean bird.
Myth #3: Araucanas must be rumpless (i.e., have no tails).
Myth #4: Araucanas must have ear tufts.
Myth #5: Ameraucanas were bred from Araucanas because breeders wanted to eliminate the semi-lethal ear tuft gene.
Myth #6: Ameraucanas must have muffs.
Myth #7: Ameraucanas must have beards.
Myth #8: Easter Eggers have all been bred from Araucanas and Ameraucanas.
Myth #9: Hatcheries are lying when they label Easter Egger chicks as “Araucanas,” “Ameraucanas,” or “Americanas”.
Myth #10: By definition, Easter Eggers don’t breed true.
Myth #11: All Ameraucanas sold at hatcheries are actually Easter Eggers. (You can only get “true” Ameraucanas from breeders).
Myth #12: All Ameraucanas are expensive. If the chickens you’re buying aren’t at least $20 a piece, then they’re Easter Eggers, regardless of their label.
Alright, let’s tear these myths down!
Blue-egg layers: Where the heck did they come from anyway?
To disentangle all these misconceptions about blue-egg-laying birds, we have to start in Chile. This is where blue-egg-laying birds come from… except that might not be quite true either.
Some scholars have argued that blue-egg-laying birds actually originated in Asia and were carried to South America, long before Christopher Columbus ever arrived. Now, that’s a tall claim and a controversial one. If true, it changes history as we know it. Scholars are still debating on the theory’s merit.
So, let’s jump to where scholars do agree. Scholars agree that blue-egg-laying birds were kept by the Mapuche natives of Chile (also called the Araucanian natives by the Spanish). Specifically, the Collonca breed of chickens laid blue-eggs. According to the sources, these chickens were small, single-combed, and rumpless.
These Colloncas are the original blue-egg-laying breed (or at least the earliest we know of).
How did the Araucana chicken originate?
Okay, here’s where it gets interesting. The word “Araucana” was originally used in America as a catch-all term for blue-egg-laying chickens. So, the Araucana breed as we know it today was called “Araucana.” The Ameraucana breed as we know it today was called “Araucana.” And the Easter Egger chickens we know today were called “Araucana.”
The term “Araucana” was used this way until the American Poultry Association (APA) standardized the breed in 1976. So, the APA effectively changed the definition of what an Aracuana was. This is where a lot of confusion comes in about these breeds.
And this is one reason hatcheries label Easter Eggers as “Araucanas/Ameraucanas.” They are using an older definition for blue-egg-laying breeds. Many of these hatcheries were around long before the APA standardized the breeds and changed the definition of “Araucana.”
The modern Araucana breed (defined by the APA)
Today, the APA defines the Araucana breed as being rumpless and tufted (among other things). Where did this Araucana breed come from?
The first chickens we know of that had both the rumpless and tufted traits are the Collonca de Arêtes, which date back to the early 1900s. This flock of chickens was selectively bred by Dr. Reuben Bustos in Chile. He bred the blue-egg-laying, rumpless Collonca chickens to another native chicken type, the ear-tufted Quetro chickens.
The Collonca de Arêtes are the first chickens that were likely to meet the modern APA standard for the Araucana breed.
And here’s where some of today’s confusion comes in. In 1921, a poultry expert, Professor Salvador Castello, published a paper on Dr. Bustos’s chickens that mistakenly asserted that the Collonca de Arêtes chickens were an old, native Chilean fowl, rather than a newly developed, artificially selected single flock of chickens.
So, for decades (and even up to the present day), chicken keepers have believed that the rumpless chicken with ear tufts was a native Chilean breed with ancient roots. Not so—it’s a 20th century concoction developed by a scientist breeder.
The first Araucana/Ameraucana/Easter Eggers in the United States
The first blue-egg-laying birds were imported into the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. Although the very earliest imports were likely of the rumpless and tufted variety, these were a very small number of chickens that are believed to have died out. The vast majority of the blue-egg layers that were imported into the United States were mixtures of many different breeds.
The original line of rumpless and tufted chickens (the Collonca de Arêtes chickens) died out. Dr. Bustos did not maintain his original flock, and so that line ended. Additionally, the Mapuche natives who kept the original Quetro and Collonca breeds (i.e., the parent stock to the first rumpless and tufted chickens) had disbanded. And these native breeds were subsequently mixed with several other breeds of chickens.
It was these mixed-breed chickens that were transported to the U.S. as blue-egg layers. Thus, the original blue-egg layers imported into the United States were what we would now call Easter Eggers.
Some of these Easter Eggers were rumpless. Some tufted. Some had muffs and a beard. Some were totally clean-faced (i.e., no tufts, muffs, or beards). They came in all different varieties because they all had such varied heritages. All of these Easter Eggers were called “Araucanas.”
For much of the 20th century, breeders and hatcheries developed these blue-egg-laying birds in many different directions. Some were bred to have muffs and beards (some of which were the precursors to modern Ameraucanas). Some were bred for egg production and egg color (some of which were the precursors to the hatchery Ameraucanas/Araucanas or Easter Eggers).
And some were bred for ear tufts and rumplessness (some of which were the precursors to modern Araucanas). But, as the Araucana Club of America puts it, “these birds were fairly pathetic mixes of a number of breeds and much effort was required for improvement.”
Their words, not mine. I would never refer to mixed-breed chickens as “pathetic.” They are anything but. However, this does go to show you that the modern Araucana and Ameraucana breeds are 20th-century developments from numerous and unknown breeds of chickens.
The APA shuns Ameraucana chickens and breeders
Before the APA standardized the Araucana breed in 1976, breeders across America were developing their blue-egg-laying chickens in very different directions from each other. Although these birds looked very different between breeders, all of these breeders called their birds “Araucanas.”
And, as Richard Orr from the Ameraucana Breeders Club so bluntly states about these breeders, “each sought adoption of their own version of a Standard for an ‘Araucana’ breed.”
He continues, “This proved to be very contentious, and set the stage for much misunderstanding and ill-feelings, which unfortunately is continuing today in some areas.”
When the APA decided in 1976 to standardize only the rumpless, tufted variety of Araucana as “Araucana,” the many breeders who did not breed this variety were incredibly upset. Afterall, muffed and bearded varieties (called Ameraucanas and Easter Eggers today), for example, had been shown in exhibitions for decades as “Araucanas.” Now they were being excluded.
And in other countries today, including England, some muffed and bearded varieties are still considered Araucana. Only in America, were these chickens excluded wholesale.
Long story short, many of the excluded breeders of muffed and bearded chickens fought long and hard to get their birds standardized by the APA. And, after almost a decade of struggle, they finally succeeded in 1984. The APA, however, would not accept the chickens as Araucanas and only admitted them with a new breed name, Ameraucanas.
And what about all the other varieties of blue-egg-laying birds that breeders had so painstakingly developed? Or what about the chickens, for example, that had all the characteristics of Ameraucanas, except they’d been bred in a color that wasn’t recognized by the APA?
“…a breed is NOT a BREED until the APA or ABA say it’s a ‘BREED.’”
Well, they don’t count. Today, we’d call all these chickens Easter Eggers, despite the fact they “breed true.” Today, we’d give them a status of “less than.” They can’t be shown at poultry exhibitions. They’re likely to be less expensive, no matter what their quality. And they’re called Easter *ptui* Eggers. They might as well be hatchery *gag* chicks. Your friends in the chicken forums would say they’re not real. They’re mongrels.
These carefully bred chickens are denied the designation of being considered breeds, just as the Ameraucana chickens once were.
How to Tell Araucanas from Ameraucanas from Easter Eggers (good luck)
Must Araucanas be tufted and rumpless?
So now you know the history of these blue-egg-laying chickens, and the somewhat arbitrary nature of deciding which birds get to be a breed and which don’t.
But what about the breed characteristics? Araucanas have to be tufted and rumpless, right? Ameraucanas have to be muffed and bearded, right? Doesn’t the APA say so?
Well, sure, but let’s look at this for a minute.
The genes for rumplessness and tuftedness, for example, are both autosomal dominant. Remember the old Punnett Squares from your school days?
Each parent gives one copy of the gene to their offspring. The copy is either dominant or recessive. If the offspring gets two dominant copies or one dominant copy and one recessive, they will show the dominant trait. If the offspring gets two recessive copies of the gene, then they will show the recessive trait.
So, for example, let’s look at the genes that cause (or don’t cause) tufts in Araucana chickens. In this case, tufts are dominant over no tufts. So, let’s say that the mama hen has one dominant tuft gene (which we’ll represent with a capital “T”) and one recessive copy (which we’ll represent with a lower case “t”). And let’s say the papa rooster has the same.
From the Punnett Square, we can see that 75% of the offspring will have genes for ear tufts (the TT and Tt combinations), whereas 25% of the offspring will not have genes for ear tufts (the tt combination).
So, if we looked at this simply, that would mean that 25% of the offspring would not have ear tufts. Does this mean they are not Araucanas? Does this mean that they are Easter Eggers? Or does this mean that they are simply Araucanas without ear tufts?
And actually, this particular ear tuft example is even more complicated for two reasons. For one, the ear tuft gene is semi-lethal, so in the example above, the 25% of chicks with the TT combination would be dead. (Well, very rarely, one may survive—these are called ‘escapers’ and are extremely rare.)
And the 50% of chicks that have the Tt combination? Well, some of them would be dead too. You’ll read that the Tt combination is safe, but this is yet another myth about Araucanas. Researchers from the University of Connecticut published a paper in the Journal of Heredity showing that many chicks with the Tt combination also die.
And then there’s the second complication. Ear tuft genes aren’t straightforward genes—many chicks with the Tt combination aren’t actually born with ear tufts. And many are born with really weird ear tufts that would make the breed snobs faint—some tufts come out of their necks, instead of their heads, for example.
You can see an example of an ear tuft growing out of an Araucana’s neck in the video below. This particular type is called ‘triple-tufted’ as the bird also has ear tufts growing from his head.
For more examples of ear-tufts-gone-wrong, check out my article, Araucana Chickens: The Wacky Blue-Egg Layers.
But what it comes down to is this: In reality, significantly more than 25% of living Araucana chicks will not have ear tufts. (And many more will have really crazy-looking ear tufts, some of which aren’t anywhere near their ears.)
So, I ask you again, are these non-tufted chicks Araucanas or not?
The same is true of the rumplessness gene. Many Araucana chicks are actually born with tails. These chicks may have come from rumpless Araucana parents and they may hatch rumpless Araucana offspring. Are they not Araucanas themselves?
If they aren’t Araucanas, then Araucanas don’t breed true. If they are Araucanas, then Araucanas can have tails.
You can’t have it both ways.
The APA may get to arbitrarily decide which chickens get to be called a breed and which don’t, but these definitions come up short against science.
Must Ameraucanas be muffed and bearded?
The same genetic arguments made above also apply to the muffs and beards of Ameraucana chickens. Many muffed and bearded Ameraucana chickens carry genes for “clean faces.” “Clean-faced” is the term used for a lack of muffs and beards.
And some Ameraucanas may have genes for muffs and beards, but one or the other of these traits (or both) may fail to appear anyway. Are these clean-faced birds not Ameraucanas? Are they Easter Eggers?
And, every once in a while, an Ameraucana chicken may be born with ear tufts. Is this truly an Ameraucana then?
These alternate varieties must be Ameraucanas or otherwise Ameraucanas don’t breed true. Take your pick.
“True” Ameraucanas, Araucanas, and Easter Eggers: Why people get it wrong
To me, the chicks described above that don’t have the standardized breed traits are obviously still Araucanas or Ameraucanas. The definitions that people are using for these breeds are just too rigid. They don’t make sense. They aren’t based on science.
Why are the definitions this way then? Simple. The APA needs to have strict criteria for chickens that qualify as show birds. Otherwise, poultry judging would be totally arbitrary. The definitions are called Standards of Perfection—they represent the APA’s ideas of the perfect bird. They are ideals that show-bird breeders are meant to strive for in their breeding programs.
That’s why these definitions are so limited. And that’s exactly how these definitions should be viewed—limited.
A show-quality Araucana needs to be rumpless and tufted. That doesn’t mean that all Araucanas are rumpless and tufted.
A show-quality Ameraucana needs to be bearded and muffed. That doesn’t mean that all Ameraucanas are bearded and muffed.
And some Easter Egger strains are, for all intents and purposes, breeds. They are not APA breeds. They can never be shown at poultry exhibitions. But they are, nevertheless, by more scientific standards, breeds. They have been bred for specific qualities over numerous generations—perhaps blue eggs, high egg production, and certain appearances—and they “breed true.”
And some Easter Egger strains aren’t breeds, but that does not make them “less than.” Many of these birds actually have what’s called “hybrid vigor.” Because these hybrid birds have parents from two different breeds (with very different genetics), they end up healthier and more productive than both their parent breeds.
So, instead of saying “Easter Eggers” with disdain, say it with pride! No way are these birds “less than.”
Hatchery Ameraucanas and Araucanas
I have not found any hatcheries that sell APA-recognized Araucanas. I suspect this is because they are so difficult to breed, considering large numbers of the chicks always die (for more information, see my section above on the semi-lethal ear tuft genes).
Some hatcheries, however, do sell Ameraucanas. Some even sell APA-recognized Ameraucanas—Meyer Hatchery, for one example.
And many hatcheries sell Ameraucanas that would not succeed as show birds. For example, maybe they have muffs and beards, but they aren’t the right color. Or their bodies aren’t shaped the right way. Or the combs look a little off. The list goes on and on.
The breed snobs would say these aren’t “real” Ameraucanas, but I think I’ve shown here how arbitrary that is. It’s much more accurate to say they aren’t show-quality Ameraucanas.
Or call them Easter Eggers if you want. That works too. Again, it’s all pretty arbitrary.
Show-quality Ameraucanas are typically more expensive than non-show quality Ameraucanas, but just because you bought your Ameraucana for $3 rather than $30, doesn’t mean she’s not an Ameraucana. This is just another claim from the breed snobs to try to make your birds seem inferior to theirs.
The truth is this: show-quality birds of any breed tend to be higher priced. And chickens that come from breeders tend to be higher priced than chickens that come from hatcheries, no matter what the breed.
One more thing—if you see a hatchery selling chicks labeled as “Araucanas/Ameraucanas,” or as “Americanas” or “Americaunas” (note the alternate spellings), these are very likely not show-quality birds. They could be Ameraucanas or they could be Easter Eggers. And if they’re Easter Eggers, they could be hybrids or they could be a strain that “breeds true.”
The Top 12 truths about Araucanas, Ameraucanas, and Easter Eggers
So, let’s sum up and bust all those myths that are spread all over the internet (and beyond). I’ve listed the myths above. Now, here are the truths below.
Truth #1: The Collonca chickens are the earliest known blue-egg layers.
Truth #2: The modern-day Araucana chicken was bred from mixed-heritage, blue-egg-laying birds (essentially Easter Eggers).
Truth #3: Show-quality Araucanas are rumpless, but many Araucanas do have tails.
Truth #4: Show-quality Araucanas have ear tufts, but many Araucanas don’t.
Truth #5: The modern-day Araucana and Ameraucana breeds were developed simultaneously. One was not developed from the other.
Truth #6: Show-quality Ameraucanas must have muffs, but many Ameraucanas don’t.
Truth #7: Show-quality Ameraucanas must have beards, but many Ameraucanas don’t.
Truth #8: Some Easter Eggers have been bred from modern-day Araucanas and Ameraucanas, but Easter Eggers were also the parent stock for modern-day Araucanas and Ameraucanas.
Truth #9: Hatcheries that label Easter Egger chicks as “Ameraucanas/Araucanas” aren’t using APA definitions, but that doesn’t mean they’re lying. For most of the 20th century, all blue-egg-laying birds were called Araucanas. Many hatchery strains of what we now call Easter Eggers may have even been developed simultaneously with modern Araucanas and Ameraucanas, all from the original Easter Egger imports.
Let me just say again that I am using the term “Easter Eggers” for chickens who have blue-egg-laying genes somewhere in their heritage, but that don’t qualify as Ameraucanas or Araucanas. They may or may not actually lay blue eggs, but they do have some of that heritage.
So, the original mixed-heritage chickens that were imported to the U.S. from South America were not called Easter Eggers at the time of import—the term had not been coined. They actually were all called Araucanas. But, by modern definitions, they were Easter Eggers. A bit confusing, I know.
“As should be clear by now, all the arguments about what was the ‘original’ Araucana were just so much nonsense and misunderstanding, and continues much so today, as there never was any such ‘pure’ breed.”
Truth #10: Some strains of Easter Eggers breed true and some don’t.
Truth #11: Some hatcheries, not just breeders, sell Ameraucanas.
Truth #12: Although show-quality Ameraucanas, like show-quality birds of every breed, do tend to be higher-priced, Ameraucanas don’t have to be expensive.
So, there you have it. Araucanas vs. Ameraucanas vs. Easter Eggers—all laid out. But how do you tell them apart? Well, if they’re not show-quality birds that meet APA standards, it can be damn near impossible.
It’s an Araucauna… No, it’s an Ameraucana… No, it’s an Easter Egger… No, it’s a…. nobody knows.
The truth about these chickens is not as straight-forward as everyone wants to claim. And really, for backyard chicken keepers, it just doesn’t matter. If you’re not showing your chickens at exhibitions, who cares if your birds meet an arbitrary standard set by the APA?
You may have bought your chickens from an expensive breeder. You may have bought them from a hatchery. You may have bought them from your next-door neighbor. Maybe you found them on the side of the road (as I found one of my Ameraucana roosters).
Your chickens may have tufts, rumps, muffs, beards, or none of the above. None of these chickens are “less than.”
So, let’s end the Easter Egger shaming once and for all. Let’s just love our chickens for who they really are—individuals.
And the next time someone wants to share a funny story about her quirky Ameraucana hen—which you’re not so sure meets the arbitrarily standardized APA qualifications for the Ameraucana breed—just let it go.
Save your lecture. Save your spit. Save your gag. Enjoy the story, or move on.
And be grateful for all those Easter Egger chickens from long ago—all those mutts, mongrels, and bastards. Be grateful they were transported to America in the first place. If not for those misfits, your APA-standardized Ameraucana chickens wouldn’t be here today... And neither would my hatchery Ameraucanas—or are they Easter Eggers? What’s the difference again?
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Sources
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Bassom, Frances. Mini Encyclopedia: Chicken Breeds and Care. Dorking: Interpet Publishing, 2011.
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Damerow, Gail. Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens. North Adams: Storey Publishing, 2017.
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Somes, Ralph and Pabilonia, Mary. “Ear tuftedness: a lethal condition in Araucana fowl.” Journal of Heredity, v. 72, 1981, p. 121-124.
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