Ameraucana, Araucana & Easter-Eggers?

There are so many chicken breeds nowadays it's hard to divide one from the other. I've been receiving lots of questions and requests about the fabulous blue-egg layers that I've decided to clear things up, once and for all. Hopefully you'll learn something new and fall in love with one of these amazing breeds.

Ameraucana as seen in two left photos in a buff colour, the Araucana is on right.

I've seen so many versions of the name written, sometimes I question my own knowledge, but I've been reading about chicken breeds long enough to give you a brief overview of the types of blue-green egg layers. Starting with the Ameraucana.

Ameraucana

Americana, Amaroucana, Emerikana... no, it's Ameraucana. The standard blue-green egg layer, the breed that's rocking the backyard flocks everywhere with it's lovely disposition and beautiful eggs.
The breed originated in the USA in the 1970's when project breeders wanted a standard sized breed that layed blue-green eggs. They used Araucana and standard breeds to create the Ameraucana, that would productively produce and lay large sized eggs. They come in a wide variety of colours, and always carry the "chipmonk" cheeks and muffs, and have blue-grey skin. They have no comb, which makes them great for cold weather. This is a pure-breed, not a mix.

This is the typical colour pattern for Easter Eggers

Araucana

People always think that the Ameraucana and Araucana are the same breed. They simply are not. The Auraucana originated hundreads of years ago in Chile, and where slowly introduced to other Spanish colonies and cross-bred to eventually create the Ameraucana. The Araucana are rumpless and have feathers that stick off the cheeks like protruding ears. They are smaller in size, and lay blue-tinted eggs.

Easter-Eggers

Easter-Eggers are mixed breeds, a combination of an Ameraucana and any other breed. They often carry the characteristics of Ameraucana with the puffy cheeks and occasionally sporting muffs. The typically lay more green or tinted eggs in a variety of colours, hense "Easter-Egger". F2 birds almost always lay green eggs, where as the first cross generation lay anything from pink to green-blue eggs. The colours depend on the breeding combination, and many many crosses can be found. Like any hybrid, this breed is less prone to decease and genetic problems.

Examples of Easter-Eggers, often look very simular to Ameraucana

Olive-Eggers

Olive eggers are a new development that aims to create a breed that lays olive coloured eggs. This is done by cross breeding Ameraucana with Marans, Welsummers or Penedesenca, which are dark egg layers. This creates a bird that lays dark greeny-olive eggs. After a second generation is created the eggs are even darker and more olive toned. Breeders believe that they can now create a breed that lays even brighter green eggs with some more research and time. I am fortunate to have access to F2 Olive-Egger eggs this season.