The Araucana is the original blue-egg breed, a Chilean bird distinctive for being rumpless (no tail) and carrying feathered ear tufts. Those tufts come from a gene that's difficult to breed — carrying two copies is lethal in the shell — so true, tufted, rumpless Araucanas are genuinely hard to produce and stay rare and pricey. They're active, hardy and alert birds that lay a moderate number of pure blue eggs. Rewarding for experienced keepers and show breeders, but the breeding challenges make them a tricky first bird.
Good with kids
Cold hardy
Heat tolerant
Broody
Egg colorBlue
Egg production150–200 / year
TemperamentDocile
BroodinessOccasional
ClimateCold hardy, Heat tolerant
PurposeEggs, Show
Weight
Large fowl (Standard size)
Hen4 lb
Rooster5 lb
Bantam (Miniature size)
Hen1.4–1.6 lb
Rooster1.6–1.9 lb
How to spot it
Comb
Pea
Earlobes
Red, behind the ear tufts
Legs & feet
Willow-green to slate legs, four toes
Look for
Feathered tufts sprouting from the sides of the face and no tail at all (rumpless) — the two marks that separate it from an Ameraucana
Ancestry
How this breed was developed. Historical records, not crosses to make today.
Pea
Easter Egger
