Breed Profile: the Araucana

Araucana
Breed type: Light breed, dual purpose
Mature weight: 2.3-3.2kg
Temperament: known for being docile, hardy and good forager, broody
Egg production: 150-200 blue or green eggs

The beautiful Araucana is known around the world for its lovely feather colours and its unique eggs which have a blue and/or green shell - this is a dominant gene so even if a hen looks nothing like an Araucana, if she lays green or blue eggs, she has Araucana in her family make-up somewhere.

The Araucana is believed to have been first bred by the Arauca Indians of Northern Chile, possibably from cross-breeding with two native breeds of the region, the Collonca and the Quetro. In the US the Araucana is known for being “rumpless” – it lacks the tail feathers and the entire coccyx bone that normally results in a tail.
They are also known for being plump, meat-producing birds.

Left: an Araucana egg (left) compared with the more common shell colours of brown and white.