We all have that little weakness when it comes to luxe. From a silky sauvignon to that tiny 24k nose-ring, we want as much luxury in life as we can get. Why? Quality. At our farm, we love quality as much as you do and our Ameraucana chickens are the luxe in our coops. These birds are stunning and while everyone can own them, most purchase cross-bred birds because the pure-bred are rare – and more expensive. Let’s take a quick look at Ameraucana chickens in this breed spotlight.

Ameraucana History

A long time ago in the Chilean wilderness, where the Araucanian natives lived, a young military man discovered birds locally called “Collonca.” They laid blue eggs, had impressive ear tufts, and had virtually no tail feathers, making them wonderfully unique. During the 1880s, the young man obtained some Collonca (and some brown-egg-laying cousins) and bred what he called “Collonca de Aretes.” From his line came the first Araucana chickens. Fast forward to the disco 1970s and out of the Araucana blue egg layers, came the colorful Ameraucana chickens. They had tails, beards and muffs, striking eyes, and the ability to lay blue eggs. The tufts were selectively bred out. At first they were bantam size and in 1984 the American Poultry Association recognized the standard size Ameraucana chicken. It soon became vastly popular.

If you want to read the full Ameraucana chicken history, you can find it HERE.

The Look We Love

Besides a fascinating history, what do we love about Ameraucana chickens? Vibrant color! Their beautiful feathering and sky blue eggs are just the start. They have stunning, expressive eyes; slate-colored legs; and with bright red pea combs and tight feathering, they thrive in Maine’s harsh winter (or any cold climate) and look picturesque playing in snow. They come in several color varieties (see great photos of colors HERE), and our choice colors at Chisel’d Creek Farm are blue, black, and splash. Of those three colors, the American Poultry Association only recognizes blue and black, and we hope they’ll add splash soon. As you can imagine, due to stricter breeding for feather color and sky-blue eggs, Ameraucana chickens tend to be more expensive than many backyard breeds. There are only a handful of recognized blue egg laying breeds out there, and then when you add hand-selected quality to the breeding program, rarity increases. If you find inexpensive Ameraucanas, chances are they’re not purebred and will likely lay a greenish egg.

Uses and Challenges With Ameraucana Chickens

While Ameraucana chickens are decent foragers, they are shy birds and most aren’t lap chickens. Their true worth is in their stunning appearance and the beautiful eggs they produce. If you can’t have a hen who lays golden eggs, it’s satisfying to have one who lays blue ones. After all, sky-colored eggs enhances the luxe of any kitchen!

Ameraucana chickens do best when they have a large yard, especially so they can do a little flying and foraging. In large flocks they tend to be nervous, and in mixed flocks they tend to be more friendly and get along well with other breeds. They do especially well in tiny flocks and grow extremely friendly with one-on-one time. When it snows, they’ll spend time looking adorable in the snow – eating it, scratching it, and loitering like it’s an art.

As with many other purebred species, there’s a notable health problem that arises when raising the Ameraucana chicken breed. Scissor-beak or cross-beak tends to show up fairly often. It’s not always apparent until the chicks start to grow, and it can interfere with their eating and drinking. We don’t breed cross-beak birds and are working toward eradicating the tendency, but it’s a known breed flaw, and depending on the cross-beak chicken’s ability to thrive and whether or not they are a detriment to the flock determines whether we keep them as layers or “companion” chickens. Our “companion” cross-beak chickens’ jobs are to provide companionship to injured or weaker flock members if the need arises. For example, we have a vision-impaired hen who has a cross-beaked companion.

At our farm we believe the flaw shouldn’t be a hassle for you, though. It’s the breeder’s job to work toward eradicating problems; after all, our goal is to produce quality birds. Send us a message if any cross-beaks show up from birds you purchased from us, and we’ll promptly help with a solution that’s best for you.

Chisel’d Creek Ameraucanas

We raise Black, Splash, and Blue Ameraucana chickens each year, and for any Mainers ready to add them to your flock or buy some as pets, you can purchase them from our farm HERE.

We also raise Faverolles and Buckeyes, spotlighted on our blog for further reading. You can visit our hatchery site to see all the cute chicks HERE.