Aren Araucanas the “original” breed of colored-egg chicken?
Although the APA Standard claims some Araucanas came from South America, the ABA Standard is correct in stating that Araucanas, as described in the Standards, originated in the United States. Historical evidence does not support the notion that only one type of chicken laid colored eggs in their native South America. No genetic linkage exists that would require colored-egg chickens to be tufted or rumpless. It is true the first recorded imports from Chile combined the traits of rumplessness, ear tufts, and colored eggs – but those birds resulted from a single breeder combining several strains and subsequently misrepresenting them as native fowl. An artist’s depiction of the earliest imports in a 1927 National Geographic article served to perpetuate this myth. The Ameraucana breed was formulated and standardized, primarily in the north central U.S., to provide a colored egg fowl possessing more practical and true-breeding characteristics. Ameraucanas were recognized as a separate and di
Although the APA Standard claims some Araucanas came from South America, the ABA Standard is correct in stating that Araucanas, as described in the our Standards, originated in the United States. Historical evidence does not support the notion that only one type of chicken laid colored eggs in their native South Americ a. No genetic linkage exists that would require colored-egg chickens to be tufted or rumpless. It is true the first recorded imports from Chile combined the traits of rumplessness, ear tufts, and colored eggs – but those birds resulted from a single breeder combining several strains and subsequently misrepresenting them as native fowl. An artist’s depiction of the earliest imports in a 1927 National Geographic article served to perpetuate this myth. The Ameraucana breed was formulated and standardized, primarily in the north central U.S., to provide a colored egg fowl possessing more practical and true-breeding characteristics. Ameraucanas were recognized as a separate a
Although the APA Standard claims some Araucanas came from South America, the ABA Standard is correct in stating that Araucanas, as described in the our Standards, originated in the United States. Historical evidence does not support the notion that only one type of chicken laid colored eggs in their native South America. No genetic linkage exists that would require colored-egg chickens to be tufted or rumpless. It is true the first recorded imports from Chile combined the traits of rumplessness, ear tufts, and colored eggs – but those birds resulted from a single breeder combining several strains and subsequently misrepresenting them as native fowl. An artist’s depiction of the earliest imports in a 1927 National Geographic article served to perpetuate this myth. The Ameraucana breed was formulated and standardized, primarily in the north central U.S., to provide a colored egg fowl possessing more practical and true-breeding characteristics. Ameraucanas were recognized as a separate an
