Araucana

Araucana
Origin	Category	Egg Colour	Sitter
Chile	Softfeather Light	Blue or Green	No

Bantam Black Male Araucana. Photograph courtesy of The Australian Araucana Breeders Group

Bantam Black Female Araucana. Photograph courtesy of The Australian Araucana Breeders Group

Araucana Eggs. Photograph courtesy of The Australian Araucana Breeders Group

Araucana Egg Colour Guide. Photograph courtesy of The Australian Araucana Breeders Group

Lavender Female Araucana. Photograph courtesy of The Australian Araucana Breeders Group

Araucana Head. Photograph courtesy of The Australian Araucana Breeders Group

Comparison of Bantam and Standard Araucana Size. Photograph courtesy of The Australian Araucana Breeders Group

Cuckoo Male Araucana. Photograph courtesy of The Australian Araucana Breeders Group

Araucana Leg Colour. Photograph courtesy of The Australian Araucana Breeders Group

Blue (Dun Breasted Blue Dun) Female Araucana. Photograph courtesy of The Australian Araucana Breeders Group

Blue (Dun Breasted Blue Dun) Male Araucana. Photograph courtesy of The Australian Araucana Breeders Group

Grey Standard Male Araucana. Photograph courtesy of The Australian Araucana Breeders Group

Rumpless Araucana. Photograph courtesy of The Australian Araucana Breeders Group

ARAUCANA

This breed was introduced into Australia in 1927.

The pioneers of the “Australian Araucana Fowl”, the late Mr Gerry Coady, and the late Mr Barney Hackney, whose dedication with selective breeding programs, (created from 7 fertile eggs), the breed we know today as the “Australian Araucana”.

The Australian Araucana is the result seven pure Araucana cock birds (colours include lavender, blue and black red) combined with selective mattings of desirable hens, to produce a fowl which as close as possible, resembled the “British Araucana fowl line.

MALE CHARACTERISTICS

CARRIAGE: Alert & active.

TYPE

Body: long and deep, free from heaviness. Firm in handling.

Back: moderately long and horizontal.

Wings: large and strong and tucked up.

Tail: well developed with full sickles carried at an angle of 45 degrees.

HEAD

Head: Moderately small. Beak strong and stout. Comb: small pea Eyes: Bold and coloured Orange. Face: covered with thick muffling, beard and ear muffs abundant. Crest: moderate size, compact, carried well back from eyes. Earlobes: red, moderately small, and concealed by muffling. Wattles: Absent.

NECK

Of medium length, abundantly furnished with hackle feathers.

LEGS & FEET

Legs: Medium length, strong and well apart. Shanks free from feathers. Toes four, straight and well spread.

Rumpless: The rumpless variety should have no parson’s nose, with the tail entirely absent and the saddle feathers flowing over the rump.

FEMALE CHARACTERISTICS

The general characteristics are similar to those of the male allowing for the natural sexual differences. Minimal pea comb.

RUMPLESS VARIETY

The rumpless Australian Araucana is similar in type excepting for its rump which is well rounded with saddle feathers flowing over the stern. The tail is entirely absent with no uropygium (parson’s nose).

COLOUR

In box sexes and all colours: Comb and face bright red. Eyes dark orange. Beak and nails horn. Legs in all colours except cuckoo, willow to olive or slate.

Plumage colour:

Lavender

Male and female: An even shade of blue-grey throughout.

Blue

Bluish-slate or blue acceptable. May be self-coloured or laced. Hackle, saddle, shoulders and tail, often a few shades darker. Hackle of hen also darker.

Splash

Male and female: White plumage with a mixture of black and or blue irregular marking randomly distributed over the plumage.

Black

Male and female: Black with green sheen.

White

Male and female: Snow-white throughout.

Cuckoo

Male and female: Light blue-grey ground colour, each feather crossed with broad bands of dark blue-grey. In the male a lighter shading is permissible. Under colour banded but of a lighter shade.

Black Breasted Light Red (wheaten- bred Black Red)

Male: Plumage: neck and saddle hackle: bright orange. Back and shoulders: bright crimson. Breast, thighs, belly and tail: black. Otherwise similar to the Partridge-bred male but much brighter in colour. Wing bars: sometimes red. A sub-variety is the Shady or streaky Breasted Light Red, which is identical to the above, with red streaking, lacing or marbling on the breast.

Female: Plumage: Wheaten: Colour resembles that of ripe wheat with clear red hackle. Tail and primaries: nearly black. Breast and underparts: a delicate cream self-colour. Colour of Wheatons varies from a very pale cream to a dark or red wheaten (the colour of red wheat) with clear orange-red hackles and dark tail feathers.

Clay:

Similar to Wheaton’s only darker in colour.

Black Breasted Red (partridge bred Black Red)

Male: Plumage: breast, thighs, belly and tail: black. Wing bars: steel blue. Secondaries: (when closed) bay. Hackle and saddle: orange-red. Shoulders: deep crimson- scarlet.

Female: Plumage: Partridge: Hackle: golden lightly striped with black. Breast: salmon to robin red. Belly and thighs: ash-grey. Back, shoulders and wings: an even partridge brown stippled with finer markings. Primaries and tail: dark

Blue Breasted Red (either Partridge-bred or Wheaten-bred)

Similar in colour with black everywhere replaced by medium blue

Black Breasted Yellow Duckwing (Golden Duckwing)

Male: plumage: neck and saddle hackles: yellow stray. Shoulders and back: deep golden. Wing bars: steel-blue. Secondaries: white when closed. Remainder: black.

Female: plumage: deeper, richer colour in breast with body and wings a deeper silvery-grey than the Silver Duckwing hen. Otherwise identical.

Black Breasted Birchen Duckwing

Male: Plumage: hackles: deep rich straw, may be lightly striped. Shoulders and back: maroon. Remainder of plumage: as for the Golden Duckwing male.

Female: plumage: a shade more heavily striped and often foxy on the shoulders.

Black Breasted Silver Duckwing

Male: Plumage: resembles the Black Breasted Red in his black markings and steel-blue wing bars. Remainder of plumage: clear silvery-white.

Female: plumage: hackle: white, lightly striped black. Body and wings: even stippled silvery-grey. Breast: pale salmon. Thighs and belly: ash-grey. Primaries and tail: nearly black.

Blue Breasted Duckwing

The Male: Plumage: ideally, this bird has either the top colour of a Black Breasted Silver Duckwing or a Black Breasted Yellow (Golden) Duckwing with black replaced everywhere by a medium shade of blue.

Female: Plumage: silver hackle striped with blue. Salmon breast shading to ashy thighs. Back and wings: blue with grey stippling. May be rosed or foxy on the wing and shoulders. Flights and tail: blue. In both sexes: Fluff: light blue.

Piles:

The pile is marked exactly like the black-red except that the black is exchanged for a clear cream-white. Secondaries bay. The female has a creamy-white with salmon breast and golden striped hackle.

Brown Reds

Brown Breasted Brown Red

Male: Plumage: breast, thighs, belly and wings: dark mahogany brown. Neck hackle and saddle: dark red to brown. Shoulders: dark red. Wing primaries and tail: black. These are also ‘crow wing’ birds without a wing bay. Female: Plumage: dark mottled brown even throughout with light shafts to the feathers.

Streaky Breasted Orange Red:

Male: plumage: body: black, Breast: streaked, laced or marked with brown or orange red colour. Saddle and neck hackle: red to orange and is often streaked with black. Shoulders: bright red. The wing primaries and tail: black.

Female: plumage: body tail and wings: black. Hackle: golden streaked with black.

Grey

Male plumage: hackle, saddle, shoulders and back: silvery, usually striped with black. Remainder of plumage: black. Female: Plumage: nearly all black or very dark grey. Silver tinsel hackle striped with black. Breast lacing and hackle stripping is required in both rooster and hen.

Other Colours

Any other Old English Game colour is acceptable for Araucana.

All varieties

In both sexes: Comb, face and ear lobes: bright red. Eyes: Orange or dark orange in all colours. Beak and nails: horn. Shanks: Slate, exception the Cuckoo: Their shanks and feet are white with blue spots.

SIZE

Weights

Fowls

Male - 2.70-3.20 kg (6-7 lb)

Female - 2.25-2.70 kg (5-6 lb)

Bantams

Male - 850-960 g (30-34 oz )

Female - 790-910 g (28-32 oz )

Araucana are available in both large (standard) size and also in bantams. The bantam is an exact miniature of the large fowl - approximately one third of the size.

DEFECTS

SERIOUS DEFECTS