Chicken Breeds - Araucana

Beautiful friendly Chickens laying blue eggs

Araucuna Chicken
Photo by Forum Member Chookaholic

As the name flavours, this Chicken originated in Chile.

The Araucana is famous for laying blue eggs, always a good pose for when the friends come round!
They are classified by DEFRA as a rare breed bird, so keeping them could be seen as continuing the legacy to keep Breeds going.

They are known to be very friendly birds, don't seem to mind being picked up and will quite gladly sit on your lap or perch on your shoulder for a while.

Good layers, expect to get 300 eggs a year or more!

Forum Member HazelB say's..They're great birds, though smaller than most of my other large flock. Mine are mainly young so laying very well on the whole. This seriously slows with age I'm told. They are cheerful, healthy and very easy to please so long as they have room to dash about like lunatics. I'd say they'd be miserable in small spaces, though that may just be the bloodlines I have.
Only problem to report in Aras is the head feathers can hide mites, but as we have other birds who harbour mites far worse it's made no difference to my way of keeping them.
I love the khaki coloured eggs some lay, but they also come in green matt, pale green gloss and blue-ish green gloss. Sisters will produce very different egg colours - don't assume you'll get what you want colour-wise

Forum Member Willow say's..We had an araucana (beethoven) - very good at flying (well 100% better than most chickens) she was also the one who'd nip over a 5" fence every morning to peck and bellow at our neighbours back door till she came out and dug worms with/for her !!!

Forum Member Annie say's..We have a lovely lavender araucana who annouces her intention to lay an egg and if anyone else dare be in HER henhouse they had better get out pretty quick because she can't hang on much longer and she can only do it in privacy so HURRY UP . not a peep when the egg pops out though.