Araucana

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Araucana
Aracuana
BDRG - standard no.
origin Discovered by the Mapuche in Chile.
year 19th century, ca.1890
Weight Hahn: 2.0 to 2.5 kg

Hen: 1.6 to 2.0 kg

Laying performance up to 180 eggs per year
Eggshell color Turquoise (greenish blue to bluish green)
Minimum weight for hatching eggs 50 grams
List of breeds of chicken

Araucana chickens (also Araucans , Araucans or Araucans ) belong to a breed of chicken whose origin has not been proven with absolute certainty, but which come from South America. They only became popular as enthusiast poultry from the 1960s. Several characteristics distinguish this breed from other chicken breeds. They have a comparatively upright posture and where the ear lobes are usually located on the head of the chicken , Araucanas have a roller-like fold of skin on which feathers grow. These so-called pompons are one of the most distinctive features of the species.

With the dwarf Araucana there is also a dwarf form which, with the exception of the size, corresponds to the trunk form and is looked after by the same special association as the Araucana.

This breed is not to be confused with Ameraucana chickens and green layers .

features

The weight of the Araucana chickens is 2–2.5 kg for the rooster and 1.6–2 kg for the hen (data for the large breed). The barrel color is willow green to light willow green or black olive (depending on the color). The animals have a good egg production and a good carcass. A dwarf form is available in eight shades of color.

Araucana chickens can have whiskers and throat whiskers. When purebred, they are tailless , i. H. They not only lack the tail feathers, but also the caudal vertebrae and the rump gland .

When purebred, they have a pea comb . "Ear tufts" are another characteristic feature: instead of the ear flaps there are wart-like, feathered skin growths, a structure in front of the ears that is unique among domestic chickens. The egg colors are blue to turquoise. Some strokes also place pink eggs, what the breed in the UK and in the United States nicknamed Easter Egg Layer (dt. Easter eggs-Leger ) was introduced.

  • Araucana cock with whiskers and goatee

  • Tailless Araucanian hen

  • Head study of a white Araucanian hen with "pompons"

  • Araucana chicks with "pompons"

  • Green araucana egg versus white and brown eggs

origin

Araucana with whiskers and rose comb

Their name is derived from the Araucanians (formerly known as the Mapuche - Indians ) from where they are first documented in 1890 as a semi-wild chickens. It is certain that this indigenous peoples who live in what is now Chile, kept chickens of this breed for several centuries. The distribution area of ​​this chicken breed at that time stretched over Chile to Brazil .

According to a report in the journal Nature , the DNA of these chickens is very similar to chickens from Polynesia , which - along with other evidence - suggests that Polynesian seafarers visited South America at least 100 years before Christopher Columbus .

Types

The animals are distributed worldwide in different types.

In Germany, 13 color variations are recognized, some of which are quite rare:

  • Wild colored
  • Blue-wild color
  • Gold necked
  • Blue-gold necked
  • Silver neck
  • black
  • Gold-wheat colored
  • Blue-wheat color
  • Black red
  • Blue red
  • White
  • Blue (with and without hem)
  • Pissed off

Importance for commercial chicken farming

Araucanas inherit their peculiarity of laying greenish to bluish eggs. The eggs have also been shown to have lower cholesterol than normal chicken eggs. This has been taken advantage of in the commercial breeding of chickens for the egg market. Hybrid forms were bred that lay green and blue eggs, respectively. Hybrid breeds, which emerged from crossing araucanas into chicken breeds that normally lay white eggs, result in blue eggs. If, on the other hand, the Araucana is crossed into breeds that lay brown eggs, hybrid forms are created that lay green eggs. Crosses with animals of the Marans breed produce olive-green to olive-brown eggs. These eggs, which differ in color, are marketed by some supermarket chains. In some countries, based on national law, it is also possible to advertise that the eggs have a lower cholesterol content. However, there is no scientific evidence that egg consumption actually affects human cholesterol levels.

Breeding Instructions

This robust and calm breed does not have any special requirements for keeping. However, the food should not be sticky or mushy, as the beards and pompons easily stick together and tempt you to peck your feathers. In order to achieve a good offspring, it is advisable to trim the feathers around the cloaca a little so that the cocks can fertilize better.

In Germany there are comparatively many breeders of this breed of chicken, which explains the large number of colors and shapes that are permitted. In the Netherlands, on the other hand, only tailless Araucanas are recognized and in Scandinavia only three colors are permitted. Breeding Araucanas, which have both pompons and are tailless and lay eggs in the egg color typical of Araucanas, is considered a challenge. In particular, the formation of pompons is not reliably inherited.

In England a distinction is made between the "Rumpless Auraucana" (dt. Tailless Araucana ) of the international type and "Araucana" with a tail and a full beard without pompons but with tufts attached to the head . The authors Verhoef and Rijs describe them as "oversized Watermaal bearded dwarfs ", a Dutch breed of bantam. And in the USA, colors without yellow pigmentation with atypical black and light runs are permitted.

literature

  • Hans-Joachim Schille: Lexicon of the chickens. Komet-Verlag, ISBN 3-89836-447-X
  • Esther Verhoef, Aad Rijs: Illustrated Chicken Encyclopedia (=  Edition Dörfler ). Nebel Verlag, Eggolsheim, ISBN 978-3-89555-424-7 , Araucana, p. 127-129 (336 pages).
  • Rüdiger Wandelt, Josef Wolters: Handbook of Chicken Breeds . the chicken breeds in the world. Verlag Wolters, Bottrop 1996, ISBN 3-9801504-5-3 , Araucana, p. 398-400 .

Web links

Commons : Araucana Chickens  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Esther Verhoef, Aad Rijs: Illustrated chicken encyclopedia . P. 127.
  2. ↑ Esther Verhoef, Aad Rijs: Illustrated chicken encyclopedia . P. 129.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g Esther Verhoef, Aad Rijs: Illustrated chicken encyclopedia . P. 128.
  4. ^ DNA reveals how the chicken crossed the sea. Nature, Vol. 447, June 7, 2007, pp. 620-621
  5. ↑ How the Chicken Came to America , Image of Science, online June 5, 2007
  6. ^ A b Rüdiger Wandelt, Josef Wolters: Handbuch der Hühnerrassen . the chicken breeds in the world. Araucana, S. 400 .