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Araucana (breed of chickens): a description of the breed and reviews

Araucana is a breed of chickens that belongs to the decorative. The homeland of most such species is Southeast Asia: Japan, Indonesia, China, India. And most of the breeds initially had a purely practical significance - the reception of eggs or meat. Later, thanks to the allocation of a certain attribute (length, color, structure of the pen, etc.), chickens of exotic appearance appeared. They began to be classified as decorative.

Decorative rocks

There are several directions for breeding birds. In addition to the usual consumer (eggs, meat) there is also an aesthetic - decorative rocks. Araucana is a breed of chickens (photo in the text), which successfully combines both directions.

Decorative poultry farming occupies a large niche and has many followers. This is a separate branch, providing for the breeding, improvement and breeding of unusual breeds of birds, including chickens, the organization of exhibitions, conferences and forums on topical issues of decorative poultry. Breeders try to bring out decorative breeds with a meat or meat orientation to interest poultry-lovers with a rare variety, thus preserving the gene pool of the bird.

Thanks to fans of exotic birds, many species of rare, non-poultry breeds of chickens were kept from extinction. They are bred solely for aesthetic reasons, showing at exhibitions. The rarest kinds of hens with unusual pedigree signs - absence of plumage or a tail of 13 meters in length - are bred in all corners of the world.

History

The first mention of the breed dates back to 1526. But it took nearly four centuries before the Araucan chicken was removed from South America. Unusual egg color made the breed very popular and popular. It was believed that eggs with blue shells have extraordinary healing properties.

Araucana is a breed of hens of egg-decorative direction. Her native is considered South America, or rather, Chile. The name of the breed was derived from the native tribe of the same name. Birds used to be honored for their ability to carry mottled eggs, and roosters were valued for their pugnacious fighting character.

In the early twentieth century, in the European countries, an unusual species of Araucana was already known - a breed of chickens. Its description is as follows: it is a small bird with an anuran rounded body. She has broad shoulders, a long back, a broad chest, a well-marked abdomen, strong legs, small earrings and a low comb. To the features of appearance include the presence of a beard and whiskers on the head of araukana. Chickens (photos in the text) have an even more warlike appearance than cockerels.

Contents of decorative chickens

Their content is not much different. Chickens feel great and with a cellular content, and with free grazing. The harmless nature of the bird allows you to calmly keep it with other representatives of domestic animals. But it should be remembered that only breeding "clean" will preserve all its pedigree signs.

Chicken coops are equipped with all necessary: nests, at a rate of 30 cm per head, nests - one nest for 5-6 layers, feeders, waterers. Careful care, regular cleaning and disinfection will help to avoid diseases and the case of a bird.

Paddock is better to fence, from above to make a canopy. This will not only save the chickens from a bird of prey, but also provide a cool on a hot day.

For a full-fledged feeding, you need a balanced diet, taking into account the intake of necessary micro- and macroelements, vitamins, minerals, especially calcium. The presence of gravel, coarse sand, small pebbles is necessary, it will help the birds in the process of digestion.

The season can and should be introduced into the diet fresh greens, vegetables and fruits. It is very useful to maintain vitamin balance by feeding in winter time with coniferous flour.

To maintain high egg production, feed the bird at least three times a day. In the morning and in the evening it should be a grain feed, and during the lunchtime it is better to prepare wet bunches.

Decorative birds are often kept in apartments of multi-storey houses. A place for keeping a bird can be equipped on a heated balcony or loggia. Cockerel can bother neighbors, but the chickens will not bring trouble with loud morning singing, but the guttural cackling will soothingly act on the owners of the apartment.

Description of the bird

This breed can be reliably attributed to one of the most original in the world. Visually, two unusual signs of the breed are immediately striking: the absence of a tail (in chickens of German breeding) and the presence of incredible in size and fluffy ear pens.

The decorative bird has a small head, a small crest in the form of a red-orange pod. The beak is bent. Round eyes are orange or reddish brown. Well feathered side whiskers or beards, or pots (depending on the type) are well pronounced. She has a short straight, broad back and chest, a tight rounded tailless body, wings of medium size. Feet without plumage. Color: golden, white, black.

To pedigree deficiencies, excluding a bird from breeding breeding, include:

  • Developed tail;
  • Other coloring of eggs;
  • Perfect absence of feather beams or their absence on the one hand;
  • Strongly falling short back;
  • Strongly pronounced beard and cuff;
  • Angularity and awkwardness;
  • Sharp and narrow body;
  • A fallen scallop near the cock.

For all its decorative qualities, the breed has perfectly proved itself as an egg. Receiving eggs of excellent quality, decent weight and in large quantities makes this breed not only attractive in terms of decorative, but also practical and economical.

So, araukana, the description of the breed:

  • Egg production - 180 pieces;
  • The weight of the egg is 57 grams;
  • The color of the egg is green, turquoise, blue;
  • The size of the ring chicken / cock is 15/16 mm;
  • Features - ears, lack of coccyx;
  • Weight of chicken - up to 2 kg;
  • The weight of the cock is 2.5 kg;
  • Number of fingers - 4;
  • Incubation - absent;
  • Temperament - calm (in cocks can be aggressive);
  • Height of flight - up to 1.5 meters;
  • Color of plumage - diverse;
  • Productivity is egg-decorative.

Currently, there are several species of Araucan. In America, widespread distribution of americoucans, in England, popular tailed araucans with a small crest on their head. In Germany, preference is given to tailless breeds with well-defined ear pens.

The species unites one property - all chickens carry colored eggs. They can be green, blue, turquoise with different shades and the degree of saturation of the color scale.

Coloring

There are several recognized breeds of bird feathering colors. The most common colors are:

  • "Wild ". In cocks, the head, neck, and saddle are red-brown with a well-marked black stripe along the stem of the feather. Back and shoulders of a dark red-brown hue. The wing feathers, belly, chest, shin are black. Araucan chickens (photo in the text) "wild" color slightly different from cocks. The chicken has a neck and a golden-brown head, a yellowish-pink chest, a black-gray abdomen. Back, sides, brown saddle with dotted black interspersing and dark border. Eyes red or orange.
  • Golden-tanned . Golden-brown head, dark golden feathers of the saddle and neck at the cock. Shoulders and back have a golden-red hue. The abdomen, covering the feathers of the wings, the chest and the shin are black. Plumage of the neck and head of a chicken is golden, along the stem of a feather with a black strip. Back, sides, saddle, wings - golden brown with black dots. Chest of yellowish pink color.
  • Golden-wheat. The color and pattern resemble the color of a golden-eyed or wild, but the black streak along the stem of the feather is absent, a light pattern is allowed on the cervical feathers. The chicken on the head and neck is reddish-brown in color. For the core of the pen, a matt black strip is acceptable. Saddle, back, sides, wings of wheaten color. Shins, stomach and chest - light brown.
  • Serebristosheyaya . Rooster: plumage of the neck, head, saddle - silver-white color, along the stem of the feather a black strip. Shoulders and back are silvery-white. Wing feathers of a wing, a stomach, a shin, a breast - black. The chicken has plumage of the head and neck, as in the cock. Back, saddle, sides, wings - silvery-gray with black dots, a small silver fringe is allowed. The lower leg and stomach are gray, the chest is yellowish pink.
  • The blue one . Birds have a shade of blue , darker or lighter. The cock has a much darker shade of the saddle, neck, head, shoulders.
  • Blue-red . It reminiscent of the color black and red, but the black color replaces - blue.
  • Blue-golden-brown. The basis of color, like that of the golden-colored, is only black, instead of blue.
  • Blue-wheat. Like golden-wheat, but with a blue color instead of black.
  • Blue and wild. It reminds of the "wild" coloring, but without black color, it is replaced by blue.
  • Cuckoo, or striped. Each pen has an original coloration in the form of a multiple alternation of bands with a slight bend in black and bluish-gray. In cocks they are about the same width, in chickens the black strips are slightly wider. Pallas are yellow, orange eyes.
  • Black . Birds have black plumage with green shine. Araucana is a breed of chickens (pictured in the text on the right) with bright red or brownish-red eyes.
  • Black and red. Predominant deep black with a greenish tint. The rooster's neck, head and saddle are full of golden-red color, with a bright black stripe along the stem of the feather. Shoulders are brownish-red. The back is black, brown-red inclusions are permissible. The main color of the chicken is also black with a green tint. Head and neck are brownish-red. Eyes red or brownish-red.
  • Creamy white. It is allowed in the plumage of the neck a little yellow color (in the cock). The palate can be a greenish-yellow hue, the eyes are orange.

Types

It is accepted to divide chickens into three types. This applies to European standards that recognize only tailless Araucans:

  • With a beard and tanks (without feather beams);
  • With feather beams and a beard;
  • With feather bunches on the sides of the head (equal in size and symmetrically located).

Despite the variety of types, all representatives have similarities in the structure of the body, the color of the tail, the color of the eyes and other signs.

Araucana breed became the basis for the breeding of dwarf araucan. It was bred in the USA, the standard was approved in 1984. The description recalls Araucana, but smaller. Rare breed, carrying small, up to 50 grams, turquoise eggs. But egg production is high - 180 pieces per year. Weight of the cock is up to 2 kg, chickens up to 1.8 kg.

Amateurs are happy to breed unusual "bearded gnomes", possessing all the signs of ordinary Araucan. And small eggs are in great demand for Easter holidays, they are bought especially for children.

Features of the breed

Eggs (Araucana - a fairly egg-bearing breed) of greenish-blue color is the main feature of chickens. The next distinctive feature of the breed is the lack of a tail (they do not have a caudal vertebra). And, finally, feather head decoration in the form of a beard and mustache in various variations.

Celestial Eggs

Chickens of Araucana breed carry eggs of blue color - "heavenly". There was a hypothesis that the coloring of the shell is an inheritance from wild pheasants, distant ancestors of Araucanus. But scientific confirmation of this was not found.

Modern studies have shown that this coloration of the shell is due to the presence in the genital tract of biliverdin (Biliverdin) chicken, a special natural pigment. It, in turn, is formed in the bile and is a product of the splitting of red hemoglobin.

Araucana is a breed of chickens (photo of eggs on the left in the text), which when crossed with a bird carrying brown eggs, gives offspring, capable of carrying eggs with a shell of olive-green hue. When crossing with ordinary chickens, the crossbreeds begin to carry eggs with a light bluish tinge. In the second hybrid generation they acquire the usual white color.

Benefits

Araucana is a breed of chickens, which stands out by a number of unconditional advantages:

  • Excellent acclimatization;
  • Quietly gets used to different temperatures;
  • Excellent health;
  • Unpretentiousness to the conditions of detention;
  • Chickens early ripen and begin to sweep,
  • High egg production (up to 160 eggs per year);
  • Quiet character, allows you to get on with other animals;
  • Steady consumer demand for exotic eggs;
  • A combination of exoticity of the plate and its productivity.

disadvantages

Along with the attractiveness of the breed, there are also its difficulties:

  • First, there are problems with fertilization. The absence of a tail affects the process of fertilization. In order to provide the cock with physical contact with the female, the individuals cut feathers and down in the area of the cloaca. True, this will not save you from high embryonic mortality. Araucana chicken does not show any desire to hatch eggs.
  • Secondly, the pugnaciousness of males. In character, they are more reminiscent of the fighting breed, this must be taken into account when keeping a large number of birds.
  • Third, the rarity of the bird. Araucana - a breed of chickens, happy expensive to purchase. And there are unscrupulous sellers trying to implement a hybrid bird. Outwardly it can resemble araucan, but it is impossible to get turquoise eggs from it.
  • Fourthly, one must have very much patience and a sixth sense of the breeder to get the desired result by external signs. Parents with the most beautiful and symmetrical tanks can give offspring in general without tanks.

Today, many chicken farms have these chickens. Araucana (reviews of enthusiastic owners confirm this fact) are perfectly behaving and feel in the farm, perfectly carried and, in addition, is a magnificent decoration of the yard.

The demand for eggs of unusual color (in the people they were called "Easter") is only growing. In America and Europe, think about the establishment of farms for breeding birds of the Araucan breed. The breed of chickens is very promising in terms of industrial production of blue-colored eggs.

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