We love the Ameraucanas’ affectionate personalities, fluffy cheeks, and beards. Its worth noting that the Lavenders lay a slightly greener tint than our Blue, Black, Splash Ameraucanas. Our Araucanas and Legbars also lay blue eggs. The downside is that they have a very small pea comb which makes them just about impossible to sex until two to three months. If you want blue eggs, but don’t want to chance having to rehome a rooster, we would recommend the Pearl or Cream Legbar. Otherwise, go with the Ameraucana.

Ameraucana vs Easter Egger:

A true Ameraucana is actually quite rare due to the common confusion between Ameraucanas, Araucanas and Easter Eggers. True Ameraucanas will always have a pea comb, lay blue eggs, and come in recognized color varieties. Easter Eggers are a mix of breeds (The Ameraucana Club of America calls them mongrels but we won’t go that far ) with at least one parent that carries the blue egg gene, but could lay a brownish, blue-ish or greenish egg. A couple ways to tell if someone is offering you an Easter Egger not an Ameraucana is any color eggs possibility listed besides blue and if they are offered in non-standard colors. A mixed breed will likely not be available in standard colors for the Americauna. Easter Eggers can be great chickens, but if you want to be sure you are getting a rich blue egg gene and only the blue egg gene go with a real Ameraucana. This is especially important when selecting a rooster, because you can’t see the eggs to ensure that your chicken carries only the blue egg gene.

Breed History:

The Ameraucana is a relatively new breed, accepted into the APA in 1984 and created in the 1970’s as a variant of the Araucana to eliminate a genetic problem related to facial tufting but retain the blue egg. An Araucana can have facial tufts, or feathery protuberances on each cheek. This is much different than the fluffy muffs of an Ameraucana. If a chick receives two copies of the tufting gene, roughly 50% of the chicks will die in the shell. While the tufts are quite remarkable in appearance, this chick mortality issue is what breeders set out to solve in the creation of the Ameraucana. 

You can’t fully understand the Ameraucana without understanding its predecessor the Araucana and we would recommend reading that HERE. The Ameraucanas’ blue egg comes from the Araucana, the original rumpless, sometimes tufted, blue egg-laying breed.  At some point in its history it contracted a harmless retrovirus that changed its genes, causing a pigment from the liver (biliverdin) to be deposited into the eggshell giving it the blue color we so love. It is so interesting how the genetics of egg colors in chickens work. The blue color permeates the shell so a blue egg is blue both inside and out (you will have to scratch off the membrane on the inside to see the blue). On the other hand, a brown egg results from a pigment that is painted on the outside of a white egg. Both the blue and brown egg genes are dominant so if a chick inherits copies of both, It will have a blue egg base with a brown paint on top, resulting in a green egg.

Stats:

Eggs- Blue/Green. Roughly 180 – 200 eggs per year

Dual Purpose- Yes. Males average 6.5lb and females 5.5lb

Standard of Perfection:

We offer pure lines but select primarily on egg color, vigor and temperament. If you are a breeder looking for specific SOP traits please contact us to ensure our stock will be the right fit for your breeding goals.

Our Deathlayer hens are some of the friendliest we have, and we have not noticed any aggressive tendencies in the males. A recent count of registered birds totaled about 1,500 birds, so if you are looking for a rare stately regal bird with an elegant posture that will add a dignified old world charm to your coop, these are for you.

 Breed History:

The Deathlayer originated in Westphalia Germany in the 18th century. Rural populations noted a line of poultry that was remarkably productive for the time, and began calling them “Everyday Layers” or permanent layers. The High German term permanent layer then morphed into “Daudtleijer” influenced by Low German. The colloquial Low German name was then translated into High German as the dead man. Literature referencing this name is interpreted to mean a chicken that lays to its death. Sadly, they were almost entirely abandoned in favor of commercial breeds and almost went extinct in the 1980s. This breed was originally prized for its excellent production, foraging instincts, and ability to tolerate the foreboding climate of the Ravensberg foothills about 90 miles from the Swiss Alps. As a product of this environment, the Deathlayer developed compact cushion combs to help prevent frostbite, and taught, neatly-organized plumage to keep out the drafts; all of this coalescing to form a beautiful, dignified bird.

Stats:

Eggs- White. Roughly 200-250 eggs per year

Dual Purpose- No. Males average 5.5lb and females 4lb

Standard of Perfection:

We offer pure lines but select primarily on egg color, vigor and temperament. If you are a breeder looking for specific SOP traits please contact us to ensure our stock will be the right fit for your breeding goals.

The Pearl Legbar is essentially the same bird as the Crested Cream Legbar except in a lavender color. This is the breed for you if you only want females, blue to green eggs, and an excellent layer (~230 eggs per year). Pearl Legbars are one of a few breeds that are autosexing. This means that the male and female chicks are visibly different at hatch. Its worth knowing that a small number of hens may lay a tan egg.

 Breed History:

The lavender color of the Pearl Legbar is unique, and differs from the typical blue poultry color. This color will breed true and is caused by the action of a dilutive autosomal recessive gene which reduces the expression of eumelanin and phaeomelanin so that black areas of the plumage appear silver instead, and red areas appear as golden highlights. Conversely, the standard blue color does not breed true, and results in combinations of blue, black, and splash in subsequent generations. These self blue legbars were created by Candace Waldon. They were created by taking a Crested Cream Legbar and crossing it with a similar breed containing the lavender gene, the Isabel Leghorn. Over many generations of selecting for blue eggs, crests, and auto-sexing traits, the lavender genes were isolated resulting in the lavender colored Legbar we so adore.

The predecessor to the Pearl Legbar, the Crested Cream Legbar, is a testament to the depth of possibilities buried within the gallus domesticus (chicken) genome.  This breed is the result of the hard work, creativity, and dedication of two British poultry scientists, R.C Punnett and Michael Pease. Punnett was the first to discover the possibility of autosexing chickens while studying barring patterns in feathers. He discovered that a pure breed with cuckoo barring mated with a brown type would result in auto-sex chicks. He created the first of such breeds, a Cambar, in 1920. It was a Gold Campine over a Cuckoo Plymouth Rock. While highly interesting, the Cambar wasn’t a great layer, so in 1937 Punnett swapped the Campine with a Brown Leghorn creating the first Legbar, an auto-sexing and productive bird. In 1930, a colleague returning from an expedition to Chile brought Punnett a strange gold crested blue-egg-laying hen (soon to be known as the Araucana). The Araucana was bred with a Gold Penciled Hamburg and then a Buff Leghorn. He continued breeding and by 1936 had created a new cream-colored crested bird that laid blue eggs. The blue eggs and the crest were from the Araucana and the cream color from the Gold Penciled Hamburg. Shortly after, Pease also independently discovered the cream color by crossing a White Leghorn and Gold Legbar. When Punnett learned of Pease’s discovery he mated the two lines selecting for crests, blue eggs and auto-sexing traits, and in 1947 debuted the Crested Cream Legbar at the London Dairy Show.

Stats:

Eggs- Blue to green. Roughly 150-200 eggs per year

Dual Purpose- No. Males average 7.5lb and females 6lb

Standard of Perfection:

We offer pure lines but select primarily on egg color, vigor and temperament. If you are a breeder looking for specific SOP traits please contact us to ensure our stock will be the right fit for your breeding goals.

Our Deathlayer hens are some of the friendliest we have, and we have not noticed any aggressive tendencies in the males. A recent count of registered birds totaled about 1,500 birds, so if you are looking for a rare stately regal bird with an elegant posture that will add a dignified old world charm to your coop, these are for you.

 Breed History:

The Deathlayer originated in Westphalia Germany in the 18th century. Rural populations noted a line of poultry that was remarkably productive for the time, and began calling them “Everyday Layers” or permanent layers. The High German term permanent layer then morphed into “Daudtleijer” influenced by Low German. The colloquial Low German name was then translated into High German as the dead man. Literature referencing this name is interpreted to mean a chicken that lays to its death. Sadly, they were almost entirely abandoned in favor of commercial breeds and almost went extinct in the 1980s. This breed was originally prized for its excellent production, foraging instincts, and ability to tolerate the foreboding climate of the Ravensberg foothills about 90 miles from the Swiss Alps. As a product of this environment, the Deathlayer developed compact cushion combs to help prevent frostbite, and taught, neatly-organized plumage to keep out the drafts; all of this coalescing to form a beautiful, dignified bird.

Stats:

Eggs- White. Roughly 150-200 eggs per year

Dual Purpose- No. Males average 5.5lb and females 4lb

Standard of Perfection:

We offer pure lines but select primarily on egg color, vigor and temperament. If you are a breeder looking for specific SOP traits please contact us to ensure our stock will be the right fit for your breeding goals.

The Lowdown:

If we could have only one breed it would be the Araucana. Their fascinating history, taillessness, face tufts and blue eggs are just too much to pass up. We just never get tired of the sight of those strange rumpless butts and crazy ear tufts. While the tufting is sooo fun, it’s quite hard to come by. Of chicks that inherit the tufting gene, it is estimated that 50% die in the shell before hatch. It is for this reason that they are exceedingly rare, and large scale operations have no interest in breeding them. One well-known breeder calculated that only 4% of chicks born will be double-tufted. The only downside is that they have a very small pea comb and are just about impossible to sex until about two or three months. If you want blue eggs but don’t want to chance having to rehome a rooster, we would recommend the Pearl or Cream Legbar. Otherwise, if you want a very rare and unique bird you will never tire of we highly recommend the Araucana.

Ameraucana vs Easter Egger:

A true Araucana is extremely rare. There is much confusion between Araucanas, Ameraucanas and Easter eggers. If you want to be certain you have a true Araucana, it should have a pea comb, be rumpless, and lay a blue to light green egg. An Araucana can have a single tuft, double tufts or none at all. Ameraucanas will always have a pea comb, lay blue eggs and come in recognized color varieties. Easter Eggers are a mix of breeds (The Ameraucana Club of America calls them mongrels but we won’t go that far ) with at least one parent that carries the blue egg gene but could lay a brownish, blue-ish or greenish egg. It is so interesting how the genetics of egg colors in chickens work. The blue egg color permeates the entire shell such that a blue egg is blue both inside and out (you will have to scratch off the membrane on the inside to see the blue) A brown egg, for reference, is colored by a pigment that is painted on the outside of a white egg. Both the blue and brown egg genes are dominant so if a chick inherits copies of both, It will have a blue egg base with a brown paint on top, resulting in a green egg.

Breed History:

The Araucana is best known for its blue eggs that set the poultry world on fire in the early 1900s. This breed is unique because though all domesticated chickens are thought to have descended from the Malaysian Jungle Fowl, they spread from there on two primary paths. One going west toward India, China and ultimately Europe to be further commercially refined by the Romans. The other went east across the Pacific Ocean with the Polynesians. Most modern chicken breeds descend from the line of Roman chickens bred with commercial intents such as early egg production and size for meat. Because the Araucana developed outside these strictly controlled Roman breeding programs, you will notice a certain alluring wild intelligence to this bird. We have observed these birds to be better fliers, foragers, more alert and form more cohesive flocks. 

The Araucana originated in the remote wilderness of southern Chile with the Mapuche Indians. The Araucana was created from two types of chickens the Mapuche raised, the Collonocas and Quetros. The Collonocas were rumpless and laid blue eggs. In 1879 a Mapuche chief named Quinenao explained they preferred their birds rumpless because foxes could not easily get a hold of them. The Quetros on the other hand had facial tufts, laid brown eggs and had a strange crow. The name Quetro came from the Mapuche word “kertes,” which described their strange stuttering crow. This strange crow has mostly faded but we can still hear remnants of it, especially in our tufted roosters. The mix of the two Mapuche breeds would come to be called “collonca de aretes” meaning Collonocas with earrings. The Araucana name comes from a poem written by Alonso de Ercilla titled “La Araucana,” where he describes the courage shown by the Mapuche people when the Spanish invaded their territory in 1556. These amazing birds finally made their way onto the world stage when a young man in the Chilean army, Dr. Ruben Bustros, toured remote areas and observed their unique traits. He later returned to get some, began breeding them and was ultimately visited by Salvador Castello Carreras, a Spanish poultry expert who debuted them at the World Poultry Congress in 1918.

Stats:

Eggs- Blue/Green. Roughly 150 – 250 eggs per year

Dual Purpose- No. Males average 5lb and females 4lb

Standard of Perfection:

We offer pure lines but select primarily on egg color, vigor and temperament. If you are a breeder looking for specific SOP traits please contact us to ensure our stock will be the right fit for your breeding goals.

We love Ameraucanas. We have a small problem with a white hen named Snowflake that, if we are anywhere near, she is not happy unless perched on our shoulder or nestled in our laps. We love the Ameraucanas’ affectionate personalities, fluffy cheeks, and beards. We have recently come to adore the iridescent blues and greens the blacks erupt with in the sunlight. This is the bird for you if your goal is to obtain the best blue egg you can find. While our Lavender Ameraucana, Araucanas and Legbars also lay blue eggs, the color does not have the depth and richness of our line of Ameraucanas. The downside is that they have a very small pea comb which makes them just about impossible to sex until two to three months. If you want blue eggs, but don’t want to chance having to rehome a rooster, we would recommend the Pearl or Cream Legbar. Otherwise, if it’s about maximum egg blueness, go with the Ameraucana.

Ameraucana vs Easter Egger:

A true Ameraucana is actually quite rare due to the common confusion between Ameraucanas, Araucanas and Easter Eggers. True Ameraucanas will always have a pea comb, lay blue eggs, and come in recognized color varieties. Easter Eggers are a mix of breeds (The Ameraucana Club of America calls them mongrels but we won’t go that far ) with at least one parent that carries the blue egg gene, but could lay a brownish, blue-ish or greenish egg. A couple ways to tell if someone is offering you an Easter Egger not an Ameraucana is any color eggs possibility listed besides blue and if they are offered in non-standard colors. A mixed breed will likely not be available in standard colors for the Americauna. Easter Eggers can be great chickens, but if you want to be sure you are getting a rich blue egg gene and only the blue egg gene go with a real Ameraucana. This is especially important when selecting a rooster, because you can’t see the eggs to ensure that your chicken carries only the blue egg gene.

Breed History:

The Ameraucana is a relatively new breed, accepted into the APA in 1984 and created in the 1970’s as a variant of the Araucana to eliminate a genetic problem related to facial tufting but retain the blue egg. An Araucana can have facial tufts, or feathery protuberances on each cheek. This is much different than the fluffy muffs of an Ameraucana. If a chick receives two copies of the tufting gene, roughly 50% of the chicks will die in the shell. While the tufts are quite remarkable in appearance, this chick mortality issue is what breeders set out to solve in the creation of the Ameraucana. 

You can’t fully understand the Ameraucana without understanding its predecessor the Araucana and we would recommend reading that HERE. The Ameraucanas’ blue egg comes from the Araucana, the original rumpless, sometimes tufted, blue egg-laying breed.  At some point in its history it contracted a harmless retrovirus that changed its genes, causing a pigment from the liver (biliverdin) to be deposited into the eggshell giving it the blue color we so love. It is so interesting how the genetics of egg colors in chickens work. The blue color permeates the shell so a blue egg is blue both inside and out (you will have to scratch off the membrane on the inside to see the blue). On the other hand, a brown egg results from a pigment that is painted on the outside of a white egg. Both the blue and brown egg genes are dominant so if a chick inherits copies of both, It will have a blue egg base with a brown paint on top, resulting in a green egg.

Stats:

Eggs- Blue to light green. Roughly 180 – 200 eggs per year

Dual Purpose- Yes. Males average 6.5lb and females 5.5lb

Standard of Perfection:

We offer pure lines but select primarily on egg color, vigor and temperament. If you are a breeder looking for specific SOP traits please contact us to ensure our stock will be the right fit for your breeding goals. Its worth noting that we will do our best to accommodate color requests but unfortunately due to the unpredictability of hatches can not guarantee specific colors.

We really like Lavender. These Marans are a gorgeous color and are good layers. They are not nearly as dark as our French National Champion line, but this is a great choice if you want medium brown eggs and a beautiful lavender bird. It’s worth noting that the mechanism that colors the eggs weakens during the laying cycle so expect to get the darkest eggs when they first begin to lay at each cycle. The lavender color is unique, and different from the typical blue poultry color in that this color will breed true and is caused by the dilutive action of an autosomal recessive gene which reduces the expression of eumelanin and phaeomelanin so that black areas of the plumage appear silver instead, and red areas appear as golden highlights. Conversely when bred the standard blue color can be expressed in combinations of blue, black & splash. 

Breed History:

Marans originated on the west coast of France in a town called Marans. Amazingly, they evolved from an unknown mix of breeds brought from India and Indonesia. The tired fighting roosters that survived voyages were traded for fresh meat and egg-laying hens. These roosters mixed with local swamp hens and came to be called “swamp chickens.” They were prized for their fighting abilities and the rich mahogany eggs the hens produced.  It’s their fighting lineage that gives them the proud athletic posture and muscle tone they are known for. In the 1920’s, local breeders began working to improve them by mixing in Langshan, Brahma and Coucou de Malines. By the 1930’s, their dual-purpose breed status was established. Following the devastation of World War II, much of the foundation stock had been lost and they were nearly extinct. In the 1950’s under the direction of the French Department of Agricultural Services, the breed was revived and dramatically improved its egg-laying abilities. 

Stats:

Eggs- Medium to dark brown. roughly 150 – 200 eggs per year

Dual Purpose- Yes. Males average 8lb and females 6.5lb

Standard of Perfection:

We offer pure lines but select primarily on egg color, vigor and temperament. If you are a breeder looking for specific SOP traits please contact us to ensure our stock will be the right fit for your breeding goals.