Differences between the Ameraucana chicken, Araucana chicken and Easter Egger chicken breeds are important to be aware of due to the fact that many people confuse them and think they are all the same breed. A lot of people think that Easter Egger chickens are the same as Ameraucana's and Araucana's, but they are not.
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Differences Between Ameraucana, Araucana, and Easter Egger Chickens
The biggest differences between Ameraucana chickens, Araucana chickens, and Easter Egger chickens are that the Easter Egger is a hybrid breed while the other two are purebred. But there are some other differences as well:
- All three CAN lay blue eggs, but only Easter Eggs can also lay other colors like green, pink and brown.
- Araucanas are rumpless while the other two breeds are not.
- Ameraucanas have muffs and beards while Araucanas do not. Easter Eggers can have them, but not always.
These three breeds have some similarities (like the fact that they all can be bantam breeds) also, and are often times mixed up and mislabeled. So, it's important to know the specifics for each breed so you can tell them apart.
If you don't know the differences between these types of chickens and you are looking for a specific trait or characteristic, like egg color or feather color, you might end up really disappointed if you get the wrong breed!
Keep reading below for specifics on each breed and comparisons to one another.
Ameraucana Chickens
You will sometimes (well, often times) see this breed misspelled as Americana chicken or Americauna. Many times farm stores that sell chicks on "chick days" will get Easter Egger chickens and then label them as an "Americana chicken".
A true Ameraucana is a pure breed of chicken. That means that they are one single breed and will have the same characteristics across the breed.
Ameraucanas lay blue eggs only. There are other chickens that lay blue eggs as well.
They also have muffs and beards. Muffs are basically puffy feathers on their cheeks. Beards are, just what they sound like, puffy feathers under their chins.
Ameraucanas come in several colors:
- Blue & Self Blue
- Black
- Splash
- Wheaton & Blue Wheaton
- Brown Red
- Buff
- Silver
- White
If you want a true Ameraucana, you should only breed like colors together. Otherwise, they are considered a mixed chicken.
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Araucana Chickens
Araucana chickens are the most rare of these three breeds. Two qualities that they have which can help you tell them apart is that Araucanas have tuffs and are rumpless.
Rumpless means that they do not have tail feathers. Tufts are groups of feathers that stick out by their ears.
As mentioned above, Ameraucanas have muffs and beards. Unlike Ameraucanas, Araucanas do not have muffs or beards.
Aracana's are similar to Ameraucanas in that they do lay blue eggs.
Araucanas come in a variety of colors including:
- Black
- Silver & Gold Duckwing
- Black Breasted Red
Ameraucana Vs Araucana
Both the Ameraucana and the Araucana chicken breeds are purebred chickens and are, thus, very similar. They also both will lay blue eggs.
The easiest way to tell them apart is through their feathering, Ameraucana chickens have muffs, beards, and tailfeathers while Aracaunas are rumpless and do not have muffs or beards.
Another difference is their accepted colors. Both come in Black, but their other accepted colors differ.
Easter Egger Chickens
If you have purchased chicks from a farm store, you likely have an Easter Egger chicken. Many times people will mistakenly think that they have an "Americana Chicken" or a pure bred Ameraucana chicken, however, the chicks sold at farm stores are almost always actually Easter Egger chickens.
One main difference between Ameraucana, Araucana and Easter Egger chickens is that Easter Eggers are hybrids while the other two are pure breeds. This means that Easter Eggers do not always have the same qualities since they can be mixes of different breeds.
Easter Eggers are usually a combination of a blue egg layer and a brown egg layer. Ameraucanas are typically used for the blue eggs, but you can also use other blue egg layers.
Easter Eggers do sometimes have muffs and beards (since often times they are a mix of an Ameraucana and another breed), but they do not always have them. It depends on the genes of the mating pair. If you are breeding chickens, make sure you know how chickens mate.
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Another difference is that Easter Eggers do not only lay blue eggs. When you have an Easter Egger chicken they can lay blue, green, brown or light pink eggs.
However, each Easter Egger chicken will only lay one color egg. Meaning, one Easter Egger chicken may lay all pink eggs while another Easter Egger chicken may lay all green eggs.
Olive Egger Vs Easter Egger
Both the Olive Egger and Easter Egger chicken breeds are hybrid chickens. The key difference between them is, obviously, in their name. Olive Eggers have been bred specifically to lay dark, olive green eggs while Easter Eggers will lay a variety of colors.
There are chickens that lay green eggs. There is a type of chicken that many consider to be a specific type of Easter Egger chicken which will only lay green eggs. This breed is called Olive Eggers. An olive egger chicken lays (surprise!) olive colored eggs.
To get an olive egger chicken you would cross (or breed) a dark brown egg layer - like a Marans or a Welsummer - with a true blue egg layer - like an Ameracana or Aracana. When the resulting chicks are old enough to lay their own eggs, you should get olive or green colored eggs.
So, as you can see, while these three breeds do have some similarities, like how often they lay eggs, there are many differences between Ameraucana, Aracana and Easter Egger Chickens.
Easter Egger Vs Ameraucana
Though many times Easter Eggers are part Ameraucana and therefore will have similar attributes, that is not always the case. As we mentioned earlier, the Easter Egger is a hybrid breed chicken while the Ameraucana is purebred.
Ameraucanas will always have muffs and beards while Easter Eggers may or may not. Finally, Easter Eggers lay several different color eggs while Ameraucana chickens will only lay blue eggs.
In Conclusion
All three of these breeds have some similarities - like the ability to lay blue eggs. However, there are substantial differences between each breed giving them unique and distinct characteristics.
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JA says
Hi all!’ I just hatched out my little Easter eggers I am impatiently waiting to see what color o will get! They are beautiful chicks. The momma hen has been great. I snuck the hatchlings under her after they hatched in the incubator and she took to them. She was a horrible egg sitter. I wish I could post a picture!
Marilyn says
Hi, your posts about the amaricauna chickens is very informative. I really enjoyed reading everything. We have one. She lays green eggs. We only have 15 mixed chickens, but we enjoy them. They free range around our 6 acres most of the summer. They are good at keeping bugs and flys under control.
Silvia says
hi,
I found your site in m search about differences between auracana's over the world, but a bit confused about Aracana... there is no other site mentioning that kind of breed.
There are (That is what I researched) Ameraucana (what seems to be the same as the British Auracana wich is not the same as the Auracana in the UK, what makes it very confusing for me as European) the tailed version and the Auracana whats be considered as the origin breed, rumpless.
bearded or not bearded in the USA is what standard you want.
APA allows bearded ABA does not allow beards bij Auracana.
MrAnimal Farm says
Hi Silvia,
I actually made a mistake when I originally posted this and I have a typo in my spelling! I have been meaning to make an update to the post, but haven't done it yet. My understanding is that Ameraucana's were originally bred out from Araucana's in part to bred out the lethal gene that Araucana's carry, but still maintain their blue eggs. And yes, different registries/associations allow slight differences in characteristics.
Sorry for the spelling mishap!
Best,
Kristin
Laura says
We have only had one chicken that laid olive colored eggs, she was Ameracauna and New Hampshire Red cross. Only recently found out you can actually get something called an Olive Egger.She was one of our favorites, red with muffs and beard and lived to be almost 15 yrs old.
Amber says
Hey all, I just wanted you to know that you misspelled Araucana. The Aracana is a species of fish native to Australia. I was mildly confused and at first thought that Aracanas and Araucanas were two different breeds of chicken. Anyways, we have several chickens with fluffy cheeks. Im pretty sure that none of them are Araucanas, but I may have a pure bred Ameraucana. Stormy has muffs, and lays nice blue eggs, with a pea comb and a bit of a beard. We ordered her from cackle hatchery and she was labled as a easter egger, but who knows? Thanks!
MrAnimal Farm says
Hi Amber!
Thanks for the note! Yes, I realized a little while back that I had misspelled it, oops! I need to go in and edit the post, but haven't gotten to it. I will add that to my list, as it slipped off my radar. Thanks for the reminder 🙂
Best,
Kristin
Cissy says
I bought a flock of Blue Ameracaunas. Very definitely Blues (not mixed) yet they lay green eggs. The color is on the Ameracauna of America Club egg card as an acceptable color. It is confusing when people say they only lay Blue eggs. By looking at the egg color chart there is a pretty wide variable in whT is considered to be 'blue' egg color.
Misty says
I'm not sure of my breed not I've had her since she could fit in my palm..10 months now...she lives inside the house own Room plus whole house lol...yeah very spoiled...she has layed eggs(no mate) BUT she layed one Thursday and one Saturday and nothing yet..she acting like she's trying tell me something...Friday was terrible she was falling chest face first and wings Spread all the way out yes I was very terrified and she walked funny but thank God no more them issues...is all that normal and any suggestions would be greatly appreciate...any laying bath touch feed how long and many eggs ect
MrAnimal Farm says
Hi, falling over is not common. Hard to tell from your description what possible issues may be. Typically they lay around 5 eggs per week.
Miah crosby says
While having your bird inside is very kind of you, it can be detrimental to the bird. I know your a good chicken parent by how you talk so don’t feel like I’m wagging my finger at you love. However when a bird doesn’t get sunshine directly it can effect vitamin and nutrient absorption. It could be doing damage to her growing bone structure. Lastly, walking on smooth even flooring is great for people, but detrimental to a birds feet. Bumble foot, and bowed legs are only some of the issues that could happen. Also, chickens really need dirt. A dusty chicken is a happy chicken. It’s their form of bathes and parasite control. All farm animals have intestinal worms. You will never rid them completely, when we worm the animals we’re lowering their number to a manageable number. So she will drop intestinal worm eggs in the house. Some birds also carry coccidia, which is an intestinal bacterial infection that can take down dogs, cat, and some people quickly. “Her place is outside fern.” If you want to bring her in and crate her overnight that’s fine, (chicken’s poop a lot at night) but for day time she really needs to be outside. It’s what the Gods made her to do!
MrAnimal Farm says
Thanks for the feedback, we don't keep our chickens inside permanently. They only come in if injured, for pictures/video for better lighting etc 🙂
Mary Woita says
Some of my favorite breeds! Great information. 🙂
Martha Lee says
Thanks for this article. It was so helpful since we are beginners with chickens. I have often ask myself what is the difference between them is. Now I know! When ording chicks, now I will know what to order. We have two Easter eggers and they lay a pale bluish-green egg.
MrAnimal Farm says
Hi Martha,
So glad it was helpful!
Best,
Kristin