Araucana Chickens: The Australian Keeper’s Guide
~180 blue to blue-green eggs a year · Medium (2.2-3.2kg) · typically $50-120 per bird
The Araucana lays the party trick: genuinely blue eggs, the colour through the whole shell, not a coating. One Araucana converts every egg carton you give away into a conversation.
Eggs and laying
Around 180 blue to blue-green eggs a year, varying with strain. The blue gene is dominant, so even crosses (Easter Eggers) usually lay tinted eggs.
Temperament
Active and a little wary: friendly once settled, athletic foragers, middling in pecking orders.
Australian climate fit
Hardy across Australian climates: the pea comb resists frost and the build handles heat reasonably.
Care notes
Strain quality varies more than any breed here: buy from a breeder who shows you their layers and their egg basket. British-type (tailed, muffed) is the Australian standard.
Common questions
Identical: same nutrition, same taste. The blue is shell pigment (oocyanin) all the way through.
An Easter Egger is any blue-egg-gene cross; the Araucana is the pure breed. Crosses are cheaper and often lay green.
Strain genetics: blue ranges from sky to green-blue. The breeder’s egg basket tells you what you will get.
More breeds
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