What color eggs do Araucanas lay?

True **blue** eggs. The Araucana is the original blue-egg breed, and its oocyan gene lays blue pigment through the full thickness of the shell — blue inside and out. Purebred Araucanas lay blue, never green; a green or olive egg points to crossbred (Easter Egger) ancestry.

Are Araucanas good for showing?

Yes, and they are prized exactly because they are hard to get right. They're exhibited in the APA's **All Other Standard Breeds** class in 5 large-fowl varieties, judged above all on their **ear tufts** (ideally matched double tufts) and **rumpless** back. Because well-tufted, correctly rumpless birds are scarce, a competitive show pair represents real breeding skill.

How hard are Araucanas to hatch?

Harder than almost any other chicken — but for genetic, not husbandry, reasons. The **ear-tuft gene is lethal when doubled**, so in a tufted × tufted mating about **25% of embryos die in the shell**, and hatches of double-tufted, rumpless chicks can fall to roughly 25–55% versus ~90% in typical breeds. Breeders pair tufted birds with clean-faced birds to avoid the lethal cross and improve hatch rates. Otherwise incubate normally: 99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch.

What's the difference between an Araucana and an Ameraucana?

The **Araucana** is the original blue-egg breed: **tufted and rumpless** (ear tufts, no tail), APA-recognized in 1976, and carries a lethal tuft gene that makes it hard to hatch. The **Ameraucana** is a separate American breed developed later: **muffed, bearded, and tailed**, recognized in 1984, with no lethal gene. Both lay true blue eggs, but their appearance and breeding are completely different.

What is rumplessness, and does it cause problems?

Rumpless means the bird has **no tail and no uropygium** — the final tail vertebrae are absent, giving a rounded rear. It's an autosomal-dominant trait and, unlike the tuft gene, is not lethal. It can slightly lower fertility because the missing tail makes mating less precise, so breeders keep vent feathers trimmed and select vigorous stock.

Are Araucanas broody?

Somewhat — they go broody more readily than many blue-egg layers but are not reliably broody. Given how important hatch numbers are with the lethal tuft gene, most breeders plan on an incubator rather than counting on hens to set. Individual hens vary.

Araucana: The Tufted, Rumpless Original Blue-Egg Breed

Verified September 2026Blue eggs

The short version

The Araucana is the original blue-egg chicken — a tufted and rumpless breed (no tail and no uropygium) that gave every other blue-and-green layer its blue-egg gene. Recognized by the APA in 1976 in 5 large-fowl varieties (Black, Black Breasted Red, Golden Duckwing, Silver Duckwing, White), it is defined by ear tufts (peduncles) and the absence of a tail. Its signature ear-tuft gene is homozygous-lethal, so breeding two fully tufted birds together kills a large share of the embryos in the shell — the challenge that makes the Araucana one of the hardest standard breeds to reproduce. Do not confuse it with the Ameraucana, which is muffed, bearded, and tailed.

APA class: AOSB

Egg color: Blue

Broodiness: Occasionally broody

Varieties: 5

Egg-color genetics

The Araucana is the original blue-egg chicken and the source of the blue-egg (oocyan) gene found across all blue and green layers today. Blue pigment (biliverdin) is laid down with the calcium carbonate as the shell forms, so the color runs through the full thickness of the shell rather than sitting on the surface — an Araucana egg is blue inside and out. The oocyan gene is autosomal dominant and, unlike the tuft gene, is not lethal. A purebred Araucana lays blue, never green: green eggs require a brown coating over the blue base, which signals crossbred (Easter Egger) ancestry rather than a true Araucana.

Araucana vs Ameraucana vs Easter Egger

These three are constantly mixed up, but only two are distinct APA breeds. The Araucana is the original South American blue-egg fowl — tufted and rumpless, APA-recognized in 1976 — and carries the ear-tuft gene that is lethal when doubled, which is why it is hard to hatch. The Ameraucana was developed later in the United States from blue-egg stock to keep the blue egg while adding muffs, a beard, and a tail (and no lethal gene), and was recognized in 1984. The Easter Egger is not a breed at all: it is any mixed-breed bird carrying a blue-egg gene, which is why Easter Eggers lay anything from blue to green and don't breed true.

Quick tell: tufts + no tail = Araucana; beard/muffs + tail = Ameraucana; anything in between with a green egg and no standard = Easter Egger.

Where the blue egg came from

The Araucana is the fountainhead of the blue egg in the chicken world. Chilean birds were first described in the early 1900s and reached North America through Pennsylvania's Pratt Experiment Farm in 1924. Every blue- and green-egg layer since — Ameraucanas, Easter Eggers, olive eggers, and blue-egg hybrids — traces its oocyan gene back to this stock, which is why the Araucana matters far beyond its own small numbers. The Livestock Conservancy lists the breed as critically rare, and its greatest threat is hybridization: because tufts, rumplessness, and the blue egg are all dominant, crossbreds can look the part, making genuinely purebred Araucanas increasingly hard to find.

Breeding notes

The defining challenge: the ear-tuft gene (Et, autosomal dominant) is LETHAL when a bird inherits two copies. Pairing a fully tufted rooster with fully tufted hens means roughly a quarter of the embryos are homozygous for the gene and die in the shell — the Araucana Club of America reports successful hatches of double-tufted, rumpless birds falling to somewhere between about 25% and 55%, versus the ~90% most breeds see.
Beat the lethal gene by pairing tufted birds with clean-faced (untufted) birds rather than tufted × tufted. A tufted × clean-faced mating avoids the homozygous-lethal combination, lifts hatch rates, and still throws a good proportion of tufted chicks because the gene is dominant. Most working Araucana flocks are deliberately a mix of tufted and clean-faced birds for this reason.
Tufts show incomplete dominance, so even 'tufted' parents produce a spread of phenotypes — clean-faced, single-tufted, and the show-ideal double-tufted — within one hatch. Expect to grow out extra birds to find well-matched, evenly double-tufted show prospects.
Rumplessness (no tail, no uropygium, missing tail vertebrae) is a separate autosomal-dominant trait and is NOT lethal, but it can lower fertility because the absent tail makes mating less precise; trim vent fluff and keep sound, vigorous breeders to hold fertility up.
Select for the full package — even double tufts, a clean rumpless back, pea comb, and deep blue egg — while breeding around the lethal gene rather than reproducing standard text.

Showing notes

The Araucana is exhibited in the APA's All Other Standard Breeds (AOSB) class; enter by variety (e.g. 'Silver Duckwing Araucana, large fowl').
Tufts and rumplessness are the defining show traits. Judges look for two well-matched, symmetrical ear tufts (double tufts) and a truly rumpless back with no tail or tail vertebrae — a bird with a tail, or with a single or lopsided tuft, is heavily faulted.
Because well-tufted, correctly rumpless birds are genuinely hard to produce, competitive Araucanas are scarce; a matched pair takes real breeding work, which is part of the breed's exhibition appeal.

Hatching & incubation

Expect lower hatch rates than other chickens, and understand why: the ear-tuft gene is homozygous-lethal, so in a tufted × tufted mating roughly 25% of embryos carry two copies and die late in incubation (commonly around days 17–19), reducing the number that ever pip. This is genetics, not an incubator problem — chasing it with temperature or humidity tweaks will not fix it.
Even a single copy of the tuft gene is associated with roughly 20% embryo mortality, so hatch percentages run below the norm even when you avoid the tufted × tufted cross. Set extra eggs to end up with the number of chicks you want.
Aside from the tuft-related losses, incubate Araucana eggs like any chicken egg: 99.5–100°F forced-air, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch. There are no special temperature or humidity requirements.

Recognized varieties

BlackBlack Breasted RedGolden DuckwingSilver DuckwingWhite

Frequently asked questions

What color eggs do Araucanas lay?: True blue eggs. The Araucana is the original blue-egg breed, and its oocyan gene lays blue pigment through the full thickness of the shell — blue inside and out. Purebred Araucanas lay blue, never green; a green or olive egg points to crossbred (Easter Egger) ancestry.
Are Araucanas good for showing?: Yes, and they are prized exactly because they are hard to get right. They're exhibited in the APA's All Other Standard Breeds class in 5 large-fowl varieties, judged above all on their ear tufts (ideally matched double tufts) and rumpless back. Because well-tufted, correctly rumpless birds are scarce, a competitive show pair represents real breeding skill.
How hard are Araucanas to hatch?: Harder than almost any other chicken — but for genetic, not husbandry, reasons. The ear-tuft gene is lethal when doubled, so in a tufted × tufted mating about 25% of embryos die in the shell, and hatches of double-tufted, rumpless chicks can fall to roughly 25–55% versus ~90% in typical breeds. Breeders pair tufted birds with clean-faced birds to avoid the lethal cross and improve hatch rates. Otherwise incubate normally: 99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch.
What's the difference between an Araucana and an Ameraucana?: The Araucana is the original blue-egg breed: tufted and rumpless (ear tufts, no tail), APA-recognized in 1976, and carries a lethal tuft gene that makes it hard to hatch. The Ameraucana is a separate American breed developed later: muffed, bearded, and tailed, recognized in 1984, with no lethal gene. Both lay true blue eggs, but their appearance and breeding are completely different.
What is rumplessness, and does it cause problems?: Rumpless means the bird has no tail and no uropygium — the final tail vertebrae are absent, giving a rounded rear. It's an autosomal-dominant trait and, unlike the tuft gene, is not lethal. It can slightly lower fertility because the missing tail makes mating less precise, so breeders keep vent feathers trimmed and select vigorous stock.
Are Araucanas broody?: Somewhat — they go broody more readily than many blue-egg layers but are not reliably broody. Given how important hatch numbers are with the lethal tuft gene, most breeders plan on an incubator rather than counting on hens to set. Individual hens vary.

Sources

Introduction to the Araucana (tufts, rumplessness, blue egg, lethal gene) — Araucana Club of America (Breed club)
Standards of Perfection (recognized varieties) — Araucana Club of America (Breed club)
Araucana Chicken (history, egg color, conservation status) — The Livestock Conservancy (Reference)

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