Large fowl

Origin: Chile

Classification: Light, soft feather

Egg colour: blue or green

Weight: Large fowl; male 2.7 – 3.2kg, female 2.25 – 2.7kg. Bantam; male 740-850g,
female 680-790g

History

When the Spaniards took their light Mediterranean birds to South America they found they soon cross-bred with the indigenous fowl.

The modern true-breeding lavender bird was created in Scotland in the 1930s. The Araucana is unique in having eggs where the green or blue colour permeates right through the shell.

Characteristics

Male

Carriage: alert and active

Type: body long and deep, free from heaviness. Firm in handling. Back moderately long, horizontal. Wings large and strong. Tail well-developed with full sickles carried at an angle of 45°.

Head: moderately small. Beak strong and stout. Eyes bold. Comb small pea. Face covered with thick muffling and ear muffs abundant. Crest compact, carried well back from eyes. Ear-lobes moderately small, concealed by muffling. Wattles absent.

Neck: of medium length, abundantly furnished with hackle feathers.

Legs and feet: medium length, strong and well apart. Shanks free from feathers. Toes, four straight and well spread.

Female

Similar to the male, allowing for normal sexual differences, plus a pea comb.

Colours

Lavender, blue, black-red, silver duckwing, golden duckwing, blue-red, pile, crele, spangled, cuckoo, black, white.

In both sexes and all colours, comb and face bright red, eyes dark orange. Beak and nails horn. Legs in all colours except cuckoo, willow to olive or slate.

Defects: Cut-away breast, roach back, squirrel tail, crest too small or too large, absence of crest or muffling. Comb other than pea, comb lopped or twisted, any comb other than minimal in female. Pearl eye, feathered legs, legs other than standard colour. Uneven or splashed breast colour, white base to tail in males. In lavenders, any straw or brassy tinge.