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The Wheaten Ameraucana

2016/5/3 8:27:09

Ameraucanas

This wonderful blue egg laying chicken breed was developed in the U.S.A.  in the 1970s.  When developing the Ameraucanas, breeders wanted a meatier dual purpose poultry breed, rather than the less vigorous blue egg laying Araucanas imported from South America. 

There are a number of colours of Ameraucana.  American Poultry Association (APA) approved colours are Black, Blue, Blue Wheaten, Brown Red, Buff, Silver, Wheaten & White.

We have Lavender which are not recognized yet bt y the APA. They are a less friendly bird with bigger darker blue eggs, and have had black, buff and silver Ameraucanas in large fowl size.  The silver are not as friendly as the other colours, but the Wheaten the friendliest by far.  A true pet chicken.

Wheaten Ameraucanas

Temperament

The temperament on these gorgeous Wheaten Ameraucana chickens is very pleasant.  They are gentle, calm, docile and friendly when free-ranging.  Surprisingly, when in confinement they are quite flighty, but calm down and approach for attention down after a minute or so. 

In a mixed flock of heritage breeds, the wheaten Ameraucanas are in the lower and middle area in the pecking order.  They can be quite timid and shy with the other hens.

Our Wheaten Ameraucana hens, haven't gone broody at all in their first year.   They lay a fair number of small pale blue eggs, in the nest.  Other breeds will lay them in secret nests in order to hatch them but not the Wheaten Ameraucanas.

The Ameraucana roosters are not overly aggressive.  They are fairly kind to the hens and one rooster can be in with as little as five hens for a long period of time without harming the hens.  The cockerals are vigilant for predators when free-ranging.

Temperament varies a lot between breeding lines and between breeding flocks, so ask about temperament when buying your chicks or adult chickens.  Ours are from John Blehm in Michigan, a top breeder for 25 years, and we are so happy with them.

Wheaten Ameraucanas

Breed Characteristsics

The Wheaten Ameraucana chickens have a small pea comb which is excellent in extremely cold climates.  This means it is a very cold hardy bird. 

The creamy white fluffy beard and muffs on the hens is attractive when clean.  They love our tomatoes and I can tell when they have been into them! 

The roosters have a black beard and the classic red/black/green.  Ameraucanas should have no feathering on legs, no are tufts and must have a beard for showing at an APA show.

Adults should weigh 6 1/2  pounds for males and 5 1/2  pounds for females.  The APA Standard of Perfection had more information on these and many other accredited poultry breeds.  The Ameraucana Breeders Club has more information and an amazing forum.

Find out more about Wheaten Americanas!

These are a beautiful productive heritage chicken breed as you can see!  They are on a list of The Top 10 Favourite Heritage breeds quite deserving too! 

If you need more help choosing a chicken breed, we have had over 40 breeds here and have it distilled down to the loveliest and best!   Our Easy Chickenry website has an article on choosing the right rare heritage  poultry breed.

Other deserving poultry breeds are the D'uccles, the Chantecler, the Black Sumatra and the rarest Euskal Oiloak

Top 10 Favourite Rare Heritage Chicken Breeds and Why