In the Works~

[(Trustee)ZooGrammy]

This is so exciting!

[Guest eternalgravity]

Alright, I made them grassland with a love for the tall savannah grass/broadleaf bush/various deciduous trees. Really, I can't imagine them in much else than 'yards' and ornamental gardens.

So is there anything else you guys want them specifically compatible with? User created animals/objects?

They're compatible with non-habitat, so shoving a certain coop in with them shouldn't bother them. They like ugulates, birds, I think I hit every family that can appear in the farmyard.

[(Trustee)genkicoll]

You'll want to add this to the .uca in the compatible animals section, then:

 

v = D350D026

v = 20

 

:elkgrin:

 

In the suitable objects area, you can add

 

v = 9411

v = 10 (or whatever)

 

to make them like exhibit-neutral items such as (most) user-made foliage.

[Chickndaddy]

I know the difference between Aracauna and Americauna..but..what is an Easter Egger.

Just realized I never answered that question. Currently there is a large (and rather silly in my opinion) debate raging through poultry groups as to the proper classification of Araucanas, Ameraucanas, and Easter Eggers. Basically the first two birds have a required Standard according to the Standard of Perfection published by the APA (American Poultry Association).

 

Pulled directly from Backyard Chickens:

 

Ameraucana Myths & Facts

by Vicky Thompson

 

Much mis-information surrounds these 3 different varieties of poultry:

 

Araucana

Ameraucana

Easter Egg Layers

It is not uncommon that many people, even experienced poultry fanciers do not realize the differences between these are 3 separate types of poultry.

 

Lets cover the basic differences...

 

1. "Easter Egg Layers or Rainbow Layers"...are by far the most common "blue egg layer" sold by most commercial hatcheries, local feed mills, farm supply stores and backyard breeders. This type of chicken is commonly referred to as an "Araucana" or "Americana/Araucana" but the fact is these chickens are neither a purebred Araucana or an Ameraucana but they are a mixed-breed/mongrel variety. Some hatcheries are starting to refer to them as "Easter Egg Layers" or "Rainbow Layers" but many people and hatcheries still erroneously call them "Americanas" (often seen mis-spelling of Ameraucana) or "Araucanas".

Easter Egg Layers typically lay an olive or khaki green egg or a pale beige egg sometimes referred to as "pink", but many lay pastel blue or green eggs as well, but this does not mean they are an Ameraucana. Although they come in countless different colors and patterns they often resemble Ameraucanas with similar feather color and patterns. Some, but not all Easter Egg Layers sport muffs and/or beards but there is usually no consistency in type or coloring since they are a mixed breed and do not breed true to type. They often have a variety of comb styles and wattles. They may also have yellow beaks and yellow or "willow" (greenish-yellow) shanks and feet and this along with the light to dark green egg shell color may indicate they carry a brown egg breed genetics. These chickens are very popular and make nice backyard layers but they definitely are not an A.P.A. recognized breed nor do they breed true.

 

2. "Araucana"

Araucana's are not that common in the United States . While the A.P.A. claims some Araucanas originated in South America those described in the A.P.A. standard were developed in the US. They are a blue egg laying, "rumpless" (no tail) bird that sport ear tufts, clumps of feathers growing at or near their ear openings and no muff or beard. Despite their somewhat small numbers in the US it is their name that is most frequently and erroneously used in reference to Easter Egg Layers and Ameraucanas. You can see pictures of Araucana's on The Feathersite.

 

 

3. "Ameraucana"

While they also have some South America ancestors, Ameraucanas were also developed in the United States and have been recognized by the American Poultry Association since 1984.

Currently the APA only recognizes these 8 specific colors:

black

blue

buff

white

silver

brown-red

wheaten

blue wheaten

Ameraucanas have a pea-combs, a lack of prominent wattles, "bay" colored eyes (reddish brown), red ear lobes and "slate" (blue colored) shanks (blacks can have black colored shanks and feet) and feet and the bottoms of their feet are white. They have "horn" (neutral and not yellow) colored beaks. They lay various shades of pastel blue to blue-green eggs. They have white, not yellow skin.

With their pea combs and lack of wattles they are very cold hardy. They are mostly non-aggressive and easy to handle birds. They come in both standard (large fowl) and bantam size.

You can see photographs of Ameraucanas on the Feathersite or on the Ameraucana Breeders Club website.

 

 

Additional Notes:

 

Caution should be exercised when purchasing what some hatcheries, online auction sellers or breeders are claiming to be "purebred Ameraucanas". Unfortunately many breeders and hatcheries still aren't breeding according to the APA Ameraucana standard and have off colored plumage, beaks and shanks, single combs, missing muffs and/or beards and so on. These people are not necessarily being deceptive, rather uneducated about the breed. On the other hand some hatcheries have been enlightened by ABC members but apparently seem indifferent about the false advertising and continue to sell their birds under an erroneous and misleading name.

Caveat Emptor! Buyer Beware!

Always ask a lot of questions BEFORE you buy.

Refer back to the Ameraucana description provided here to verify the correct type and coloring which may help in determining whether sources have real Ameraucanas or not.

It is advisable to buy from an experienced breeder that is a member of the Ameraucana Breeders Club.

 

 

It should also be noted that Ameraucana's do not lay white, "pink"/beige, brown, olive,/khaki green or dark greenish brown or tan eggs but rather varying shades of pastel blue or blue-green eggs.

 

"Copyright 2002 by Vicky Thompson"

 

The full thread can be found here including pictures showing the difference:

 

http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/view...c.php?id=128806

 

Another simple explanation from a member of byc:

 

Blue-egg-laying birds were imported to the U.S. from flocks in South America. These birds were not very well standardized, they had a variety of different physical traits and characteristics. The people who bred blue-egg-laying chickens disagreed about what these birds "should" look like and eventually split up into three different groups:

 

1) People who thought it would be best to eliminate the tufts and rumplessness, because these genes made propagation more difficult. People who bred these birds eventually had them standardized as Ameraucanas (which I believe is short for "American Araucana"). They determined that their birds should have muffs/beards, tails, and white skin.

 

2) People who thought the tufts and rumplessness should be preserved. People who bred these birds eventually had them standardized as Araucanas (after the region of Chile where the first rumpless and/or tufted birds were discovered). They determined that their birds should have tufts, NO muffs or beard, be rumpless, and have yellow skin.

 

3) People who thought the traits didn't matter so much as long as the birds laid colored eggs. These are today's Easter Eggers, which cannot be standardized because their traits vary so widely. They can have any plumage color, any comb type, any skin or leg color, may or may not lay blue or green eggs, most though not all are tailed, many have muffs/beards but others don't, etc.

 

To further muddy the waters the UK has a completely different Standard for the two true "breeds". Pictures can be seen on Feathersite here:

 

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGA/Ara...KAraucanas.html

 

On the first page you see the UK versions of those breeds. The blue links at the top take you to the pages for APA Standard birds in the US.

 

Other nice and informative links include:

 

http://home.sprynet.com/~rribbeck/

 

http://www.birchrunfarms.com/

 

http://nonesuchfarm.net/

 

A rather tongue-in-cheek look at EE's (note: I do not share their view at all) - http://www.eastereggers.com/

 

http://www.araucanasonline.com/

 

http://www.ameraucana.org/standard.html

 

http://www.araucana.net/

 

 

Here is their (Easter Egger) description in my old Hatching Catalog:

 

The Easter Egger is a chicken well known for its ability to lay blue and green eggs. None of the birds in this flock lay brown or pinkish eggs. I have selected the majority of the birds to have muffs and beards, but occasionally a non-bearded or muffed bird will make it to the breeding pen because of an interesting color. Egg color can range from a light pastel blue, sea foam green, olive green, and finally to a deep army green. Some of the green eggs will have violet or chocolate colored speckles on them. The darkest green eggs are produced by Cuckoo Marans x Easter Egger Crosses. The color of the birds can be as much of a surprise as their eggs. Adults can be found in solid colors like buff, white, black, blue, splash, red, and brown, or in broken colors like cuckoo, wheaten, silver duckwing, partridge, penciled, columbian, and any other variation you can imagine. The hens lay very well and the roosters are very friendly. Extra Ameraucanas are on this yard, so occasionally you may receive a pure blue, black, splash, or white Ameraucana chick.

 

Wow, I tend to over-do things. lol

[Chickndaddy]

A thought:

 

Is it possible to make the chickens and Genki's peafowl (or the original) compatible with one another. Or maybe make them compatible with that Farm Pack...I think Devona did it? Might be nice to see if And1 would re-release "domestic" versions of his geese suitable for farm life...

[(Trustee)genkicoll]

I do have a grasslands peafowl that I'm working on :elkgrin: I'll see what I can do :wink:

[Guest eternalgravity]

Oh, trust me, Colleen and I are hand in hand in this. We've got a couple animals we'll be shoving with the chickens. You'll have to wait and see.

 

I have the black and white silkies done, just have to be put through testing. Now for the blue and buff. I'd have to do splash by hand, so not sure if I'll do that.

 

It seems I have both Americana and Aracauna.

My Americana are grown up, muffs, blue/green eggs, they look like the breed standard (I'll have to take a gander at their skin). My mother thinks they're ugly, I love them. Goofy birds, always at your feet. I gave a friend of carton of their eggs and Barred Rock's, just before Easter. I got asked why I dyed the eggs.

I'll have to wait to see what the Cauna's grow up to look like. I know I have one tailless, I may have lost the rest of them. Neighbor apparently bought some birds that were carrying something. And seeing as I bought a wide variety of breeds this year, and the chicks were shipped together, I'm not sure what's what yet.

 

And here's a pic of the three colors together.

[Chickndaddy]

Oh, I don't know how I missed this picture. They are too cute. What horses are those by the way? I've never seen them.