History
THE BREED
The Araucana was officially named in the 1930s. The origins of the British Araucana go back at least a hundred years and mentions of blue egg laying chickens appear in the 1700s. When the Spanish arrived in South America, bringing with them their poultry, they found that the Incas had their own ancient breeds which soon crossed with the imported stock. However in the High Andes there were many areas where the terrain made conquest impossible. Subsequently, the Arauca Indians of Old Northern Chile were never conquered so their poultry remained pure and led to the name Araucana.
Pockets of wild Araucana can still be seen in the Amazon Basin and in isolated areas in the high fincas of the Andes Range. The expansion of the old Colonial British Empire during the formation of the commonwealth led to the Araucana taking up residence in many countries around the world. Indeed, to this day, the British Tailed Araucana can be found in over 60 countries.
The precise historical moment of introduction to the British Isles is not known however it is reported that a Chilean nitrate ship floundered off the coast of Scotland in the 1930’s and the descendants of bearded, muffed, tailed Araucanas that were aboard were scattered among the Inner Hebrides. There has been a huge amount of cross breeding with more modern varieties in the twentieth century. George Malcom of East Lothian, Scotland created the modern standard that now exists, which maintains the unique blue egg along with the beard, muff and crest.
