John Howard Adams, age 14, of Hopkinsville, Ky., for his question:
HOW DID THEY GET THE ARAUCANA BREED OF CHICKENS?
A few generations ago, all our beef came from rangy, longhorn cattle. Then the meatier shorthorns were introduced, and within a decade or so they replaced the herds of longhorns. Something similar may be in store for the chicken market. Soon our flocks of familiar chickens may be replaced by the superior araucana.
Back in the 1920s, a few of these remarkable chickens arrived in North America. They came from Chile and were named for the Araucana Indians of that region. Nobody is certain how or when the breed originated. But the possibilities have been studied at several agricultural centers.
Chicken experts are not sure whether the araucana got its start in Chile or in some other country. In any case, they suspect its ancestors were crossbreeds of Asian jungle fowl, guinea hens and perhaps even pheasants and wild turkeys. Maybe some of these ancestors were taken to Chile by Spanish ships and later improved.
Obviously the outstanding breed deserves to be studied in detail. The gentle females are meaty and tasty birds and so are the spunkier roosters. Their manure is extra rich in nitrogen, which adds a rich dark green to your vegetable garden. The hens and especially the roosters wear a wide assortment of colorful feathers.
These qualities are outstanding. But araucana eggs are downright amazing. For one thing, they come all ready tinted with Easter colors. Some are green, others blue, and some are various shades of pinkish gold. What's more, the quality of araucana eggs is superior to our everyday eggs of white and brown.
Ordinary eggs are splendid food, but they contain lots of cholesterol, and experts warn against too much of this in our daily diet. Araucana eggs have less cholesterol, and some of the blue ones have none at all. They also have much more valuable protein and extra iron.
We may not know how this superior breed originated, but experts are learning how to improve it. For example, araucanas can be crossed with our domestic chickens. A certain percentage of these offspring inherit fancy araucana feathers and produce those colored eggs.
It is hard to describe their feathery plumage for almost every araucana wears a different outfit. The mixed breeds tend to be speckled with browns, grays or black and white. However, some may inherit glowing pheasant type colors ¬and some will inherit feathery earmuffs or tufted tails.