APA Standard introduction/history for Ameraucana chickens

[John W Blehm]

Wikipedia can be a handy resource, but like so much on the internet the information there should not be accepted as the last word.
Back in 2007 there was a Wikipedia page for Araucana chickens, but not one for Ameraucana chickens so I started one.  A couple months ago Steve Neumann brought it to my attention that there were some errors on the page, so I corrected a few.  Then someone reverted that page back to the way it was before my corrections.  I guess we could go back and forth with changes, but I don't want to spend my time fighting the powers that be at Wikipedia.

Below are the three corrections I made in July...

Corrected "standard-sized" with large fowl, since both large fowl and bantam chickens are "standard-sized".
Corrected "araucana" with easter egger, since it was wrong.
Replaced United States with North America, since the APA/ABA standards represent NA and are not specific to any one country.

If someone else wants to take it on...go for it.

[John W Blehm]

BYP magazine started out with different owners and I had a good relationship with them.  The “Ameraucanas” article that I wrote for them in 2007 has come up near the top of many internet searches and has been widely quoted.  A few years ago I noticed they made some changes to the text of my article and thay stated on the page that their articles are regularly “vetted” and updated.  Making changes to my work without my knowledge or permission didn’t go over very well and they changed it back.  Recently I noticed they made changes without my consent again.  They have agreed to delete the article and also the Ameraucanas "Breed of the Month" page I had sponsored. 

Here is part of the original article I wrote…

Which came first the Araucana or the Ameraucana? Actually since both are now legitimate names of official APA breeds let’s say the Easter Eggers came first. They came to this country as mongrel chickens and were bred to other types of chickens. Over the past several decades some breeders bred them to look the way they wanted. Some bred for tufted and rumpless characteristics, some bred for muffs and tails and others bred for whatever they wanted. Araucanas were not developed from Ameraucanas and Ameraucanas were not developed from Araucanas. They were both bred up from Easter Eggers or mixed breed chickens.

And they changed it to this...

Which came first the Araucana or the Ameraucana? Actually, since both are now legitimate names of official APA breeds, Araucanas came first. The original Araucanas (Gallina Mapuche) are a Chilean breed so old they have no documented early history and originally believed to be a different species until later determined to be another variety of Gallus gallus domesticus. They came to this country and were bred to other types of chickens. Over the past several decades some breeders bred them to look the way they wanted. Some bred for tufted and rumpless characteristics, some bred for muffs and tails and others bred for whatever they wanted.

BYP told me "We are going with the APA on this one".  This is because the APA's Standard of Perfection says that since both Ameraucana and Araucana chickens lay eggs with blue shells Ameraucanas "are directly linked with the Araucana stocks brought to the US in the 1930s".  This APA history is also behind Wikipedia's claim that "The Ameraucana was developed...from Araucana chickens brought from Chile".

The encouraging news is that this past year an Alliance committee requested the APA update the wording in their Standard of Perfection, regarding the background and history of the Ameraucana. 

The revised wording should read...

"Ameraucanas lay eggs with blue shells and are therefore linked with nonstandard blue egg laying mongrel stock brought to the US in the 1930s. No Araucana, as recognized by today's standard, were used in creating any variety of Ameraucana."

The APA Standard Committee was very receptive and we believe the change will appear in the next SOP they print in a few years.

[John W Blehm]

This breed was created in the 1970's and 1980's in the North Central region of the United States by refining hatchery-quality colored egg layers into Standard-recognized color varieties with uniform and distinctive features. The final refinement of large fowl Ameraucanas followed that of Ameraucana bantams, which were bred with a greater level of consistency earlier in the breeds development. This breed lays eggs with blue shell pigmentation with a medium pastel blue being the ideal. The Ameraucana is a practical fowl of moderation with no individual section being extreme or out of balance. Eight varieties of Ameraucana were admitted to the Standard in 1984, and the Self Blue variety was admitted in 2020.

[Michael Muenks]

This development of the introduction/history has been fascinating to observe. Thanks to all who have been plugging away at this task for many years.

[John W Blehm]

This development of the introduction/history has been fascinating to observe. Thanks to all who have been plugging away at this task for many years.

That is the text as it should appear in the next APA Standard of Perfection.  Mike and I worked with their Standard committee giving our suggestions and this is what they came up with.  The fake history about Ameraucanas being developed from Araucanas from Chile will be eliminated in the new Standard and hopefully we can get Wikipedia and others to stop pushing the false narrative claiming the APA as it's source.

[Mike Gilbert]

This development of the introduction/history has been fascinating to observe. Thanks to all who have been plugging away at this task for many years.

That is the text as it should appear in the next APA Standard of Perfection.  Mike and I worked with their Standard committee giving our suggestions and this is what they came up with.  The fake history about Ameraucanas being developed from Araucanas from Chile will be eliminated in the new Standard and hopefully we can get Wikipedia and others to stop pushing the false narrative claiming the APA as it's source.

Amen!   Hopefully the other club will not make a stink about it.  I don't think they were involved in this revision.   At least they weren't to the best of my knowledge.