Where Did the Pea Combs Come From?

[Steve Neumann]

Question for the breed founders.  Were the pea combs of Ameraucanas from the original Chilean mongrel Easter Egger stock or from other pea combed breeds?  Were those first mongrel Easter Eggers that you used pea comb?

[John W Blehm]

I have THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE issues from April, 1927 and September, 1948.  These are the two that give insight into the blue egg laying south American mongrel chickens that were known at the time as "Araucana" and "Easter Egg" chickens.  They have since evolved, thru selective breeding, into the Standard Araucana & Ameraucana breeds and of course there are still the mongrel Easter Eggers.

The 1927 magazine doesn't have much on the subject, but there is a great color portrait (below)...the classic artist's conception that is also reprinted in the 1948 issue...and a paragraph saying they were discovered in 1914.  For anyone into chickens, in general, this issue is great.  It has the articles The Races of Domestic Fowl, Fowl of the Old and New World and America's Debt to the Hen, along with many illustrations.  The articles are old, so it is more history than useful current information.

The 1948 issue has the Easter Egg Chickens article that gives an in depth story about the birds coming to North American, along with some nice color photos.  Glancing back over the article I don't see combs mentioned, but that the imported chickens looked like they were already crossed with different North Americana breeds before coming here and I believe every comb type was probably showing up.  Some of the photos show a single comb and what looks like a walnut comb.

[Steve Neumann]

Thanks, John.  I've read the 1948 article.  It's actually online here:  https://archive.org/stream/NationalGeographic201505/National%20Geographic%201948-09%20094-3%20Sep#page/n103/mode/2up  for anybody who wants to read it.  I was not able to find the 1927 article, I will have to look for it.  The first Easter Eggers that you guys used from McMurray, were they pea combed or modified pea?  What pea combed breeds were used in breeding the different varieties of Ameraucanas?

[Mike Gilbert]

I can only speak for the bantams, but my first ones were from the Marti Hatchery of Missouri, and they did have pea combs.   Not surprising, because it had already been established by that time that the O gene for blue eggs is linked with the pea comb trait. 

[John W Blehm]

I can only speak for the bantams, but my first ones were from the Marti Hatchery of Missouri, and they did have pea combs.   Not surprising, because it had already been established by that time that the O gene for blue eggs is linked with the pea comb trait.

Jerry Segler had single and pea combed birds to start with and bred for pea combs.  I created LF blacks, buffs and whites by putting an oversized white, pea combed Ameraucana bantam cock, from Jerry, over single combed black Australorp and white & buff Orpington pullets from McMurray.  I didn't buy Easter Eggers for the projects.   All the LF varieties were accepted by the APA before they were created, as were bantam buffs.
I had been breeding my own "Araucanas" before finding Mike, Jerry and Ameraucanas.  At the time I was in my 20s, working full time and more with a family, so I didn't put much time into the chickens.  I only had a few, but they had muffs, tails, slate/black shanks and pea combs.  Pea combs and blue eggs seem to go together.