Austracanas?

[John W Blehm]

I was going thru some old newsletters from the Araucana Club of Australia and thought this article would be of interest to some.  It is from their Spring Newsletter, September 1999 (I know Spring and September don't go together in North America).
The author, Gerry Coady, talks about "pure" breeds near the end of the article and as I read it, it reminded me of some of what I've written along the same lines.

[Lee G]

Neat read. I agree with the author that 'pure bred' doesn't really work for poultry, at least not in the context it's usually used. I prefer and use the term 'standard bred' as it just makes more sense to me. 

[Lee G]

I also have to wonder why so many folks new to poultry get hung up on whether their birds are 'pure bred' or not...the better question in my mind is are the birds up to Standard.

A breeder I greatly respect and admire once wrote, "Names are labels. Types are breeds. Strains are what is in your backyard." And I couldn't agree more....

[Mike Gilbert]

I also have to wonder why so many folks new to poultry get hung up on whether their birds are 'pure bred' or not...the better question in my mind is are the birds up to Standard.

A breeder I greatly respect and admire once wrote, "Names are labels. Types are breeds. Strains are what is in your backyard." And I couldn't agree more....

And then there are landraces, such as the "Swedish Flower Chicken" and easter eggers, from which Standard Bred Ameraucanas were derived for the most part.   The Araucanas, Colloncas, Quetero's, etc of South America were nothing more than landraces as well.