The Ameraucana Chicken has a very unusual attribute. The pullet lays blue eggs. The customer must be well informed of the attributes of the Ameraucana before buying them because 99 percent of the chickens sold are actually just mongrels born of the blue eggs.

The Ameraucana Chicken is a fairly new breed introduced into the world of chickens and was bred for the unique color of the eggs. There is a debate that continues about the cholesterol of the blue egg. Some say that the cholesterol of the eggs is less than normal eggs of other breeds. When the Ameraucana eggs were compared to that of the White Leghorn eggs, it was found that the Ameraucana eggs had a higher concentration of yolk cholesterol. Ameraucana eggs also consistently contained less calcium, zinc and iron. Still, these eggs are sought after as a healthy alternative to normal eggs. These chickens, like all chickens, belong on a farm. They also can be used for their tender meat.

The Ameraucana has a tail, muffs, and a beard around its face. The muffs look like a cluster of feathers hanging below and around its face. It is around the eyes and covers and ears and then leads into the beard. The beard is made of feathers that hang from the upper area of the throat. These are the only characteristics that can classify it as a true-bred chicken. The Ameraucana is larger than its counterpart, the Araucana, and is often mistaken for the Araucana. Both lay blue eggs, have pea combs and red earlobes, but only the Ameraucana has a tail, full beard, and muffs. The Araucana, on the other hand, has no tail or muffs just ear tufts. There are eight distinct, and recognized, varieties of the Ameraucana. They are the Black, Blue, Blue-Wheaten, Brown-Red, Buff, Silver, Wheaten, and White. There is also a bantam, or miniature, form of the Ameraucana.

It wasn't until the 1970's that this bird was developed. These birds were developed because of their unique coloring of their eggs. They were bred from the Araucana, and the Ameraucana was bred to breed the undesirable traits out of the Araucana. The Araucana has a lethal gene problem in it, and the Ameraucana was bred so that was taken out and that the bird was larger. The first chicken that laid blue eggs was brought over from South America in the 1920's. After some extensive crossbreeding, the Ameraucana was born and was admitted into the Standard in 1984. There are some problems with people calling the chickens "Easter Egg Chicks" and that is purely because they lay blue eggs. If you breed any chicken with an Araucana, or an Ameraucana, their eggs will turn blue because that is a dominant trait. For this reason, they are often mistaken for purebred.

Breeders should be positive that they have pure breeds of the animal so it doesn't end up with the lethal gene, like the Araucana, or so that they don't end up with a mongrel.