I do not vaccinate my chicks against Mareks.  There are many misconceptions about the Mareks disease.  One is that if you order a day old vaccinated chick it will be immune to the disease.   If the vaccinated chick, does not come in contact with feathers, dander, or other chickens that have been exposed to the Mareks vaccine, for a period of 10 to 14 days then it will have acquired amunity against developing the symptoms of the mareks virus.    This means keeping them completely seperate from your flock and anywhere your flock have ever been.  Not easy to do.

I have been fortunate to not have a case of Mareks at my farm.  I realize because the disease is so wide spread that it may not always be the case.

If a bird is vaccinated it does not mean that it won’t get Mareks.  It means they may not get the worst symptoms of the disease which can kill them.  It also will not prevent them from passing the virus on to other chickens as once a bird has Mareks it sheds the virus for life.

It is a decision that you need to make for yourself before you purchase one of my birds.  I give a two week from receipt of bird health guarantee.

I have a very good link on the links page to First State Vet Supply that explains the vaccine and the virus very well.

•    Hatcheries do not sell ” True Araucana “.  What they sell are Easter  Egger chickens.  A chicken that has muffs, beard, and can lay eggs from blue, green, pink, brown, or white.
•  The APA standard for Large Fowl  Araucana is ” rumpless and have tufts of feathers protruding from each side of the head/neck”.  The Araucana also has a pea comb and lays a blue shelled egg.  Disqualifications are white skin, feathered legs, presence of tail or partial tail, other than a pea comb, and lack of ear tufts.  Recognized APA colors are :  Black, White, Black Breasted Red, Duckwing both silver and golden.
•  There is a strong link between the pea comb and the blue egg gene, so when looking to buy adult birds make sure they have a pea comb.  When buying hatching eggs look for the bluest eggs if possible.
• Hatching eggs are the easiest to find.  They can be found here as I sell hatching eggs in limited supply or  you can look at these two sites although I do no make it statements or guarantees as to anyone elses quality of birds or eggs other than my own.  http://www.ebay.com/  search araucana eggs, or http://www.showbirdauctions.com  and http://www.skyblueegg.com.  The downside of hatching eggs is that they are usually handled roughly during shipping, and this can cause the embryo’s to not develop.  It is very discouraging to spend the money and sit anxiously waiting for chicks to hatch for nothing.  Araucana embryo’s tend to be  delicate and the tufted ones even more so.  If possible purchase hatching eggs from a breeder that you know of or is a member of the Araucana Club of America.  Many say they have Araucana and in fact have Easter Eggers.
• I recommend joining the Araucana Club of America.  They have many great resources and a list of the Araucana breeders along with their contact info.  They also have a forum where you can post questions and get answers from the many breeders who are members.
• If you have the money to spend, it is possible to find show birds for sale.    You can expect to pay anywhere from $ 100.00 up plus shipping up to $500.00 plus shipping.  I recently saw a non show quality bird with poor egg color sell for $300.00 so be prepared.  I have recently both purchased close to show quality birds for $250.00 and up and sold birds I have shown for $300.
• There are those who have started birds and day old chicks for sale.  Please do not expect them to be show quality.  The Araucana is a rare breed and it is difficult getting birds with all the requirements to be a show bird.  Therefor it is unlikely that a serious breeder would part with anything that has the potential to be show quality.  I only sell my show birds when I have determined that it is a color I no longer will be working with or the bird does not meet my needs for the breeding pens.  I do not breed and raise birds to show.  I breed and raise Araucana to be as close to what I believe the perfect araucana should look like.  From time to time I produce a bird that I consider lovely enough to be shared with the public for a time.  These are the birds I show.
• Please be patient.  You will most likely start out with birds that do not meet the standard for various reasons.  With selective breeding you can get birds that will start to show the traits you are working towards.
• When buying hatching eggs make sure you see pictures of their birds.  Many times people are selling Easter Eggers or Araucana cross’s as Araucanas.
•  Do not be dissapointed if you receive some eggs that are greenish.  That is fairly normal.  You will need to breed selectively for blue egg color.
• Araucanas do not always breed true to color especially in the Black Breasted Red and the Duckwing varieties.  You can end up with quite a few different colors.  Breeding will take patience and trial and error.
  • Most of all enjoy the uniqueness of the Araucana breed.  They are a funny quirky little bird.