The tufts on the Araucana Chicken are very unique.  Only about 25% of the worlds Araucanas have them.  While an Araucana must have tufts to conform to the breed standard of perfection, most Araucanas do not have tufts due to the lethal nature of the tufting gene.  All tufted Araucana only carry one copy of the tufting gene.  Two copies is lethal and the chick dies before it hatches, usually about day 18 of incubation.  Since tufted Araucana only carry one copy the the gene that produces tufts, they have a 50% chance of passing that gene on.  If a bird does not have tufts it cannot pass on what it does not possess.  The tufting gene is a dominant gene.  Which essentially means its a visible gene.  If a bird has it, its expressed( they have tufts).  If they don’t have the gene they don’t have tufts.

This page is dedicated to the beautiful tufts, and some not so beautiful, that my birds possess.