So I have to start by saying we've only had our EE's for a couple weeks and they are only 3 months old so I can't comment as to their laying. I read someone say they are stupid and I just have to disagree. Our two, Athena and Minerva seem to be very smart. They were the first of the new flock to figure out the door system between the pens and runs. They are wonderful foragers and when I take treats out they hardly even notice. They would rather forage than be fed...though they will eat mealworms out of my hand once they are caught. The only issue I have so far is that they are hard to catch, extremely quick, and when one did get out she ran into the tall grass/weeds and layed down to hide. She was only a few feet from us but we couldn't see her at all and she stayed perfectly still. Took a while to find her and then had to use the net to catch her. Hopefully as we have them longer and are able to work with them more maybe they will settle down but who knows. They seem to have a very independent personality and don't seem to be to reliant on us at all. They pretty much stick together in the flock and ignore the other girls but aren't mean or aggressive at all. If someone does start to pick on one of them though they stand up and the other always comes to aid her sister. As long as their laying turns out to be good I would recommend them for any flock!