11 wk old pullets - are they Easter Eggers or...?

[Cinnaminute]

Hi everyone! In my introduction in the forums I had some suggestions that my chickens may not be EEs! I know Hoover's describes their Easter Eggers as...

"Our Easter Eggers are a combination of the traditional American Easter Eggers, which typically has a pea comb, beard and green legs, along with the European version of Easter Eggers, which are called Grünleger, which typically have yellow legs, a single comb, and commonly a tuft on its head. The Grünleger is a hybrid cross between a commercial type Legbar, and brown egg-laying hens"

...but I don't know if TSC got my chicks from Hoover's or elsewhere (the employee didn't seem to know much). So I thought I'd go ahead and ask what they might be!

1. Where did you get the birds? I bought them from a TSC in Augusta, GA on June 5th this year. It was a Sunday and I was told they were only a few days old. Google search says TSC gets their chick shipments in on Mondays so I've been counting it as if they were 6 days old when I bought them which makes them 11 going on 12 weeks old.

2. If they were bought at a feed store, what breeds or varieties were listed? Sadly I'm not 100% certain of the breeds they had. If memory serves, there were a total of 4 breeds in 2 bins. I looked up each breed at the time, and the Easter Eggers were the ones that reportedly laid the most eggs per year which is why I chose them. They were in a bin with yellow/white chicks.

Easter Eggers (pullets) - I purchased from this bin.
Cochin - (or Cornish? one of the them... or maybe they had both?)
Ameraucana - My family says they were certain they had these in a bin.

3. Picture Time! Here are my 6 pullets (I include a very poor quality chick photo at the end just to show their coloration as chicks). Some hackles were raised on a couple girls - I think they weren't too fond of the shutter sound the camera was making - hopefully that's no trouble in their identification. Pictures taken 8/24/22. Thanks for reading!

 

[DobieLover]

You need to switch this girl over to decaf. Sheesh!

They look like CCL/Welsummer mixes so maybe some hatcheries idea of an olive egger.

 

[SamCO]

Beautiful birds!

 

[Paradisewife]

Moose & Cleo resemble my Crested Cream Legbars - supposed to lay blue eggs. 17.5 weeks old now, should be laying any time now.

 

[maryn7]

omg I am dying - it looks like you've started a chicken salon in the 1980s.

They aren't Cochins (no feathered feet), nor Ameraucana (yellow legs). To me, they all look like the same type, and my guess would be the Legbar cross EEs. I also agree they've got a Welsummer look, so maybe they'll be olive eggers.

If the eggs don't work out, have you considered an all-chicken revival of Steel Magnolias?

 

[Cinnaminute]

Thank you all so much for the input! I really appreciate it! Now I'm even more excited for the eggs. Sounds like it'll be a great tell.

You need to switch this girl over to decaf. Sheesh!
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Funny enough, Tilly is my calmest girl, believe it or not! She's my lap chicken and loves to cuddle (maybe I need to switch to decaf, she might've been sneaking some when I wasn't looking!). She also tends to be the least spooked, so it really had me confused why the camera threw her off. Immediately after she just went about foraging and every picture after that was her head in the grass, haha.

Moose & Cleo resemble my Crested Cream Legbars - supposed to lay blue eggs. 17.5 weeks old now, should be laying any time now.

Very eager for you to get your eggs!

omg I am dying - it looks like you've started a chicken salon in the 1980s.

They aren't Cochins (no feathered feet), nor Ameraucana (yellow legs). To me, they all look like the same type, and my guess would be the Legbar cross EEs. I also agree they've got a Welsummer look, so maybe they'll be olive eggers.

If the eggs don't work out, have you considered an all-chicken revival of Steel Magnolias?

Sounds like they might have a great potential career in their future!

 

[Painted Calls]

I am LIVING for these girl's hairdos. They almost have manes.

They are the CCLB EE's that Hoover's produces.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

I have two of these too! I’ve been calling them Olive Eggers (Legbar/Welsummer cross) but it’s possible they could be Grünleger. I haven’t been able to figure out a difference between those. I even joined the Hoover’s Facebook group to help with identifying. Still no luck.

I had an actual Legbar Welsummer cross (F1 Olive egger) hatched from a local breeder. In addition to more traditional Easter Egger chicks from Hoovers. The chicks similar to yours always looked almost identical to the local hatched Olive Egger.

Here’s mine at varying ages (currently almost 8 weeks). They are banded with yellow.

 

[The WinterWolf]

Hi everyone! In my introduction in the forums I had some suggestions that my chickens may not be EEs! I know Hoover's describes their Easter Eggers as...

...but I don't know if TSC got my chicks from Hoover's or elsewhere (the employee didn't seem to know much). So I thought I'd go ahead and ask what they might be!

1. Where did you get the birds? I bought them from a TSC in Augusta, GA on June 5th this year. It was a Sunday and I was told they were only a few days old. Google search says TSC gets their chick shipments in on Mondays so I've been counting it as if they were 6 days old when I bought them which makes them 11 going on 12 weeks old.

2. If they were bought at a feed store, what breeds or varieties were listed? Sadly I'm not 100% certain of the breeds they had. If memory serves, there were a total of 4 breeds in 2 bins. I looked up each breed at the time, and the Easter Eggers were the ones that reportedly laid the most eggs per year which is why I chose them. They were in a bin with yellow/white chicks.

Easter Eggers (pullets) - I purchased from this bin.
Cochin - (or Cornish? one of the them... or maybe they had both?)
Ameraucana - My family says they were certain they had these in a bin.

3. Picture Time! Here are my 6 pullets (I include a very poor quality chick photo at the end just to show their coloration as chicks). Some hackles were raised on a couple girls - I think they weren't too fond of the shutter sound the camera was making - hopefully that's no trouble in their identification. Pictures taken 8/24/22. Thanks for reading!

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i don't know. but i love them!

they remind me of her.

i was given my welsummer and told it was an "Easter egger"

 

[Cinnaminute]

@UThobbyfarmer Thought I replied and I didn't, I'm sorry. Your chickens are adorable! Such cuties! Definitely look a lot like mine with those yellow legs. Thanks for sharing!

@The WinterWolf She is gorgeous! Have you had any eggs from her yet? I heard Welsummers have speckles on their eggs?