Easter Eggers - Tell me the good, the bad, and the eggly :)

[TheFugitivePen]

All the ones I ever had where skittish.

As I researched Easter Eggers, it seems that people either say they're the most friendly or the most skittish chickens they've ever had. Two big extremes.

Were yours more skittish than other breeds?

.... honestly, I'm hoping we can get at least one cuddly-ish bird at some point. I may be asking too much of the chicken species, though lol

 

[MysteryChicken]

That's so fun!

We have an Australorp named "Drama." She was always one of the most skittish of our hens. She's chilled a tiny bit since she started laying, but not by much. Good luck catching her if she's not roosting.

It sounds like yours have a lot of personality! That must be delightful!

I used to have a Buff Orpington named Drama Queen. The slightest little movement freaked her out. One time she freaked for a good whole 2 minutes straight.

 

[artbykarenehaley]

We have two Easter eggers who are quite different… from each other. To be blunt one of them is extremely stupid. I so far do like the breed a lot (luckily her stupidity just tends to be endearing at this point). Her sister is actually quite smart. They both can fly pretty well and seem to be rather good free rangers. They both have the mutton chopped look which I adore (it’s also very soft). They haven’t laid eggs just yet but so far they have both managed to stay alive. They are one of our few breed duos that has managed to keep both members. We named the stupid one Baba Yaga she’s a scruffy gal with not a thought in her head. On the bright side though she’s a great model lol. But our smart one (Hawk) is actually quite an ideal chicken thus far. Here are some pictures of the two! I don’t have many of Hawk as Baba tends to steal the spotlight lmao. View attachment 3312440View attachment 3312441View attachment 3312442View attachment 3312443View attachment 3312444View attachment 3312445

My sister has an EE named Redhawk that looks just like your Hawk, how funny. She has another EE named Squiggy who has an incredibly friendly personality. She likes her neck stroked. I'm hoping to hatch some of Squiggys eggs when spring comes around so I can have a few friendly pullets. My older hens are slated to retire to my parents farm soon.

 

[artbykarenehaley]

As I researched Easter Eggers, it seems that people either say they're the most friendly or the most skittish chickens they've ever had. Two big extremes.

Were yours more skittish than other breeds?

.... honestly, I'm hoping we can get at least one cuddly-ish bird at some point. I may be asking too much of the chicken species, though lol

I don't think you're asking too much. My friendliest hen is an EE named Cutie. Her sis started out skittish but is now more friendly as well. They were sourced from Privett hatchery. In my experience the birds I have gotten from there are of wonderful temperament but are hatchery quality, not SOP show birds. They were listed as Americaunas, not Ameracaunas, but I knew they were not real deal Ameracaunas going in.
My EEs from Dunlap hatchery were either friendly or crackheads there was no inbetween

I hear EE bantams tend to be more flighty than their larger counterparts.

 

[TheFugitivePen]

I don't think you're asking too much. My friendliest hen is an EE named Cutie. Her sis started out skittish but is now more friendly as well. They were sourced from Privett hatchery. In my experience the birds I have gotten from there are of wonderful temperament but are hatchery quality, not SOP show birds. They were listed as Americaunas, not Ameracaunas, but I knew they were not real deal Ameracaunas going in.
My EEs from Dunlap hatchery were either friendly or crackheads there was no inbetween

I hear EE bantams tend to be more flighty than their larger counterparts.

It's good to hear that they can go from skittish to friendly

We had at least one Australorp that did that (working on a second). As a chick, she was one of our most skittish--terrified of human contact. Now she's our top hen and is the first to greet me when I come to the run. Asking for pets or snuggles? No, but she's not screaming and running at the sight of us.

I'm very new to chicken-keeping--what's the difference between hatchery chickens and SOP show chickens?

We ordered our Australorp chicks from Mt Healthy Hatchery, and, while they aren't snuggly, they've been good girls so far. My husband wants to order from them again if/when we get more chicks. They have "Americanas" but also note in the description that they are "Easter Eggers" not true Ameracaunas.

 

[BurbCoop]

We really enjoy our Easter Eggers. We had one very sweet and shy bird, Olaf, who unfortunately had reproductive/egg laying problems and passed away not too long ago.

Her sister, Sven, thinks she is human and always wants to be part of whatever is going on. She has been known to sit and eat dinner on the back porch with us

The different personalities of all chickens, even when they are the same breed, is fascinating. They are all definitely their own individuals.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I've had 3 total. 2 were/are skittish, 1 is almost aggressively friendly and likes being picked up (she'll walk up and stare at you and wait to see if you give her a lift, if not she may start to harass you).

Keep in mind as they aren't an actual breed with set characteristics that you may get a lot of variation in appearance and temperament, but I think that makes it more fun.

 

[TheFugitivePen]

We really enjoy our Easter Eggers. We had one very sweet and shy bird, Olaf, who unfortunately had reproductive/egg laying problems and passed away not too long ago.

Her sister, Sven, thinks she is human and always wants to be part of whatever is going on. She has been known to sit and eat dinner on the back porch with us

The different personalities of all chickens, even when they are the same breed, is fascinating. They are all definitely their own individuals.

View attachment 3312718
View attachment 3312724

Oh, MY GOODNESS!!!! She is just too precious! THAT FACE!


I'm so sorry about Olaf. It's also so sad to lose a sweet animal

 

[RubySue]

As I researched Easter Eggers, it seems that people either say they're the most friendly or the most skittish chickens they've ever had. Two big extremes.

Were yours more skittish than other breeds?

.... honestly, I'm hoping we can get at least one cuddly-ish bird at some point. I may be asking too much of the chicken species, though lol

I have my first flock of chicks. I ordered 2 EE because I heard what you did and I also heard they are good for kids. My finance has a 9 year old and I thought it’d be fun for her to have them. However, they are the most skittish of them all. One is even more skittish then a leghorn cockerel I ended up with lol. They haven’t changed in personalities since they were babies.

So far the “ cuddliest” bird I have is a Plymouth barred rock. She was as a baby chick and still is. She was the first to really take to humans. I also got 2 Wyandottes that were not so friendly and skittish as babies whose personalities changed and are not skittish anymore and super friendly. One of the Wyandottes is the only bird that will go up to our 9 year old.

I’m not sure I would like to get anymore EE anytime soon after my experience. But like others say it’s individual. I just happen to get two that were the opposite of everything I read.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

I like them for several reasons.

- They sometimes have adorable little muffs!
- They come in all kinds of colors and patterns.
- They lay pretty eggs!

My former girls, Nala and Trinity.