Reviews by DaniellePage

So far i have owned 4 EE's. One was a hatchery and the others are mix breed farm hens.
The hatchery one was HUGE and died at 2 years old of internal laying.

Egg production is OK about 5 a week on average.

when my pullets started laying they started headlong thru the winter with 5-6 avg. eggs per week for each bird.

The Hatchery hen was timid and did not like being handled.
The hatched farm chicks are 2/3 are super friendly and jump up on you. the other is more cautious but not as timid as my 1st hen.

None have been the brightest birds. One is even kinda a bit on the slow side but as sweet as can be.

They are all a good size bird.
Mine love to fly up into the trees and go higher and higher up the branches.

I just love their cute floofy faces!!!!!

Only had 1 PR (barred).

She didn't last very long (14months) before I had to have her euthanized.
My experience with her:

Eggs: about 6 every 7 days, medium brown, medium size (extra large store egg - still fit in carton)
she became ill a few months after laying so the rest of her eggs were soft-shell till she got so ill she stopped altogether - so I can only vouch for the time she laid.

Temperament:
loves people, curious, tasting everything, great flying bug catcher, energetic, fun to watch, the jester of the flock, sweet to people, easily "trained"/ fast learner. not prone to broodiness.

Health:
Cant say on health since mine had a kidney issue the vet is still trying to figure out.

I only have 1 RIR hen. I have had her for a year.

She is my dominant hen.
She is:
smart, inquisitive, bossy, prone to moodiness, alert to dangers

What a producer of eggs she is!
She lays about every 25-26 hours.
eggs are big! beautifully shaped, great shells (I can compare her egs to the other breeds I have because they all eat the same things), reddish brown in color.

She is a beautiful bird. Rectangular in shape. lean and fit (not skinny). low to the ground.
She has been the healthiest of my birds so far.

She has convinced me that I want to keep this breed as part of my future flocks.

Update 1.5 years later:

My sweet RIR is 2 1/2 now.
She went broody and hatched eggs. She was a PERFECT mother. Instincts on what to do was spot on . She was a FIERCE mother. she protected the eggs from me and the other girls but when the little fluffers hatched, she was a proud mama and let the people play with the babies but the other chickens were not allowed anywhere near them. She even attacked the sweet neighbor dog because he got within 8 feet of her area.
when the babies grew and i kept a roo, she did NOT like the roo and attacked him often - not aggressively to kill him but to keep him in his place and from mating her.

She has slowed down laying just recently but not by much - get 6 eggs a week and one every other day in winter.
She is not a snuggly bird but is very trusting of me and comes when called and lets me pick her up and handle her.
She will jump HIGH to get the treats from you.
She can get moody especially before she lays and egg or is in molt. I have seen her bully the alpha of the new hens when she gets too confident and tries to out-alpha my Red.
She will make and hide nests in the summer.
Once it took us an hour to find her in her hiding hole ( i thought she was taken by a hawk).

I used this waterer for a while. Read many complaints on the o ring not working right - I never had that issue.
The big issue I did have was that you had to really watch how tight you made the seal. Too tight and the tray would be too low, too loose and you have a flooded coop.
The unit is easy to clean once you get if off the base. Getting it of the base was always a huge struggle for me.
I have a small coop and it took up too much floor space.
Like that it is plastic so I can use ACV in the water.
Didnt hang well so I set it up on cinder block and it was a-ok.
I still use it out in the tractor or when the girls free range.
I got tired of a flooded coop so switched my coop waterer to a 2.5 gallon dog waterer - works better and so much easier.