I have to say Easter Eggers are probably my favorite "breed", I love all of the randomness of the colors and how much each chick is a surprise as to what it'll look like. I had 3 Easter Eggers in my original flock of 10 (which sadly had to be rehomed when we moved), and now have 7 more EE chicks out of 21 total. Of the original 3, 2 were the friendliest of the flock and were happy to be handled, and the other one was the least friendly of the entire flock and would scream and run if you ever managed to get close enough to touch her. That's what I mean about variability, it's lovely in the colors of the birds and the eggs, but if you want consistency then this is not the breed for you. The new chicks are still too young to assess but no one has the same color pattern.
Cons - Ours don't lay very many eggs, usually you can barely tell their eggs are blue, ours are all skittish.
Ours are very pretty birds, but ours egg colors aren't my favorite, and ours don't lay very often. Ours our very very skittish. Some like to free range, most like to stay in the barn and barnyard...
Their eggs are large and have green shells. Everybody I sell eggs to LOVES getting the green ones. The eggs almost cannot fit in the carton! I wish I had gotten more Easter Eggers! Everyone loves Eleanor! She's so friendly too! She comes right up on my lap as soon as sit down. She also lays her eggs very quick! I saw her sit down and come right back out and there was a nice green egg right there in the nesting box. I've heard they sometimes can suffer from a cleft pallet. Eleanor did not have that problem but it's common in Easter Eggers.
To my eye, Easter Eggers are gorgeous! They are wild looking birds, with subtle variations of color, each one unique and different from the others. Some are large bodied, some small, some have beards and muffs, some have smooth faces. And the eggs! So interesting to discover the color egg that each girl will lay. My Easter Eggers have always been mild mannered and a bit stand-offish. That is not a negative at my place. I'm not a lap chicken type of girl. These hens are independent and smart, they have excellent survivability when free ranging. I always have Easter Eggers in my flock. The other breeds vary, but always a few Easter Eggers.
Easter Eggers are the perfect breed to get some interesting colors within your flock. Plus, blue eggs (most of the time)! The EE's I've ever had, have always been great egg layers too. They lay fairly large eggs. They're a very fun breed! They are usually easy going and calm. Some have been very friendly and others can stay by you, but just preferred not to be touched. But never too skittish. Not sure what it is, but they can sometimes chose to fly around and hop the fence when they are young. Hasn't been much of an issue when they got full size. Plus, nothing a good wing trimming cant fix.
Pros - -Very friendly, my hen even likes to be petted, my EE rooster is skittish around people but not aggressive, and is great with the hens -Lays a consistent 6 out of 7 days a week
I love having a colorful egg basket, and adore blue/green/pink egg colors as well as their adorable fluffy beards. All of the EE's I've had have been amazing birds, both as consistent egg layers for the hens as well as great roosters. They are one of my friendlier birds, running up to me, even flying up to perch on my arm. I can't wait to get more of these awesome birds
Pros - So beautiful and unique, in looks and in egg colors Always laying Roosters are so caring to their hens and protect them amazingly! Quiet birds, and pretty friendly Mine all had pea combs and never got frostbite Lives for a very long time
Cons - You have to be strict with the nest boxes, mine would always sneak away and lay somewhere else Like roosting in trees and on the patio Beards will often get messy
My two most recent EEs was the cutest couple. My rooster Fluffy and my hen Part-Stripey (my niece named it, and even though it's weird, I find it's oddly adorable!). First of all, they were super pretty and fluffy. Part-stripey was a beautiful fluffy mash-up of gray and black, and Fluffy the rooster had the beautiful and majestic long tail feathers My hen also laid very pretty eggs, ranging from sky blue to blue-gray. Fluffy was friendly, quiet, and protected the flock amazingly. He clearly loved his hens a lot! He did favor Part-stripey a bit much though, and she did have some bareback. I've noticed with past EE roosters that they can get a bit possessive with a single hen. Part-stripey was a bit skittish though. They are also very healthy due to being a mix and mine lived very long. They didn't like roosting in the coop at all though. We got lazy at one point and just let them roost whenever, wherever (they were basically free-ranging 24/7 and never got hurt by a predator which is amazing)... and they chose the porch. SO MUCH CHICKEN POOP! Part-stripey also didn't lay much in the nest boxes. We once found a giant nest where she had been laying, but it was too late, and they were all rotten. Such a waste of beautiful eggs... Their beards also got kinda messy when eating but was never honestly a problem. Overall........ I love easter eggers!
