Breeding Easter Eggers

[Gingersnap722]

Where did you get these roosters? How old are they?

We got them from a friend. They gave us the eggs and we hatched them. They are a little over 3 months old.

 

[Gingersnap722]

Here is the "dad" of my roosters.

 

[Percheron chick]

He is a beautiful bird but he is not a standard ameraucana color making him an EE. Even if both parents are standard colors if the resulting chicks are non standard, they are EEs. Say you cross a blue with a blue wheaten, you end up with EE. The chick color is unpredictable. You do however end up with a predictable blue gene which is your immediate need.

 

[Gingersnap722]

He is a beautiful bird but he is not a standard ameraucana color making him an EE. Even if both parents are standard colors if the resulting chicks are non standard, they are EEs. Say you cross a blue with a blue wheaten, you end up with EE. The chick color is unpredictable. You do however end up with a predictable blue gene which is your immediate need.

Ok, I think I've got it. Even if both parents are Ameraucana's, if the chick isn't the standard colors, then it's an EE?

Since I just want to breed EE's then using one or both of the other roosters I pictured will be ok? I can breed them to any breed of hen I choose and get EE's since the blue gene is there?

 

[Percheron chick]

Correct. It would be good to know what the parent stock was on all the potential roosters and take out the guessing. You don't want a brown or white egg gene popping up on your pullets. Nobody wants brown laying EEs.

 

[Gingersnap722]

The two young roosters came from the same stock. That last pic was the rooster they came from and the hens were Ameraucanas, however, could have been EE's if the color on them wasn't correct.

 

[Percheron chick]

So everyone hatched out of blue eggs correct? The only wildcard will be the daddy rooster's daddy. It sounds like you are pretty safe with what you have. You will have some fun crazy looking birds.

 

[Gingersnap722]

Yes, they all hatched from blue eggs. Thank you!

 

[junebuggena]

I have a black one and these two. They aren't hatchery birds since those are actually EE's. What do you think? Look good or no?

I see yellow under the black 'wash' on those legs on that first one. They are Easter Eggers. Ameraucana have white skin.

 

[Gingersnap722]

Thank you junebuggena! As you can tell, I'm still learning about these breeds. Their legs should be white also? I've looked at Ameraucana sites and I don't see white legs on all the birds.