Can EE chick be solid white? ADDED PICTURE!

[SueBaby]

I have a white EE pullet that is getting some light brown feathering as she gets older. She was very light yellow when she was a chick, but she has the green legs. I have 4 other EE chicks that whose colors are shades of brown/red/black and NONE of them have the green legs. Seems to me that there are lots of variations in EEs.

 

[Pele]

There are a dizzying amount of variations when it comes to EEs, and as the others have helpfully pointed out there is no regulation of the 'breed'.

However, that being said, an EE should have at least one or more of the following features: willow to slate colored legs, a prominant muff (shows as big chimpmunk cheeks in chicks), a pea comb, and lays green/blue eggs.

From what you are describing, it sounds like your chick doesn't have any of the EE features. You may have received what some people here refer to as 'packing peanuts', which are roosters from other breeds that the hatchery included in addition to the chicks you ordered. They are randomly selected, and have nothing to do with the breed you actually ordered. They are considered a 'bonus' (though to those of us who can't have roosters, it's heartbreaking since we have to rehome them).

Please post a pic of your little guy, and I'm sure someone here will be able to id him for you.

 

[1 hen and 1 roo]

Quote:
Oh, by the way, these pictures are my Purebred Ameraucana chicks. These are my daugther's Exhibition Chickens from very good breed stock.
I do have an EE that came from a Hatchery labeled "Americana" which was most likely a EE. We bred it to our Purebred Ameraucana for fun. Got 3 chicks and they were white or yellow with a 2 or 3 tiny black spots. The pullets color is similar to the Wheaten but her face and comb are different and the 2 cockerels were somewhat similar to the Blue Wheaten and the Wheaten but their combs and face were different. They will carry the blue egg gene since it is dominate. The blue egg gene comes from the Ameraucana chicken and a bluish green egg gene comes from the Araucana. We have both of these breeds.

 

[ginormous chicken]

I have a pure white EE that came from HHandbasket. She is named Snow and is the prettiest thing. So yes. She also doesn't have a lick of brown on her and has green feet.

 

[Schwartzfarmnc]

Quote:
Yes, we have one that was solid white with yellow feet, but now is a beautiful pullet.

Her legs started changing about the time this picture was taken @ 6 days old.

@19 weeks

 

[I Dream 0f Chickens *U*]

I bought a white EE chick with a small spot on her back from the feed store. Her legs started out yellow, which concerned me, but they have since turned a respectable shade of green. As an adult she has more color on her neck and the dark spot got bigger, but she is still white on most of her body.

 

[Ridgerunner]

EE's are not a breed. The only characteristic they have is that they have the blue egg gene, which means they should lay blue or green eggs. That is the only characteristic they have in common.

The blue egg gene is very close to the pea comb gene on the DNA. Someone I trust on this site said that with them that close, the blue egg gene will follow the pea comb 97% of the time. Which means 3% of the time, the blue egg gene can be disconnected from the pea comb. So it is very possible for a hen to have a single comb and still lay green or blue eggs, which makes her an EE. And if they are crossed with a chicken with a rose comb, they can have a walnut comb. An EE will usually have a pea comb, but does not always.

Green or slate legs are sometimes associated with an EE, but there is no connection from the blue egg gene to the genes that control the leg color. Since EE's are basically crosses, there is nothing that says their legs have to be a certain color. My EE has brilliant yellow legs and lays a beautiful green egg. Leg color depends on what breeds are in her background and which genes she inherited. Having yellow, black, or white legs does not disqualify her from being an EE.

Muffs and tuffs are associated with Ameraucanas and Araucanas, which might be somewhere in the genetic background of the EE's. But there are other breeds that lay blue eggs, they are just not recognized officially in the US in the Standard of Perfection as far as I know. Many EE's will have muffs or tuffs. My EE does not. The blue egg gene is not tied to either. I hatched out some green eggs and the pullets had muffs. They laid brown eggs.

Somewhere in the backgroud of her ancestry, there are probably chickens with green or slate colored legs, muffs and/or tuffs, and a pea comb. How many of these she has will depend on how many different chickens she has been crossed with and which traits she actually inherited. These traits are common with EE's, but not having them does not disqualify her from being an EE. The only way you will know for certain is to see her eggs. And I have trouble seeing what a chick's eggs look like until she actually lays one.

Is she an EE? I don't know. I'll tell you when I see the eggs.

 

[Sailing Dede]

 

[gmendoza]

Bought 12 cornish x's at Tsc.One was always under the nipple waterer.I called it "thirsty". Found out ole Thursty is a white ee with blue legs.Must have slipped thru the system.

 

[Pele]

Quote:
You have a lot of good information here, but one or two things are a bit off. I really respect what you've said, but I'm a stickler for clarity when it comes to EEs.

Because EEs are not a regulated breed, any of the features normally associated with them can be present or not. There are lots of folks who have posted on BYC, disappointed because they have an EE who lays brown eggs. Hatcheries call a bird an EE if they have at least one of the following: willow to slate legs, muffs, lays green/blue eggs, has a pea comb.

The ideal EE has all of those features, but you still have an EE if it only has one of them, any of them. If you've lost all of them, you just have a barnyard cross.

Additionally, Ameraucanas were developed out of EEs, not the other way around. Breeders got tired of the crazy variation in the EE category, and standardized them so they did breed true, and they could expect colored eggs out of every bird.

Only purebreds will give you the same result every time, no matter what. EEs are not purebreds, and so you cannot ever say "Oh, if your bird does/has this one thing, it's an EE." It's a collection of possible traits, blue/green eggs being only one trait they could possibly have.

Sorry, not trying to get off-topic here, it's just my soapbox topic