Do I need an Easter Egger Roo?

[freezefamilyfarm]

I love my EE girls for all the eggs they lay, rain or shine, cold or hot and I want to keep raising some so that I always have good egg production from them. My question is does a EE hen + ? rooster = EE chick? (Sorry, that looks a lot like algebra.) But, could I have, for example, a buff orp rooster breed with EE hens and still get EE offspring? Do I specifically need a EE roo? I mean, if they are mixes anyway, what roo can I "mix" in that will still give me some consistency.

Thanks!

 

[kathyinmo]

You can have any kind of roo that you want to. It doesn't matter what breed. If it is eggs you most want, just go with a good layer breed.

 

[flgardengirl]

You could get a blue egg gene like an americauna roo to intensify the blues and greens of your EEs or a dark egg layer roo like a marans or welsummer to bring out olives in your blue or green EEs egg or make your browns darker.

 

[marymac]

I was wondering the same thing, and from what I have read here , yes you can mix any roo and they are still EE's. I bred my EE to BLRW roo and hatched out 3 that look just like EE's, but none of them have green or slate legs, they are yellow, but I hear that don't matter, they still carry the gene. I am waiting to see what color the eggs will be. I got I think 2 pullets and 1 roo out of the bunch, really pretty birds. Now I don't know about if you have an EE roo and breed it to a pure breed hen of some sort, what would it be then?

 

[hoppy]

if you like the blue eggs, using a brown roo is going to give you green egg shells. if you want to stick with blue egg shells, use a white egg roo but this will lighten your blue eggs. darker blue eggs not too sure on this one but maybe aracona or americana to stay blue.

 

[Kittymomma]

Any roo will work, but if you're looking to keep the green/blue eggs you'll be better off going with an EE roo or one of the purebred blue egg laying breeds. I have three RIRXEE pullets and while two of them have the slate eggs and beards/muffs they all lay brown eggs. They still have the lovely EE personality though and are good layers, just not the nice seafoam and olive eggs that their momma's lay.

 

[freezefamilyfarm]

We bought the EE flock from an acquaintance but the 2 roos were very aggressive. Many of the hens had missing feathers. So those two roos became stew, well actually they are still in the freezer, but anyway I hate to add more Roos than I have to. We have to rotate as it is for free ranging- so more would make it that much more difficult! Thanks for the advice. Right now we have a Cuckoo Marans Roo and a BO roo. We also have one b/w EE pullet or cockerel. It is yet to be determined.

 

[phasianidae]

Quote:
i was in the vary same prediciment! i crossed a Buff Orpington rooster with my EEs and got some wonderful chickens. as far as egg color you may or may not get F1 green egg layers. i have had ?rooster plus EE hen and got brown egg layers and green egg layers both. if you use a Buff Orpington male, your F1s will have pale legs. heres a cross between a BO roo and a White EE hen:

and heres his half sister by the same father:

and heres her EE mother:

heres some more by the same father and mother:

In the spring I plan on crossing the columbianish rooster back to my EE hens.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
x2

 

[wolftracks]

Well I think you need one of my little barred EE roos. I have 3. I just don't want them to be eatten, so going to rehome them.

They're going to be pretty boys too.