Easter Egger club!

[jerryse]

Are the legs always super thick on cockerels? Cuz this one's legs are the same as the others...

I do not rely on the legs. Yes the white one is what I meant. In time the tail will get longer and curved. Hackle and saddle feathers will get very pointed if it is a cockerel and comb will grow more.

 

[kabhyper1]

I do not rely on the legs. Yes the white one is what I meant. In time the tail will get longer and curved. Hackle and saddle feathers will get very pointed if it is a cockerel and comb will grow more.

I'm pretty new at EE's but the reddening in the shoulders ,and the pointed saddle and hackles are a pretty dead give away I have found.

 

[jerryse]

I'm pretty new at EE's but the reddening in the shoulders ,and the pointed saddle and hackles are a pretty dead give away I have found.

Yes autosomal red or enhanced red some call it only appears on males. A pure white male will not show this and EE roosters are seldom pure white. It does happen.

 

[sahmhomesteader]

Yes autosomal red or enhanced red some call it only appears on males. A pure white male will not show this and EE roosters are seldom pure white. It does happen. 

I will keep you all updated. Sounds like this could be interesting

 

[Firbrd]

Hi everyone, love the thread. Can I join too? We have 14 ee's. Ordered 13 girls and 1 boy. Only 3 weeks old and already guessing which one is the Cockrell. Think we'll have to wait and see. I just love watching all their new feathers coming in.

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

Hi EE's! We are new to the club & have been EE parents to 6 chicks for a week today. I finished reading the EE Club thread last night & am so happy with all of the info everyone has shared. I do have a problem that just arose this morning. We have 6 EE chicks, 3 brown leghorn pullets, 2 white silkie pullets, I white silkie cockerel, & 2 khaki Campbell babies. We have been raising them all together & everything has been going great. Until this morning... Our 6 EE chicks ganged up on my biggest Silkie pullet, they were attacking her & by the time I got there they had pecked a small spot on the side of her head that drew blood. I immediately separated the silkies out. What's going on? Why did they start this suddenly? HELP!

I have not had this problem with the birds I have raised, nor have I had silkies, but I have been reading various threads and this is not uncommon for many breeds and is not an EE thing as much as a chicken thing: Removing her and placing her with a few mellow mates is good.

First Silkies have a rep of sometimes ending up on the bottom of the pecking order, could be their temperament, could be the silkie feathers, could be the walnut comb... however it is usually something that can be dealt with. Keep in mind even silkies can become just as aggressive as any other chicken breed.

First the space issue. I always increased the size of the box/pen I kept the chicks/chickens in as they grew. It seems the larger the flock gets the more likely this happens. So I think space is a big factor combined with size of flock in this issue. As adults mine had the run of the backyard, so if they got in tiffs, on each other's nerves they always had space, so no ganging up happened, some birds just don't like each other.

It's a dot/different peck it, is how chickens seem to think: Also chickens have a tendency to go for combs and earlobes especially if they stand out. Chickens need to expend energy and have stimuli like other animals and will develop habits that are bad (not good for them or other chickens). Maybe you should try making some toys, like ball with red dot on string and hanging it up, give those idle mind and beak EEs something to peck at.

Bully?: Observe the EE's see if you have a ring leader, if you have a bully bird that bird should target another bird, try removing the "bully" from the others for 3 days or so, to see if she/he calms down when reintroduced, sort of breaking up the cycle. Keep in mind the birds do not understand not having a pecking order and need it, but you don't want abuse or death either in their birdy society because of the pecking order. If you have an unbalanced dominate personality you may have to get rid of that 1 bird, but you should try modifying it's aggression via training, treat it like an aggressive roo that needs to learn you are head chicken and you don't want it pecking others, see aggressive roo advice (no hitting, it's a holding and finger peck thing you need to do, some people also use a spray bottle on the aggressive bird).

When your silkie is healed add to your silkie flock one of the EEs, see how they do. You are going for harmonious pecking order. If all goes well, gradually add birds, in essence you are creating over a period of time a new pecking order by mixing up the chicken clicks. This is a slow process, never rush it.

Also observe your silkie, is she a nervous bird? If the answer is yes this will often upset other birds resulting in pecking... you will have to teach her to be less nervous by doing behavior correction your self, see the various behavior threads.

Also there is some anti-peck products that taste bad to the other birds you can use on your silkie.

I hope this helps, I am no expert on this stuff, but it seems from the various problems on the BYC forum there are options to help your flock and most problems we humans accidentally contribute too.

 

[tmrutter3]

...

I have not had this problem with the birds I have raised, nor have I had silkies, but I have been reading various threads and this is not uncommon for many breeds and is not an EE thing as much as a chicken thing: Removing her and placing her with a few mellow mates is good.

First Silkies have a rep of sometimes ending up on the bottom of the pecking order, could be their temperament, could be the silkie feathers, could be the walnut comb... however it is usually something that can be dealt with. Keep in mind even silkies can become just as aggressive as any other chicken breed.

First the space issue. I always increased the size of the box/pen I kept the chicks/chickens in as they grew. It seems the larger the flock gets the more likely this happens. So I think space is a big factor combined with size of flock in this issue. As adults mine had the run of the backyard, so if they got in tiffs, on each other's nerves they always had space, so no ganging up happened, some birds just don't like each other.

It's a dot/different peck it, is how chickens seem to think: Also chickens have a tendency to go for combs and earlobes especially if they stand out. Chickens need to expend energy and have stimuli like other animals and will develop habits that are bad (not good for them or other chickens). Maybe you should try making some toys, like ball with red dot on string and hanging it up, give those idle mind and beak EEs something to peck at.

Bully?: Observe the EE's see if you have a ring leader, if you have a bully bird that bird should target another bird, try removing the "bully" from the others for 3 days or so, to see if she/he calms down when reintroduced, sort of breaking up the cycle. Keep in mind the birds do not understand not having a pecking order and need it, but you don't want abuse or death either in their birdy society because of the pecking order. If you have an unbalanced dominate personality you may have to get rid of that 1 bird, but you should try modifying it's aggression via training, treat it like an aggressive roo that needs to learn you are head chicken and you don't want it pecking others, see aggressive roo advice (no hitting, it's a holding and finger peck thing you need to do, some people also use a spray bottle on the aggressive bird).

When your silkie is healed add to your silkie flock one of the EEs, see how they do. You are going for harmonious pecking order. If all goes well, gradually add birds, in essence you are creating over a period of time a new pecking order by mixing up the chicken clicks. This is a slow process, never rush it.

Also observe your silkie, is she a nervous bird? If the answer is yes this will often upset other birds resulting in pecking... you will have to teach her to be less nervous by doing behavior correction your self, see the various behavior threads.

Also there is some anti-peck products that taste bad to the other birds you can use on your silkie.

I hope this helps, I am no expert on this stuff, but it seems from the various problems on the BYC forum there are options to help your flock and most problems we humans accidentally contribute too.
[/quote Lauravonsmurf, Thank you so much! You have given us some great ideas to try & ideas of what to research on BYC. We appreciate your reply! I will start working with them today. I don't believe in violence to solve problems either & just want peace restored to my tiny flock. Thank you again! Michele

 

[Craftymama]

Here is one of my easter eggers...I have two but the other one was being camera shy.

Eventually this beautiful girl is going to go live at my sisters house with her small flock but until she's big enough she's mine. I asked my neice (she's 3) yesterday what she wanted to name her chicken. I suggested bunny since she is an easter egger and a lovely cream shade, my neice smiled, cocked her head to the side and said "ummm, I am naming her CHICKEN NUGGET!".

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

I have not had this problem with the birds I have raised, nor have I had silkies, but I have been reading various threads and this is not uncommon for many breeds and is not an EE thing as much as a chicken thing: Removing her and placing her with a few mellow mates is good.



First Silkies have a rep of sometimes ending up on the bottom of the pecking order, could be their temperament, could be the silkie feathers, could be the walnut comb... however it is usually something that can be dealt with. Keep in mind even silkies can become just as aggressive as any other chicken breed.



First the space issue. I always increased the size of the box/pen I kept the chicks/chickens in as they grew. It seems the larger the flock gets the more likely this happens. So I think space is a big factor combined with size of flock in this issue. As adults mine had the run of the backyard, so if they got in tiffs, on each other's nerves they always had space, so no ganging up happened, some birds just don't like each other.



It's a dot/different peck it, is how chickens seem to think: Also chickens have a tendency to go for combs and earlobes especially if they stand out. Chickens need to expend energy and have stimuli like other animals and will develop habits that are bad (not good for them or other chickens). Maybe you should try making some toys, like ball with red dot on string and hanging it up, give those idle mind and beak EEs something to peck at.



Bully?: Observe the EE's see if you have a ring leader, if you have a bully bird that bird should target another bird, try removing the "bully" from the others for 3 days or so, to see if she/he calms down when reintroduced, sort of breaking up the cycle. Keep in mind the birds do not understand not having a pecking order and need it, but you don't want abuse or death either in their birdy society because of the pecking order. If you have an unbalanced dominate personality you may have to get rid of that 1 bird, but you should try modifying it's aggression via training, treat it like an aggressive roo that needs to learn you are head chicken and you don't want it pecking others, see aggressive roo advice (no hitting, it's a holding and finger peck thing you need to do, some people also use a spray bottle on the aggressive bird).



When your silkie is healed add to your silkie flock one of the EEs, see how they do. You are going for harmonious pecking order. If all goes well, gradually add birds, in essence you are creating over a period of time a new pecking order by mixing up the chicken clicks. This is a slow process, never rush it.



Also observe your silkie, is she a nervous bird? If the answer is yes this will often upset other birds resulting in pecking... you will have to teach her to be less nervous by doing behavior correction your self, see the various behavior threads.



Also there is some anti-peck products that taste bad to the other birds you can use on your silkie.



I hope this helps, I am no expert on this stuff, but it seems from the various problems on the BYC forum there are options to help your flock and most problems we humans accidentally contribute too.

[/quote

Lauravonsmurf,
Thank you so much! You have given us some great ideas to try & ideas of what to research on BYC. We appreciate your reply! I will start working with them today. I don't believe in violence to solve problems either & just want peace restored to my tiny flock. Thank you again!
Michele

Also if a bird gets injured that makes a red spot so the others peck, on several threads Blue Kote is a life saver, and if birds peck her you will know as it dyes their beaks. Heres a link to a thread just on the stuff. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/4619/blue-kote

 

[NotableNancy]

I just got 2 EE's today from the feed store (Ideal Hatchery). I chose the fluffiest faces I could find...

This one is much darker in person, I stayed away from the really light ones as I have seen so many end up being cockerels.


The darker one


Both...

They're so active and absolutely adorable