I feel the same way, Thanks for saying that, I wanted to but as I'm not up on the genetics of things I just clam up and "think" to myself... Sorry for saying so but I believe some people just " have got " to be right and have something to disagree with someone about. It probably didnt help that they were trying to sell me 2 different pairs to " make" OEs.In that case someone was being unreasonably snobby. As much as I'd like to say an EE isn't an EE unless it lays some shade of blue egg, has muffs and a beard and has a pea comb, that really isn't the case. As seen in this thread, people have EE's who don't lay blue eggs, without muffs, without beards, hell, without neck feathers! All are still EE's. Same goes for Olive Eggers. OE's are a bit more stringent than EE's, in that I really wouldn't call it an OE unless it actually lays an olive colored egg, since that's in the actual name.
I only have 1 yr and under, except ol'girl who is 5 and she just had 1 molt this year ( and every year ) and it normally last 1 mth and she was back to laying except this year almost immediately, this year it took a couple mths after her molt.
I have 8 EEs and am together with the 2 new one I just got and 1 roo. all are calm with me but 1. I had an EE that was 3 and for 3 years I threatened to get rid of her because of it but at that time I didn't have very many and I liked to color of the eggs so much so that I put up with it. Now that OI have more I got rid of her, My whole pen is more relaxed and happy without her constant flighty BS I should have gotten rid of her a long time ago. It was a constant battle just to keep her out of the trees and that was even with her wing being clipped. She would fly over her pen fence and get in with the layers and start fights there, she would get over into the Silkie pen and pick on them, She beat up on 1 of the other EE hens so bad that that hen now lives with the layers cause even tho mean butt is no longer in there she refuses to stay in that pen, If I make her she dang near gives herself a heart attack trying to find a way out!!
I like very one to get alone and be a relaxed and happy flock, I find they lay better and better quality eggs too, so any and ALL trouble makers go by by. I do give them time to calm down and learn they are not going to be harmed, but then they are gone!! And it works for me, I do have relaxed and happy birds, ad I feel I have great egg production, and better eggs at that.
on another note I have noticed that the smaller EEs are the more flighty ones, and meaner. Just something I have noticed.
Yeah ol'girl has a straight comb, no beard or muffs but is still an EE.
x2
I got my first EE from a hatchery, hated them!!! Almost gave up on them all together, until a friend of mine told me how great his were, he breed his himself. I forget what breeds he used but I know he started with AMs. So the next ones I got were from breeders, NOT hatchery EEs, granted they cost me more but the calmer birds are well worth it to me. Now I have better layers and calmer pens.
