Easter Egger club!

[cmccullough1390]

hey guys/girls, this spring I am going to get chickens for the first time from our local farm store, and I am almost completely sure I want EE's.  Can you guys give me tips and facts about them and why you like them?  I have already checked the breed forum here but i want more information, I am a book nerd so I like to know all the facts I can!e I will take pics of them once I get them.  my other three siblings are getting different types but I'm getting EE's. Two of them hopefully, if my mom will allow....lol.  Thanks!

If you're getting them as pets they're beyond perfect they're so fun and have unique personality lay fun colored eggs and like cuddles from their people. They are good layers but there are breeds out there that are even better such as Rhode Island Reds Australorps and Wyandottes. Personally I'm in love with my EE chickens they're gorgeous sweet and funny. Also they're very low maintenance they are fun to watch too.

This is my girl Arya (used to be Sansa but Arya suits her best)

And this is Sansa (was Setesh but Sansa is to perfect especially with her red coming in)

 

[theuglychick]

hey guys/girls, this spring I am going to get chickens for the first time from our local farm store, and I am almost completely sure I want EE's.  Can you guys give me tips and facts about them and why you like them?  I have already checked the breed forum here but i want more information, I am a book nerd so I like to know all the facts I can!e I will take pics of them once I get them.  my other three siblings are getting different types but I'm getting EE's. Two of them hopefully, if my mom will allow....lol.  Thanks!

I don't even know where to begin. First I love the diversity that you get with the EEs. They are also sweet and docile, at least the ones I've had over the years. They are great layers, beautiful eggs, just good all around birds. I can't imagine a flock without them or my little Andalusian clowns. They're a staple for us!

 

[lovechicks1293]

I don't even know where to begin. First I love the diversity that you get with the EEs. They are also sweet and docile, at least the ones I've had over the years. They are great layers, beautiful eggs, just good all around birds. I can't imagine a flock without them or my little Andalusian clowns. They're a staple for us!

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Chicken5555]

Yes. Gold describes the base color. Partridge describes the pattern. She would be wild type partridge since there is patterning across the chest.

Would Jet be considdered gold patridge too? Or is she something else because of the black?

 

[Sylvester017]

hey guys/girls, this spring I am going to get chickens for the first time from our local farm store, and I am almost completely sure I want EE's. Can you guys give me tips and facts about them and why you like them? I have already checked the breed forum here but i want more information, I am a book nerd so I like to know all the facts I can!

I will take pics of them once I get them. my other three siblings are getting different types but I'm getting EE's. Two of them hopefully, if my mom will allow....lol. Thanks!

It's good to get more than one kind of a breed. 2 EEs are nice but more would be better. EEs are very unlike other breeds and would do best having same-breed companions. You just never know when you are going to lose chicks since they can be so delicate at times so more than 2 chicks would be good.

Something to consider is EEs don't like hot humid climates and do better in cooler weather. They are very fluffy under-downed birds and in our hot climate haven't done very well. Because of a very fluffy tush they can get dirty fast and need to have their tush feathers baby shampooed and blow-dried (which they seem to like the blow-dryer part).

My limited experience is that they are generally sweet hens that seem non-combative and would rather flee than fight a challenger, but they will defend themselves as a last resort if cornered. They are skittery jumpy kooky spooky alert wary birds but once you hold them they coo and talk with you and let you pet them - the key is to earn their trust like any breed with treats/food.

Learn the "judge's hold" for picking up laying hens so that you don't put pressure on their reproductive sides.

EEs are a bit self-willed which makes it hard to train them as they have their own mind of when and if they will do what you want.

These birds are incredibly sweet and worth putting up with their cautious wary nature - I call them the "sentinels" of the flock because of their hyperactive and alert natures. When going to roost they often are the last breed to settle down before lockdown. And if the coop door or egg-box is opened after roosting time they will stand up alert and coo at the disturbance while most of the other breeds just go on sleeping!!!

EEs don't lay a LOT of eggs after their pullet year but they seem to be rather BIG eggs for a medium fowl. The egg colors are interesting and each hen lays a different shade. If your EEs are hatchery chicks the hatcheries do their best to breed blue-green egg layers but don't be surprised at pink, tan, or even white eggs!

Our local feed store carries many breeds of chickens in the Spring and the hatchery they order chicks from has the cutest fluffy-bearded EE chicks every year! You can pick the fluffiest-faced EEs that way. With hatchery chicks by mail sometimes they won't have the fluffy bearded muffs that make them so cute. Whatever color they are as chicks they wind up with totally different-colored feathers/patterns when adults.

These are just some of the things I can think of about EEs but not sure what you want to know about them. Everyone is going to want to have EE colored eggs once they start laying!!! Good luck!

 

[lovechicks1293]

Learn the "judge's hold" for picking up laying hens so that you don't put pressure on their reproductive sides.

What is the '' judges hold ''?

 

[Sylvester017]

-Sylvester017- Thank you for all that information and your personal experience. I live in Arizona so I know what you mean by hot weather. I lost 11 chickens last summer, only 3 survived. And I really wanted out of the chicken owing buissness. But it's hard to leave so I started from scratch this year. I never thought of EE as a heavy feathered breed and chose them becsuse I thought they would do well in the heat. 1 of the 3 who survived was a bantam EE. But California is more humid so that could be the problem with them their. What is a Breda? Im sure it's a abbreviation, just not sure what breed.

We first saw the "Breda" breed of chicken on feathersite.com and thought the Blue variety was very pretty - they come in BBS (Blue/Black/Splash), Cuckoo, Black-&-White Mottled, and Blue-&-White Mottled. It took us two years after researching and talking to other Breda owners before we decided to experiment with a Breda. They are interesting because they have no comb - just a little triangle crest on top, they have vulture hocks and largely feathered feet. The cockerels are about 6-lbs and the hens around 4-lbs ~ it is a light-weight large fowl. They are docile in nature, outgoing, friendly, curious birds from the time they are chicks. I mean, chicks are cute and funny, but these juveniles came out of the shipping box ready to pose for pictures and follow us around the house. I've never had such a friendly docile unafraid breed in the 14 chickens we've cycled through in 5 years!! I had to re-home an assertive White Leghorn so was looking for a white-egg breed to replace her. I considered a lightweight Polish for white eggs but decided to experiment with the Breda. She turned out a laying dynamo of 1.75-oz eggs 4 to 5 eggs/weekly for 9 months straight now. Not bad for a small hen and personable and docile with the Silkies as well ~ we have a Cuckoo Breda as well on order now!

SOME PHOTOS OF OUR BLUE BREDA AND "FRIENDS"











THIS PHOTO SHOWS THE BREDA STICKING HER HEAD IN THE POT (ON THE RIGHT) TO GET TO THE WEED SPROUTS ~ SHE CRACKS ME UP ~ SHE IS A VERY BUSY FORAGER!


BREDAS HAVE HUGE VULTURE HOCKS AND FEATHER-FLIPPERED FEET BUT THESE WEAR DOWN AS THEY BECOME OUTDOOR FORAGERS AND TAKE DUST-BATHS




THIS IS OUR BLUE BREDA PULLET HER FIRST DAY OUT OF THE SHIPPING BOX AND NOT AFRAID AT ALL! SHE KEPT FOLLOWING US TO SEE IF SHE COULD MOOCH A TREAT FROM US! WE HAD TO WAIT 4-MONTHS BEFORE GETTING A BREDA PULLET BECAUSE THEY ARE DIFFICULT TO SEX BEFORE THAT AGE. SHE IS ABOUT 4 MONTHS OLD HERE AND WEIGHED 2.1-LBs OUT OF THE CRATE.



THIS FIRST 4-MO-OLD BLUE BREDA COCKEREL WAS SHIPPED TO US BY MISTAKE BUT HE WAS EVERY-BIT AS OUTGOING, CURIOUS, AND FRIENDLY AS IF HE HAD KNOWN US FOR YEARS AND YEARS! WE FOUND HIM A HOME WITH FRIENDS THAT HAVE TURNED HIM INTO AN INDOOR/OUTDOOR PET BECAUSE HE IS SO PERSONABLE! SUCH A RARE BREED WE DIDN'T HAVE THE HEART TO SEND HIM TO THE FREEZER!


My top 5 favorite breeds for sweetness, personality, curious, friendly pets are in alphabetical order (it's too hard to pick just ONE) ~ Ameraucana, Breda, Dominique, Easter Egger, Silkie. These lightweight breeds have been my best breeds to get along with each other. Other common, heavier, dual-purpose, or production birds were too assertive to mix with our docile sweet favorites.

 

[chickluvinfreak]

[COLOR=0000CD]We first saw the "Breda" breed of chicken on feathersite.com and thought the Blue variety was very pretty - they come in BBS (Blue/Black/Splash), Cuckoo, Black-&-White Mottled, and Blue-&-White Mottled. It took us two years after researching and talking to other Breda owners before we decided to experiment with a Breda. They are interesting because they have no comb - just a little triangle crest on top, they have vulture hocks and largely feathered feet. The cockerels are about 6-lbs and the hens around 4-lbs ~ it is a light-weight large fowl. They are docile in nature, outgoing, friendly, curious birds from the time they are chicks. I mean, chicks are cute and funny, but these juveniles came out of the shipping box ready to pose for pictures and follow us around the house. I've never had such a friendly docile unafraid breed in the 14 chickens we've cycled through in 5 years!! I had to re-home an assertive White Leghorn so was looking for a white-egg breed to replace her. I considered a lightweight Polish for white eggs but decided to experiment with the Breda. She turned out a laying dynamo of 1.75-oz eggs 4 to 5 eggs/weekly for 9 months straight now. Not bad for a small hen and personable and docile with the Silkies as well ~ we have a Cuckoo Breda as well on order now![/COLOR] [COLOR=0000CD]SOME PHOTOS OF OUR BLUE BREDA AND "FRIENDS"[/COLOR] [COLOR=0000CD]THIS PHOTO SHOWS THE BREDA STICKING HER HEAD IN THE POT (ON THE RIGHT) TO GET TO THE WEED SPROUTS ~ SHE CRACKS ME UP ~ SHE IS A VERY BUSY FORAGER![/COLOR] [COLOR=0000CD]BREDAS HAVE HUGE VULTURE HOCKS AND FEATHER-FLIPPERED FEET BUT THESE WEAR DOWN AS THEY BECOME OUTDOOR FORAGERS AND TAKE DUST-BATHS[/COLOR] [COLOR=0000CD]THIS IS OUR BLUE BREDA PULLET HER FIRST DAY OUT OF THE SHIPPING BOX AND NOT AFRAID AT ALL! SHE KEPT FOLLOWING US TO SEE IF SHE COULD MOOCH A TREAT FROM US! WE HAD TO WAIT 4-MONTHS BEFORE GETTING A BREDA PULLET BECAUSE THEY ARE DIFFICULT TO SEX BEFORE THAT AGE. SHE IS ABOUT 4 MONTHS OLD HERE AND WEIGHED 2.1-LBs OUT OF THE CRATE.[/COLOR] [COLOR=0000CD]THIS FIRST 4-MO-OLD BLUE BREDA COCKEREL WAS SHIPPED TO US BY MISTAKE BUT HE WAS EVERY-BIT AS OUTGOING, CURIOUS, AND FRIENDLY AS IF HE HAD KNOWN US FOR YEARS AND YEARS! WE FOUND HIM A HOME WITH FRIENDS THAT HAVE TURNED HIM INTO AN INDOOR/OUTDOOR PET BECAUSE HE IS SO PERSONABLE! SUCH A RARE BREED WE DIDN'T HAVE THE HEART TO SEND HIM TO THE FREEZER![/COLOR] [COLOR=0000CD]My top 5 favorite breeds for sweetness, personality, curious, friendly pets are in alphabetical order (it's too hard to pick just ONE) ~ Ameraucana, Breda, Dominique, Easter Egger, Silkie. These lightweight breeds have been my best breeds to get along with each other. Other common, heavier, dual-purpose, or production birds were too assertive to mix with our docile sweet favorites.[/COLOR]

Beautiful birds, I'm hoping I won't have to get more chickens for awhile. But if I do this would be a great breed to try, especially since their heat hardy.

 

[Sylvester017]

What is the '' judges hold ''?

The youtube video is more detailed for showing birds but at the beginning of the video the judge's hold is nicely demonstrated. On larger birds than bantam breeds we add our second hand over the chicken's back to hold down the wings so they don't flap. It takes practice of owner and bird to get comfortable with picking up birds in the judge's hold. We can pick up our Silkies without having to hold down their wings but it takes time and practice to get it right for both bird and owner. The younger the bird, the faster they get accustomed to being picked up this way. For laying hens it's important not to hold down their reproductive sides.

 

[junebuggena]

Would Jet be considdered gold patridge too? Or is she something else because of the black?

She's gold partridge, too. There are only 2 possibilities for color, silver and gold. Any black you see on a bird is the result of pattern genes. There are all sorts of modifiers and inhibitors for those 'black' pattern genes.