Easter Egger club!

[redrooster99]

so would you guys mind giving me your #1 (or more) best piece of advice for making pet quality out of 4-5mth old hens that were raised in a big group & the 5 just came home 3 days ago into a small backyard coop. It's in the negative Celcius temps so please don't suggest just sitting outside with them LOL! I am talking to them when I check them twice a day & I have offered feed in my hand & 1 has taken some layer ration from my mitten bundled hand. 

I think u r doing pretty good, but also holding them might help.

 

[ABlovinmychicks]

I was not wanting to stress them out too badly with settling into a new home & letting them get used to just being the 5 of them, (they all hatched out between Aug-Sept so there is some size difference & 1 is definately alot smaller than the others) I didn't want to push holding them right from the start, but I will start I think this afternoon as this morning they didn't even put up a fuss when I opened up the house

 

[WickeeChickee]

I have a question. Ethel, my one EE, gets bullied a lot by the other hens in the flock. Not only is she smaller, but her personality is shy, gentle, and docile. I am going to start a new flock in the spring, and I was thinking of comprising it of breeds of similar disposition: cochins, silkies, etc. My question is, are EEs predictably of a gentle disposition, or does it just depend on their specific make up? If they are predictably shy and sweet I would even consider making up a flock completely of EEs since i love Ethel so much and she's a fabulous layer. I was thinking of maybe moving her to the new flock so she doesn't get picked on so much. TIA for y'alls expertise!

 

[WickeeChickee]

I was not wanting to stress them out too badly with settling into a new home & letting them get used to just being the 5 of them, (they all hatched out between Aug-Sept so there is some size difference & 1 is definately alot smaller than the others) I didn't want to push holding them right from the start, but I will start I think this afternoon as this morning they didn't even put up a fuss when I opened up the house

My current flock I got about the same age, and they had the same issue with being leary of people. The thing that really won them over was food, food, food! After they got used to their coop and run, I let them have the run of the yard. I would come out several times a day with treats, scraps, mealworms, etc. Once I knew they really liked something (mealworms especially) I would hold it in my hand and sit real still until they worked up the courage to come take it. They now come running like a herd of dinosaurs whenever they hear the back door open! They will regularly eat out of my hand, and my EE let's the kids pick her up and carry her. They're still not as pet like as the BO flock I raised from day olds in my living room, (they used to jump in my lap and try and share my morning coffee and yogurt!) but they're certainly improved from when I first got them.

 

[FVRM]

I have a question. Ethel, my one EE, gets bullied a lot by the other hens in the flock. Not only is she smaller, but her personality is shy, gentle, and docile. I am going to start a new flock in the spring, and I was thinking of comprising it of breeds of similar disposition: cochins, silkies, etc. My question is, are EEs predictably of a gentle disposition, or does it just depend on their specific make up? If they are predictably shy and sweet I would even consider making up a flock completely of EEs since i love Ethel so much and she's a fabulous layer. I was thinking of maybe moving her to the new flock so she doesn't get picked on so much. TIA for y'alls expertise!

nope, EEs have very varied temperaments. most of the time EEs are the bullies. I have 2 that seem to be in between not the alphas and not the omegas they are more like betas

 

[WickeeChickee]

nope, EEs have very varied temperaments. most of the time EEs are the bullies. I have 2 that seem to be in between not the alphas and not the omegas they are more like betas

Great info! Thanks!

 

[m80fierro]

Quote:

I was not wanting to stress them out too badly with settling into a new home & letting them get used to just being the 5 of them, (they all hatched out between Aug-Sept so there is some size difference & 1 is definately alot smaller than the others) I didn't want to push holding them right from the start, but I will start I think this afternoon as this morning they didn't even put up a fuss when I opened up the house

I am relatively new to chickens (Mar 2014) but I introduced two new chickens to my initial flock. I started with 3 RIR-s and 2 EE's. I had a friend give me a couple orp's a couple of weeks back. When we first introduced them they were very skittish around me and truthfully one still is. I've picked up and held both of them from the get go and the buff orp has really taken to me. I use hand feeding and not just holding but petting to build that gap. Like I said one has taken and the other not so much yet but I'm only a couple of weeks in. Good Luck

 

[duluthralphie]

I have a question. Ethel, my one EE, gets bullied a lot by the other hens in the flock. Not only is she smaller, but her personality is shy, gentle, and docile. I am going to start a new flock in the spring, and I was thinking of comprising it of breeds of similar disposition: cochins, silkies, etc. My question is, are EEs predictably of a gentle disposition, or does it just depend on their specific make up? If they are predictably shy and sweet I would even consider making up a flock completely of EEs since i love Ethel so much and she's a fabulous layer. I was thinking of maybe moving her to the new flock so she doesn't get picked on so much. TIA for y'alls expertise!

I hate to say this to you, but I doubt putting Ethel in a new flock will help her much, it sounds like she is just a docile bird and will be the bottom of the new flock also. I have a white EE we call "the ICU baby" she is the bottom of the pecking order. She will always be the bottom of the pecking order. It is the same traits that put her at the bottom of the pecking order that make us love her so much. She is just compliant to us or the other birds. She actually moved in to another coop/tractor I had with CX crosses in it for a while, and was the bottom of the order in there too.

She was is all white and the CX's were about her size when she moved in with them, I never noticed her until one night I was counting them and noticed I had one too many in the tractor/coop. She seemed happy in there so I let her stay for a few weeks before moving her back with the others. ( They all free range together in the day, but have separate coops at night).

 

[tmrutter3]

Has anyone seen a salt and pepper EE pullet with a long straight tail at about 4 weeks or so? "Ana" is different than my other two who are looking very female with the fat stumpy sort of tails. She is also quite bossy. Hopefully these pics are clear enough so you all can see what I mean. Really hoping she is not a roo.... Any input is appreciated. Thank you! Ana on the right still on the right coloring from the top

Yes, we have one that is 6 weeks old. She also has THE biggest cheek puffs of any of our EE. She's more white than your's. We were given the impression that black & white EE's are not very common, does anyone have any thoughts or experience with black & white EE's or black & white EE hen's in particular? TIA!

 

[jmbwholesale]

Yes, we have one that is 6 weeks old. She also has THE biggest cheek puffs of any of our EE. She's more white than your's. We were given the impression that black & white EE's are not very common, does anyone have any thoughts or experience with black & white EE's or black & white EE hen's in particular? TIA!

I have a black and white we, she is shy. I wish I would have spent more time with her when I had her in the brooder. She was hatched April 2014, she's a good layer, has a very light green egg, large eggs. She lays about six eggs per week. She is low down on the pecking order, I think this has a lot to do with her shyness.