Easter Egger club!

[junebuggena]

New chick owner. Got this girl at 16 weeks. She's now appx. 6 months. She gave my my first egg around 22 weeks old....pretty greenish/blue one. Very happy and suprised with how she's laying in this cold ohio weather. 1 egg about every day n a half. So I loved having chicks so much my husband decided instead of a dozen roses he bought me a dozen pullets. Right b4 christmas....eeeekkkk!anyways love this EE Club....btw...that's what my girls is right??? The guy I got her from said she came from cackle hatchery and was an aruacana but from what I've read on here that most are not true breed & are EE...so I just assume that what she is!

Araucana are a recognized breed, but no hatchery in the U.S. has them. Cackle has Easter Eggers and sells them as Easter Eggers. They are one of the few hatcheries that doesn't try to pass Easter Eggers off as true Ameraucana. They just started offering true Black Ameraucana this year.

 

[mymilliefleur]

I am sorry I don't own any EE's but I hope you will except me into the club anyway? I need some other people who luv Easter Eggers! I hope to get some soon!

Certainly! Welcome to BYC.

Can anyone determine if this is a roo or a pullet? 18 weeks old. Thank you

Yup, pullet for sure!

Cackle Hatchery just started carrying Black Ameraucanas that are reasonably priced, however, they are only offered as Straight Run.

They're using the Ameraucana breeder flock crossed with Welsummer and Marans (not sure the coloring) to create Olive Eggers. These are also sold as Straight Run.

The EEs from Cackle are top notch, though! Full muffs/beards, slate or blue legs, great color variety, good lay rate, blue/green eggs. They aren't Ameraucanas, but they aren't marketed as such either, so that's good!

Interesting. I believe my original EE's came from cackle. They were big birds, and had nice, full beards and slate colored legs, unlike my Meyers EE's that are smaller, and only have partial beards.

 

[Amelia Egghart]

Ooh, good to know about Meyer. I've seen some EEs from MMM and they, too, were skimpy in the beard/muff department. Good coloring, though. My only problem with Cackle is I got a he from a group of shes. I'm guessing EEs aren't the easiest to vent sex, but I know nothing about vent sexing other than what it is! Beautiful boy, by the way. Would he be a silver duck wing with... Red leakage? Describing EE coloring must be an art form and a science!

 

[LuvEasterEggers]

Thanks!

 

[Sylvester017]

Cackle Hatchery just started carrying Black Ameraucanas that are reasonably priced, however, they are only offered as Straight Run.

They're using the Ameraucana breeder flock crossed with Welsummer and Marans (not sure the coloring) to create Olive Eggers. These are also sold as Straight Run.

The EEs from Cackle are top notch, though! Full muffs/beards, slate or blue legs, great color variety, good lay rate, blue/green eggs. They aren't Ameraucanas, but they aren't marketed as such either, so that's good!

Goodness! I could never order Straight Run anything since I'm zoned for hens only

. Some feedback about any of the hatcheries can be negative but I've been impressed with Cackle Hatchery from the years I've been reading about them. I know they enlisted the help of Mark Fields (author), an expert in Dominique breeding, to help Cackle improve the quality of their Doms. I really would love to try a Dominique pullet after Mr. Fields' consultation w/ Cackle but I still can't use the minimum City/Town Pullet Special of a 3-chick order plus the 3 chicks all have to be the same breed. California Hatchery allows you to order different breeds in their 3-chick minimum order but I don't know where their birds come from since CH mostly brokers out the breeds they don't raise themselves the way MyPetChicken does. I'm glad to hear you like Cackle too and further confirms the respect I've garnered for them over the years!

 

[User395221]

is I got a he from a group of shes.

When I got my new chooks, the chook farm lady told me she thought my girls were girls, but they couldn't guarantee it. At what age would a boy start crowing or do something to show that they aren't a girl?

 

[junebuggena]

When I got my new chooks, the chook farm lady told me she thought my girls were girls, but they couldn't guarantee it. At what age would a boy start crowing or do something to show that they aren't a girl?

Usually, males will be bright red in the combs by 12 weeks, and pullets don't start to even pink up until after 14 weeks. Also, male feathering (hackle and saddle feathers) is usually visible by 12 to 14 weeks.

 

[User395221]

thanks junebuggena, my younger one was about 8-9 weeks when I got her on 11 Jan, so that makes her about nearly 11-12 weeks. Nobody's doing anything "un-hen" and there are no "boy feathers".

My girls don't really have much in the way of combs, just those little flat ones above their beaks.

 

[LuvEasterEggers]

I am thinking of buying from Cackle hatchery, has anyone used them before, and if so, can you give me a review?

 

[ochochicas]

My conclusion is that the Ameraucanas and Easter Eggers must be really difficult to sex. Everyone I know, myself included, who has purchased sex pullets ends with 50% roosters anyway. Mine came from McMurray and another hatchery who's name I don't remember now. The McMurray EEs don't have beards, but do lay blue eggs.