Easter Egger club!

[junebuggena]

I have two EE I bought as pullets but suspect one to be a cockerel. They're almost 7 weeks old and the same size. The suspect Roo has rusty patches on its wings and a slightly bigger comb, although not very big or very pink. Thoughts? The first two pictures are the suspected cockerel and the second is one that I'm pretty confident is a pullet.

Yep. One boy, one girl.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

I have two EE I bought as pullets but suspect one to be a cockerel. They're almost 7 weeks old and the same size. The suspect Roo has rusty patches on its wings and a slightly bigger comb, although not very big or very pink. Thoughts? The first two pictures are the suspected cockerel and the second is one that I'm pretty confident is a pullet.

Yep ones a roo

 

[combatfuzzball]

Just hatched 7 this past weekend! Soo stinking tiny and cute. I did loose one today though. Came home to it being dead for hours. Also had one infertile and 4 that developed and died in the egg.
3 seem to have grown so large they took up the Air Sac space. The other had nothing apparently wrong. I'm wondering if the hens inherited the Aracauna Death Gene.
Still have some cute little boogers and 2 that are definitely from my best Egg laying EE named Honor. Hoping they get the blue gene from their father since mom lays brown eggs.

 

[junebuggena]

Just hatched 7 this past weekend! Soo stinking tiny and cute. I did loose one today though. Came home to it being dead for hours. Also had one infertile and 4 that developed and died in the egg.
3 seem to have grown so large they took up the Air Sac space. The other had nothing apparently wrong. I'm wondering if the hens inherited the Aracauna Death Gene.
Still have some cute little boogers and 2 that are definitely from my best Egg laying EE named Honor. Hoping they get the blue gene from their father since mom lays brown eggs.

The lethal gene in Araucana is the same gene that causes tufts. No tufts in the parents, means no lethal gene. It's completely different from the muffed/beard gene. Sounds more like a humidity issue during incubation.

 

[combatfuzzball]

The lethal gene in Araucana is the same gene that causes tufts. No tufts in the parents, means no lethal gene. It's completely different from the muffed/beard gene. Sounds more like a humidity issue during incubation.

Thanks. That was one of the things I was considering. I'm going to have to research to find out if there is anything I can do with my current incubator to fix that issue.

 

[junebuggena]

Thanks. That was one of the things I was considering. I'm going to have to research to find out if there is anything I can do with my current incubator to fix that issue.

Humidity is the hardest part of incubating. There is no magic number that will be perfect universally. It's a lot of trial and error to figure it out. I recommend starting with it at about 40% for the first week, then candle, mark the air cells, and make adjustments from there.

 

[debid]

Theodora was distracted by her dirt bath enough to allow photos so I'm sharing what her weird comb grew into.
From this:

To this:

She's quite big, leggy, long-tailed, has blueish white ears, and tiny little wattles. Such a weird girl.

 

[junebuggena]

I'm at the point in my breeding project to start selecting for egg color. Wondering whether I should go for greens or blues.
Greens-

Blues (ignore the green on the right)-

 

[debid]

I'm at the point in my breeding project to start selecting for egg color. Wondering whether I should go for greens or blues.
Greens-
View attachment 1119982
Blues (ignore the green on the right)-
View attachment 1119983

I'd choose the eggs with the most vivid blue in the shell whether they have brown coating or not. A photo with all the eggs lined up would eliminate differences in contrast from interfering but it's always easier to see the true color in person.

 

[BurbCoop]

Easter Eggers at 3 weeks. They are starting to get patches on the wings, however they are not brick red and off the shoulders. Very minimal comb development.

Realize it is still pretty early, but any thoughts on gender?