Easter egger questions

[Ridgerunner]

1. I personally think the eggs are cool, not the total reason im getting them, dont care too much if i get brown eggs from them, think their cute, and only getting two due to state law (that would make it at 3 chickens)

I still do not know what your criteria is. There are a lot of cute chickens, whether breeds or mixes. "Cute" is in the eye of the beholder.

2. not sure if there will be any other colors then chipmunk,

Depends on what the parent flock looks like. If you ask what hatchery the chicks are coming from you might be able to get a clue by visiting their website but it will only be a clue, nothing definite.

in the chick store we’re going to we called and they said they dont have ameraucanas, only EE’s which is strange-

Not strange to me, they are being honest and they know what they are talking about. Ameraucanas are a breed with specific characteristics and specific approved colors/patters. There is nothing specific about EE's, they can be any color/pattern and have any characteristics.

are there any indicators early on for EE’s that their roosters? I mean 1-8 weeks,

I cannot get specific on this. Sometimes there are, sometimes not. Often they are more hints that they might be, not definite signs that they are. Many males develop larger and redder combs and wattles before the girls. Males are often more bold and curious, they come out to greet you while the girls stay in the background. Males tend to be more upright in posture instead of bending over like the girls. Boys and girls can have different body compositions. Often it is easier for me to say "that's a boy" instead of identifying it definitely as a girl. Experience helps.

A couple of times I've been able to tell that a chick is a boy just a couple of days after hatch. That is extremely rare. Less often I could tell that a chick was probably a girl a few days after hatch. I cannot emphasize how rare this is. Usually by 5 weeks you can start to get clues. This does not mean all chicks, but a lot. Single combs are often easier than Pea or Rose combs. I had one that I thought was a girl until it was 16 weeks old. Each one is different and some can be a real challenge.

 

[Project Blue]

You can always find Starlight green eggers at feed stores. I think they lay tan eggs about 5% of the time. I have a white EE so they really do come in all colors. Or...you could buy EE hatching eggs online. The sellers usually post their flock so you get an idea what you'll be hatching. Recently I bought 2 SGE at a feed store and they now have a feather cap on their head. No telling what mixes you get sometimes. Store clerks often have no clue about chicken breeds and might mix them up.

 

[Chickensarecool123]

I didn’t get them until they were 3/4 weeks old so no baby fluff ball pictures but these are mine. My darker one ended up a cockerel

EDIT: they are not laying yet but just started squatting so I will update with egg color later

I still do not know what your criteria is. There are a lot of cute chickens, whether breeds or mixes. "Cute" is in the eye of the beholder.


Depends on what the parent flock looks like. If you ask what hatchery the chicks are coming from you might be able to get a clue by visiting their website but it will only be a clue, nothing definite.


Not strange to me, they are being honest and they know what they are talking about. Ameraucanas are a breed with specific characteristics and specific approved colors/patters. There is nothing specific about EE's, they can be any color/pattern and have any characteristics.


I cannot get specific on this. Sometimes there are, sometimes not. Often they are more hints that they might be, not definite signs that they are. Many males develop larger and redder combs and wattles before the girls. Males are often more bold and curious, they come out to greet you while the girls stay in the background. Males tend to be more upright in posture instead of bending over like the girls. Boys and girls can have different body compositions. Often it is easier for me to say "that's a boy" instead of identifying it definitely as a girl. Experience helps.

A couple of times I've been able to tell that a chick is a boy just a couple of days after hatch. That is extremely rare. Less often I could tell that a chick was probably a girl a few days after hatch. I cannot emphasize how rare this is. Usually by 5 weeks you can start to get clues. This does not mean all chicks, but a lot. Single combs are often easier than Pea or Rose combs. I had one that I thought was a girl until it was 16 weeks old. Each one is different and some can be a real challenge.

For when i meant strange i meant how now its strange that there are so many EE’s but no Ameracauna because Ameracauna’s are what they breed with the Oliver eggs or what ever breeds to get EE’s?

Sorry i was definitely not specific at ALL! My apologies
when i said cute i meant i like their cute little muffs and the possibility to lay blue/green eggs, and that they sometimes just look goofy

For when their chicks (im not sure if this is a repeat of what i said) at least for my buff orpingtons we could spot the males and females, the females had feather development on their tail and a lot more on their wing, while the males didnt have as much feathers, i wanted to know if this is the same for EE’s, although now that i think more about it i guess it has to do more with the breeds they were made with,
Sorry if i sound super inexperienced i hope this helps more!

 

[Chickensarecool123]

You can always find Starlight green eggers at feed stores. I think they lay tan eggs about 5% of the time. I have a white EE so they really do come in all colors. Or...you could buy EE hatching eggs online. The sellers usually post their flock so you get an idea what you'll be hatching. Recently I bought 2 SGE at a feed store and they now have a feather cap on their head. No telling what mixes you get sometimes. Store clerks often have no clue about chicken breeds and might mix them up.

Oh Cool! A white EE would also be really cool! Thanks for all the information, but I dont think i could personally hatch eggs because i would get too many cockerels… lol

 

[Not-so Slick Chicken]

For when i meant strange i meant how now its strange that there are so many EE’s but no Ameracauna because Ameracauna’s are what they breed with the Oliver eggs or what ever breeds to get EE’s?

Sorry i was definitely not specific at ALL! My apologies
when i said cute i meant i like their cute little muffs and the possibility to lay blue/green eggs, and that they sometimes just look goofy

For when their chicks (im not sure if this is a repeat of what i said) at least for my buff orpingtons we could spot the males and females, the females had feather development on their tail and a lot more on their wing, while the males didnt have as much feathers, i wanted to know if this is the same for EE’s, although now that i think more about it i guess it has to do more with the breeds they were made with,
Sorry if i sound super inexperienced i hope this helps more!

Do you perhaps know anybody who wants to order chicks, and you can offer to split the order?
Might be a good idea to plan what to do if you end up with a cockerel.

Stores aren't going to have APA Ameraucana because people are going in looking to find chicks for a few dollars, not for twenty dollars.
Most hatcheries don't seem to sell Ameraucana, either way.
The ones that do sell them, don't seem to be partnered with stores. (*from my observation about local stores)

Easter Eggers don't always have beards and muffs, unfortunately.
But, I feel like you can usually see the tiny cheek puffs on chicks, if you know what you're looking for.

I have 2 Ameraucana (one turned out to be a cockerel) and could see the muffs as soon as I got them at about 2-3 days old.
They hatched out a few chicks. And all of them have beard and muffs. (*I have various breeds. None of these new chicks are ameraucana x ameraucana. Just the dad.)
Eggers were sold out when I got my birds, sadly.

 

[Ridgerunner]

For when i meant strange i meant how now its strange that there are so many EE’s but no Ameracauna because Ameracauna’s are what they breed with the Oliver eggs or what ever breeds to get EE’s?

You can breed Ameraucana, Araucana, Cream Legbar, or other blue or green egg layers with other chickens to get EE's. But you do not have to. The original blue or green egg layers were discovered in Chile. These were not a breed with SOP requirements, they were a type. These were original EE's. The Ameraucana, Araucana, Cream Legbar, and most other blue or green egg layer breeds were developed from these.

To further confuse it a genetically separate group of chickens with that sane blue eggshell has been discovered in China. More EE's. But as far as I know none of our blue or green egg laying chicken breeds have been derived from the Chinese chickens.

Some of the hatcheries we use had their blue or green egg laying flocks before the Ameraucana or Araucana breeds were first developed and recognized. Somed of these hatcheries still call them Ameraucana or Araucana as that was a common name back then, but they are not really these breeds. They were there before the breeds were developed.

 

[Chickensarecool123]

Do you perhaps know anybody who wants to order chicks, and you can offer to split the order?
Might be a good idea to plan what to do if you end up with a cockerel.

Stores aren't going to have APA Ameraucana because people are going in looking to find chicks for a few dollars, not for twenty dollars.
Most hatcheries don't seem to sell Ameraucana, either way.
The ones that do sell them, don't seem to be partnered with stores. (*from my observation about local stores)

Easter Eggers don't always have beards and muffs, unfortunately.
But, I feel like you can usually see the tiny cheek puffs on chicks, if you know what you're looking for.

I have 2 Ameraucana (one turned out to be a cockerel) and could see the muffs as soon as I got them at about 2-3 days old.
They hatched out a few chicks. And all of them have beard and muffs. (*I have various breeds. None of these new chicks are ameraucana x ameraucana. Just the dad.)
Eggers were sold out when I got my birds, sadly.

Yeah I’ll definitely look out for all the characters that i want (including muffs and lighter coloring) too bad they don’t have ameracauna’s, i was set on getting them before i did even MORE research and called my feed store, thanks for sharing i really appreciate it!~ why do you think ameracaunas arent bred as much to make them cheaper?

 

[Chickensarecool123]

You can breed Ameraucana, Araucana, Cream Legbar, or other blue or green egg layers with other chickens to get EE's. But you do not have to. The original blue or green egg layers were discovered in Chile. These were not a breed with SOP requirements, they were a type. These were original EE's. The Ameraucana, Araucana, Cream Legbar, and most other blue or green egg layer breeds were developed from these.

To further confuse it a genetically separate group of chickens with that sane blue eggshell has been discovered in China. More EE's. But as far as I know none of our blue or green egg laying chicken breeds have been derived from the Chinese chickens.

Some of the hatcheries we use had their blue or green egg laying flocks before the Ameraucana or Araucana breeds were first developed and recognized. Somed of these hatcheries still call them Ameraucana or Araucana as that was a common name back then, but they are not really these breeds. They were there before the breeds were developed.

Ah thanks a ton for the information!