Easter Egger Sexing "tips and tricks" *Pictures Included*

[jtbass2756]

I have 6 chicks between 4-5 weeks old. I have them in the yard in a pen everyday that's decent. When I go out to get the eggs, I sometimes throw some cracked corn to my adult hens. Sometimes mealworms. Just what can these chicks have as treats? Don't know what their crop can handle. .

 

[OldChurchEggery1]

I wouldn't give your growing chicks treats. You want their food to be as nutrient-dense as possible to help them grow. Wait until they are at point of lay to really give them much for treats. They'll find plenty of things they like pecking around in the run, especially if it's a movable one.

 

[jtbass2756]

I wouldn't give your growing chicks treats. You want their food to be as nutrient-dense as possible to help them grow. Wait until they are at point of lay to really give them much for treats. They'll find plenty of things they like pecking around in the run, especially if it's a movable one.

Thank you....that was my thought all along...just had a guilt feeling when I was out with the adult birds and treated them but not the babes right beside them.. Yes it is a movable dog fence.. one of those made for a puppy yard...no top. So I have put plywood over the top. I wanted them to be able to do the scratching, etc in the grass..

 

[Wishing4Wings]

I have 6 chicks between 4-5 weeks old. I have them in the yard in a pen everyday that's decent. When I go out to get the eggs, I sometimes throw some cracked corn to my adult hens. Sometimes mealworms. Just what can these chicks have as treats? Don't know what their crop can handle. .

When a hen raises her brood, chicks eat everything out there she does from a very early age. If you think of supplementing their diet, it can be more nutritious than "treats." Mine all love kale greens, chopped small for the babies. Since you have them on grass, they will eventually eat bits of that. Just make sure they have grit if they are eating anything other than chick starter.

 

[polarbearpilot]

Here's the best pic I could get. EEs? Americanas?

A
She's about 9weeks. The cage said sex link and Americans. The black one in my other pics is from the same cage at the feed store

I don't know much about sex link, but I do know your chicken is not Ameraucana. If it's an EE at 9 weeks, there is a very good chance that it's a hen.

 

[sharol]

I don't know much about sex link, but I do know your chicken is not Ameraucana. If it's an EE at 9 weeks, there is a very good chance that it's a hen.

If she lays a green egg, she is an EE. ;-) (she looks like a girl to me, too)

If she crows, she is a cockerel.

In any case she has pretty coloring.

 

[polarbearpilot]

If she lays a green egg, she is an EE. ;-) (she looks like a girl to me, too)

If she crows, she is a cockerel.

In any case she has pretty coloring.

I have an EE that lays brown eggs, and one lays white eggs, one lays blue, and three lay green. So, their eggs come in different colors.

 

[debid]

I have an EE that lays brown eggs, and one lays white eggs, one lays blue, and three lay green. So, their eggs come in different colors.

Here's how I see it. EE is not a breed, it's a name given to a chicken that is not a recognized "breed" and that carries the blue egg gene. That makes any chicken sold as an EE but that missed the boat on the blue egg gene a "barnyard mix" no matter how many typical EE features it has. Occasionally, you'll get one from a hatchery but most of them come from folks breeding hatchery EEs with whatever else they have in their flock. You might be tempted to call them EE mixes but remember, it's not a breed. This also means that the ones that don't look like your typical EE but that lay a blue or green egg are EEs.

 

[sharol]

Here's how I see it. EE is not a breed, it's a name given to a chicken that is not a recognized "breed" and that carries the blue egg gene. That makes any chicken sold as an EE but that missed the boat on the blue egg gene a "barnyard mix" no matter how many typical EE features it has. Occasionally, you'll get one from a hatchery but most of them come from folks breeding hatchery EEs with whatever else they have in their flock. You might be tempted to call them EE mixes but remember, it's not a breed. This also means that the ones that don't look like your typical EE but that lay a blue or green egg are EEs.

That is my understanding, too. Of my 4 EE's, I have 4 green egg layers. Each is a different shade. My oldest girl lays eggs that are nearly blue with just a touch of the green. The other three go from a pure green to a tannish green. The EE/BO cross lays brown eggs, and I don't think of her as an EE.

 

[SteveSS14]

I purchased these 6 chicks from TSC 4 weeks ago yesterday. they were marked as Ameraucana Pullets. . . .
what do you think? are they all pullets? I have a sneaking suspision that at least one of them is a rooster.