Easter Egger thread!

[Bonniebooboo]

Silverkelpie, She is sooo, adorable!

 

[Bonniebooboo]

Just playing around and put some growth pics together on the EE chicks growth. First ones are 2 of the little cockerels. 4 days to 12 weeks old. More of a sudden change week 9 when more red wing feathers came through and combs grew bigger and redder than the pullets. The pullets have changed some too, but stayed more with their basic color than the boys did. Looked kind of like baby quail at 3-5 weeks old. Enjoy! I named little pullet Speck. She is the single pictures too.

 

[Bonniebooboo]

Just had to post Goldie too. She flew into the stock tank when she was young and I found her with just her beak sticking out of the water. Thankfully it wasn't an inch deeper. she was wet and cold and I spent most of that evening trying to save her. Wala, I actually did...

 

[Bonniebooboo]

Now a question. How long do you think is the egg laying life of an EE/Ameracauna? They may just be getting ready to molt, but noticed a reduction in egg laying and size recently. My other chickens ( various breeds) in the past seem to be around 4 years of age when they stop laying. Living from 5-7 years old. Reduction in size of eggs tended to mean laying is going to stop in a short time, at least in my past experience. What say you?

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

Well barring critter attacks... my first Amer. laid less than the sex links but was doing fine until she got killed. My 2 current hens are doing fine, but do tapper off and stop laying during molt and with some season cycles, but started right back up no problems. I should have kept production records but did not. Right now these fully grown birds are producing daily... I expect a slow down during their winter molt. I think production records and applying production selection would be the only way to improve production.

 

[Tiegrsi]

Yay, an EE thread!

I bought 4 "Ameracauna pullets" at a local farm supply back in March (I was aware they were actually EE's, but couldn't seem to make the employees there understand the difference). 2 of them turned out to be cockerels. :/ One I sold, and the other I've kept because he's special and I doubt anyone else would want him. Too scraggly to be dinner, and too deformed to browse and peck with the rest of the flock. I have to hand feed him every day, but I love him. <3 This is Holly:

My favorite EE, Helga:

And the notoriously hard to photograph, Hepzibah:

They haven't laid their first eggs yet, but I can't wait! I'm really hoping for shades of green.

I noticed a lot of other people posting pictures in a few groups I'm in of cockerels that look like Holly and pullets that look like Helga. Is there a particular set of birds the hatcheries tend to use to create these EE's they sell as "Americanas"?

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

From what I have learned is Hatchery Lines are non SOP Amer birds they got early on, before things were squared properly away with APA... so not really mutts as much as early precursor stock, do not set properly for traits. Now some hatcheries are trying to improve their lines too.

Backyard breeders either go mix breeds to create their EEs, stick with hatchery line, or try to breed toward SOP. So you got to ask them what are they doing.

That is how I understand, some folks will always insist calling them mutts or mixes.

 

[junebuggena]

Now a question. How long do you think is the egg laying life of an EE/Ameracauna? They may just be getting ready to molt, but noticed a reduction in egg laying and size recently. My other chickens ( various breeds) in the past seem to be around 4 years of age when they stop laying. Living from 5-7 years old. Reduction in size of eggs tended to mean laying is going to stop in a short time, at least in my past experience. What say you?

As long as a hen is healthy, she will lay, regardless of how old she is. With age comes a slower rate of production, but it doesn't stop completely unless there are health issues. Egg size actually increases with each production cycle.

 

[sahensle]

These are my EE cuties

 

[Bonniebooboo]

As long as a hen is healthy, she will lay, regardless of how old she is. With age comes a slower rate of production, but it doesn't stop completely unless there are health issues. Egg size actually increases with each production cycle.

That is interesting. My largest eggs were generally 2-3 years of age (various breeds). large to slightly smaller at 4yrs. 5 years and older if they laid they were really small to occasional then none. Hens were active all the time eating grazing and happy. In 30 years I have had only 2 spurred hens, and they never laid an egg. They ran with the girls but would actually fight the rooster if he tried to mate. always thought that was interesting. I have not kept any past 7 years except for my beloved rooster Rambo(8yrs). Lost him when he decided to fight two Tom turkeys that came into the yard. He really tried to protect his girls. I was always told chickens are old at 4 years of age. So it is interesting that some have chickens laying well past that. Just hasn't been my experience. I have production going down right now and am starting to see more feathers around, so I am guessing some are going into molt, maybe a bit early. I haven't had a green egg for 4 days now, and that is very unusual for my EEs, it is more like later August and September for them.
Thank you for the input..

Sahensle---Those are some pretty little EE's. Nice good photos..