Easter Egger?

[GonzoFamily]

Pretty Easter egger pullets. 

Yes, classically EE have beards and muffs, and that's one thing so many of us love about them. But, we've been seeing a lot of "clean faced" aka beardless birds on this board the last few years. Not sure how the hatcheries changed up their stock, but they're becoming pretty common. Good thing is, beards/muffs are not genetically linked to the colored egg gene, so you should still get a pretty, colorful egg basket. 

I'm new to the chicken world and learning so much along the way. Looks like most of the chickens a purchased from the hatchery are different breeds than I was told when purchased. They are for our own personal enjoyment and egg production so I'm not concerned. I'd just like to be educated on the breeds we have
Today I found out that these two are in fact Easter eggers as opposed to Americaunas as I was told. And my barnvelder turned out to be a welsummer
Now I'm questioning the rest of my flock lol

 

[junebuggena]

The vast majority of birds sold as Ameraucana are actually Easter Eggers. Very few hatcheries have true Ameraucana. Most are selling Easter Eggers misrepresented as Ameraucana. The easiest way to tell if you are getting Ameraucana or Easter Eggers is that Ameraucana are always sold with a color/variety specified.
Barnevelders and Welsummers look very similar as chicks. It's an easy mistake to make.

 

[donrae]

Feel free to post pics of the rest of your birds and we can confirm breeds/genders if you'd like

The EE vs Ameraucana thing is very common.

The Barnvelder vs Welsummer isn't as common, mostly because Barnies are a less common breed.

Feed stores often have mixed up bins of chicks. Ordering direct from a hatchery usually gives you better odds, but it's by no means a 100% guarantee of what you'll get.

The nice thing about hens is, even the "mistakes" are a lot of fun and usually make nice backyard birds.

 

[GonzoFamily]

Well we definitely love and enjoy all our girls despite breed! I'm still learning as I go and patiently waiting on eggs. It's been one of the most fulfilling family experiences for us. We built our coop all on our own and continue to tweak it as we go. We have a run under the coop, but have still not added an external run. We allow them to free range for several hours each day. It's so confusing when you hear so many differing opinions on every subject. I'd love to add a couple more birds in the future, but I'll have to see how they do with space once they're all fully grown and producing. I'll post pics of the rest of my girls so you can confirm breed

 

[GonzoFamily]

Bella our lavender orpington. Isn't she a beauty!?

Buffy our buff orpington

And our two barred rocks in the mix

 

[donrae]

Everyone else looks as advertised, and all female. What a pretty flock! You'll have nice colorful egg basket, also.

 

[GonzoFamily]

Everyone else looks as advertised, and all female. What a pretty flock! You'll have  nice colorful egg basket, also. 

They're 25 weeks old now and I'm really hoping for eggs soon! I put golf balls in their nesting boxes

 

[rosemarythyme]

False. They aren't crosses or mixed breeds. They just haven't been selectively breed to meet a specific standard.

Good to know, I was misinformed!

 

[junebuggena]

GonzoFamily
"I switched them to layer feed a 20 weeks. Too soon?"

Yep. The lower protein content of layer feed can slow down their rate of development dramatically. They need the higher protein of starter or grower till they are fully matured and laying. Layer feed is for actively laying birds only, and should not be offered if any member of the flock isn't laying. There is no magic ingredient in layer feed. It doesn't 'make' hens lay and it isn't required for egg production. It's just normal feed, with less protein and a whole lot more calcium.

 

[summerb123]