Easter Eggers - Quiet, Friendly and Easy-to-Manage?

[BackyardZen]

Hello Community,

My wife and I will be getting 6 chicks soon and are in the process of building a chicken tractor for pasture-raising the chickens in our backyard. We are hoping to get quiet, friendly and easy-to-manage birds.

We are probably going to get 2 Buff Orpingtons and 2 Speckled Sussex as I understand both are friendly birds (MyPetChicken lists them as such). My wife wants some colored eggs, so we will probably get 2 Easter Eggers, but I am a little nervous as there seems to be a consensus that they are on the flighty side. I read some reporting they like to hang out in trees.

Does anyone have any thoughts about Easter Eggers being hard-to-manage, noisy or unfriendly?

BackyardZen

 

[N F C]

I've only had 1 EE so limited experience here...the one I had was a sweet girl, not a lap sitter but not difficult to manage at all. She was toward the top of the pecking order. She gave me pretty bluish-green eggs (you never really know what egg color you'll get until they lay).

 

[N F C]

Forgot to add...never had a problem with her roosting in trees.

 

[DobieLover]

I had three. Now two. Neighbors dog downsized me.
My EEs are quiet and at the bottom of the pecking order. They are not overly friendly but will readily eat out of my hand, even jump up to steal treats destined for other girls. They fly well but if you are going to keep them in a tractor, they won't be flying there!
My two remaining girls give me an olive colored egg and a lovely blue egg. The one I lost laid a nice light green egg.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

I have two, one is from a breeder as an oops and the other is a hatchery bird. I don't find either to be any different than the rest of my flock. Easy going, comes when I call for the flock... Not that flighty. I haven't encouraged cuddling, although my 14 yr old daughter has, and they shy away from being grabbed (as all the chickens do) but they submit to the 'struggle snuggle' without much fuss.

 

[Cynthia12]

I've had several EE's. Just like most breeds..they can be different in personality. Most of mine have been real friendly. Flighty? I clip every single one of my pullets wings when they are set out to free range. I have neighbors right over the fence.

 

[Cynthia12]

Adding a note here..hens can be surprisingly noisy at laying time. Some will announce quite loud, that they ..want..a certain nest that is usually taken. We are all still not sure why, they want the nest someone else is on. And, some will announce very loudly that they just laid their egg. Some..will be pretty quiet. We just never know who will be which. Here is a fun photo of a couple of hens that I caught in the nest box together. The one on top laid her egg while I was standing there. It made a clunk sound as it hit the back of the wood. Didn't crack though.

 

[TheBeardie]

Out of my standard flock,10 pullets, four or five are visibly EE or OE. My entire flock, including my flighty Salmon Faverolles, will come up and eat out of my hand. None of my girls have ever tried to get in trees. Not every chicken will conform to the breed, some will be loud and proud and some will be quiet. A hen after laying can easily be louder than a roosters crow.

My first EE was a hatchery chick that was gifted to me. She layed tan eggs. The egg color will vary if they are hatchery stock, so it is possible to get green, blue, tan and tinted pink eggs. If you want definite blue eggs you'd have to get your birds from great stock aka a reputable breeder.

You could also get Whiting True Blues or Whiting True Greens for colorful eggs.

Food is your friend if you want your flock to be more friendly. Sit out in a chair with some veggies or some other treat and they should come to trust you easily. Hanging out with the flock is a great way to gain trust.

These two girls haven't layed yet, but I believe they will be OE. Hopefully some of my non-bearded girls will lay colored eggs too.

 

[BackyardZen]

I've had several EE's. Just like most breeds..they can be different in personality. Most of mine have been real friendly. Flighty? I clip every single one of my pullets wings when they are set our to free range. I have neighbors right over the fence.

Is it common practice to clip the wings of pullets? I was hoping to get away with not doing it. The hens will be in a chicken tractor 90% of the time; for the remaining 10%, they will free range the backyard when we are home and in the backyard. The neighbors are friendly and I suspect won't mind if a hen flies over the fence.

Also, do you think it is common for hens to fly over fences to go explore other areas or would they more likely stick with their flock and stay close to their source of food?

 

[Feathered_Texans]

Is it common practice to clip the wings of pullets? I was hoping to get away with not doing it. The hens will be in a chicken tractor 90% of the time; for the remaining 10%, they will free range the backyard when we are home and in the backyard. The neighbors are friendly and I suspect won't mind if a hen flies over the fence.

Also, do you think it is common for hens to fly over fences to go explore other areas or would they more likely stick with their flock and stay close to their source of food?

Whenever I let out my chickens to free range they usually stay right around the barn, and I mostly just free range them when I’m there. But every situation is different, and depending on what kind of fence you have they could either fly over or find a tree to climb and hop into the neighbors yard.