EE mystery

[Panhandle chick]

Hey all!! I have 8 EE that are now 16 weeks- no one is crowing but all the info on EE is confusing. All my EE have different combs- some single row and others look to be developing 3; some are light others are pinkish red. All their feathers look same.. I have to say they are sweet and some are spicy with attitude-but way nicer than my black sex link. Question1 when do Roos start to crow? Do EE mature late? Question 2- when do EE lay? So much conflicting information Restless in Idaho

 

[Ridgerunner]

all the info on EE is confusing.

As it should be. EE are not a breed so there are no standards. We can't even agree on what a good definition of an EE is. An EE can lay any color of egg, have any kind of comb, have any color of legs or earlobes, be any size or any color. If somebody tells you that their EE did something that's like someone telling you that their dog did something but you don't know what breed their dog is. An EE is a chicken, nothing more.

Question1 when do Roos start to crow?

When they do. Some people have seen a chick just a few weeks old try to crow. I've had several cockerels that did not try to crow before 5 months when I ate them. If you have a few cockerels the dominant ones may keep the others from crowing but even the dominant ones don't always start to crow until they are petty old.

Do EE mature late?

Substitute the work "chicken" for "EE" here. Some chickens mature early, some mature late.

Question 2- when do EE lay?

When they do. I've had EE lay their first egg at 18 weeks. I've had some wait until 9 months to start laying.

At 16 weeks old we can maybe tell you which are males or females if you can post photos. For each chicken in question a closeup showing the comb and wattles are really helpful. A second photo showing the legs, posture, and conformation can be really helpful.

For fun I'll show some of my EE. You may not be able to tell it but they have different kinds of combs and different colors of legs and earlobes. They all laid blue or green eggs.

 

[cherrynberry]

Hey all!! I have 8 EE that are now 16 weeks- no one is crowing but all the info on EE is confusing. All my EE have different combs- some single row and others look to be developing 3; some are light others are pinkish red. All their feathers look same.. I have to say they are sweet and some are spicy with attitude-but way nicer than my black sex link. Question1 when do Roos start to crow? Do EE mature late? Question 2- when do EE lay? So much conflicting information Restless in Idaho

Do you have pictures? EEs are a mutt so they can come in a large variety. Are you sure you have a cockerel?

 

[NatJ]

I have 8 EE that are now 16 weeks

At 16 weeks, I would expect males to be obvious (crowing, big tail, long pointy saddle feathers, red comb that is much bigger than the females have.)

All my EE have different combs- some single row and others look to be developing 3; some are light others are pinkish red.

At 16 weeks, especially in June with the long summer days, some are probably getting ready to start laying eggs. The combs on pullets & hens get larger and redder when they are ready to lay eggs, and shrink back again when they are molting or broody.

So the differences you are seeing are probably just individual differences in comb shape, and different stages of maturity.

Question1 when do Roos start to crow?

I've read of a chick that was crowing at less than one week old, and I've read of cockerels that waited more than 6 months. But I would say most will start crowing between 6 weeks and 12 weeks.

Do EE mature late?

Not usually.

Question 2- when do EE lay?

They lay when they are ready. That is some combination of their age, and the amount of daylight. At this time of year, it could be soon. If they were 16 weeks in October as the days get short, they might wait until spring.

So much conflicting information

That's because EE just means the bird will probably lay blue or green eggs. Many Easter Eggers are wanna-be Ameraucanas, but plenty are also crossed with various different breeds. Because the chickens are not consistent, of course the information conflicts too. (For example, someone might say "mine laid at 5 months" and someone else might say "mine didn't lay until 8 months," and both could be true.)

 

[HiEverybirdy]

The black one is a midnight majestic (maran that isn’t really a maran I’ve learned). I have 4 of them and they are so sweet!

Ha, I was posting to say that one looks like a Marans to me, and to ask which hatchery. Sounds like it could be Hoover's, since that's one of their Marans names? If so the buff-colored hen could be one of their Starlight Eggers or a Prairie Bluebell...those are basically just their cool names for their special-recipe of Easter Eggers.

https://hoovershatchery.com/prairiebluebellegger.html

 

[Ridgerunner]

So the combs that are bigger is ok? Any idea what the golden one is?

At 16 weeks I'm not looking at comb or wattle size. I'm looking more at color. Dark red indicates male, pale or pink indicates a girl. The closer the girls get to laying the darker red their comb and wattles should be. I don't see any that look that dark red. Maybe #2 but I think that is probably the way light is hitting it.

On a male the hackle and saddle feathers will be pointed, the girls will be more rounded. That causes me a lot of heartburn with those. To me #1 and #2 look pointed. I'm not as sure on #3 as I'd like to be. #4 looks girl. I can't really tell on the three together. With #6 the hackles look kind of pointed but the saddle feathers look round. I lean toward girl.

By the golden one I assume you mean #3. To me the long heavy legs, body composition, and upright posture look male. The tail feathers are curving down. That can happen with girls but is more of a sign of a boy. Saddle feathers look rounded. What little I can see of the comb looks pale. I get a strong feeling that that one is a boy.

I know, not a lot of help, but I'm not ready to sign off on all of them being girls.

 

[Panhandle chick]

Thanks everyone- I love this community! If I do end up with a Roo I will update.. thankfully I’m in the country where we all have crowing as long as they play nice they can stay

 

[cherrynberry]

Hey all!! I have 8 EE that are now 16 weeks- no one is crowing but all the info on EE is confusing. All my EE have different combs- some single row and others look to be developing 3; some are light others are pinkish red. All their feathers look same.. I have to say they are sweet and some are spicy with attitude-but way nicer than my black sex link. Question1 when do Roos start to crow? Do EE mature late? Question 2- when do EE lay? So much conflicting information Restless in Idaho

Cockerels usually “try” crowing at a young age, 7 weeks was about when our rooster tried. At around 12 weeks, he mastered it, but the pitch was a little off.

 

[cherrynberry]

They are all pullets, so no crowing.

 

[NatJ]

They look like EE pullets to me, with a variety of feather colors (normal for Easter Eggers). The various comb sizes indicate different levels of maturity, which is also normal for Easter Eggers at this age.

(Exception: it looks like there's a black sexlink female in the background of one picture. She's mostly black, with some gold in her neck feathers, with a single comb, no muff/beard, and wattles that are bigger than the EE's have. She's behind the EE that's gold with white markings.)