I really respect this type of chicken. Mine are the first out of the coop in the morning and are off to forage and sometimes they're the only ones when there's snow on the ground. They jump and fly over the snow to get over next to our house where there is some bare ground with grass (no snow) and they can still sometimes dig around. I got 5 pullets and 5 cockerels from Cackle Hatchery a couple of years ago. They sexed them all perfectly. They also gave me a good selection. Boys: 3 different colors Girls: 2 white with gold flecks, 2 dark gold with gray tones/lacing, and one fancy gray. The eggs were 3 very minty green and 2 green but not minty. The boys are even tempered and my best roosters. I gave one away and they were feeding him out of their hands even though I do not treat the boys as pets as they are growing up.
I specifically wanted this type of chicken instead of the "APA Ameraucana" or "APA Auraucana." The APA Ameraucanas sometimes have been outcrossed with another breed to get the proper lacing or the lavender plumage types. To me (not all others, of course), it seems, that this could remove some of the fine qualities found in the birds that people call "Easter Eggers." Granted, I have no idea what Cackle has done to "Easter Eggers" while they've been taking care of it other than they are trying to provide a variety of colors. It's true that hatcheries have crossed "Easter Eggers" up. However, I'm hoping I get a more hardy group if I order "Easter Eggers." Maybe I'm wrong, but my batch is strong, although one died of something last summer. I'm not sure what. I know many will disagree and that's fine. I don't think much of this is provable; it's guessing based on research.
Mine have done well in our cold temps in the north. We keep the house free from drafts, but we don't heat no matter how cold it gets. (even below zero) No frostbite on these Cackle chickens. They could have changed their stock or their strain since we bought ours, but we had good results from the Cackle "Easter Egger." The first year, they laid all winter long without extra lighting. Molting put a stop to egg production early in November of the second year and egg production started back up January 10.
Wow, that was bad luck when you picked out 9 at the feed store and came home with all cockerels. I wonder how often that happens? That's a sad story. I know that last year, when I was at the feed store, it was obvious that the large 4 week old white orpingtons that were left in the container labeled "White Orpington PULLETS" were *all* cockerels. They had been picked through by folks that knew what to look for. I picked out some "Mixed Banties" last year and got one boy and one girl which was just fine.
Edited: I fixed all the places where I called "Easter Eggers" a breed. I wish there was a word I could use instead. It's difficult to talk about the groups of chickens that aren't breeds yet (Marans, Kraienkoppes, Icelandic, Scots Dumpies, etc.) My apologies.
) and they were in great health, except one who had a tiny case of pasty butt. But they are all alive and well now.
