Help Identifying My Mystery Hens! 🐓

[Chelle1908]

Yes. SGE are Prairie Bluebells crossed with a brown egg layer, but it's Hoover's and looks like they've thrown almost any breed in there. (Examples: Four(ty) Colors of SGE.) Yours looks like a Prairie Bluebell crossed with a Production Red. Those white earlobes and pea comb come from the Prairie Bluebell (PBs are Leghorn-Araucana crosses).

The only difference between Hoover's Starlight Green Egger and an Easter Egger is a ™.

There's a small chance any of the eggers could lay brown/tan eggs.

Thank you so much for this info. I am learning so much!

 

[Jener8or]

Thank you so much for this info. I am learning so much!

Thank you! People posting their birds here is what makes this forum go-round! I love learning about the different breeds and seeing other peoples' chickens!

 

[MysteryChicken]

Hi everyone!

On April 9, 2025, I received my day old chicks from the “Rare + Standard Assortment” at Hoover’s Hatchery.Now that my hens are feathered out and growing fast, I’m trying to figure out which breeds I ended up with.

The hatchery doesn’t label the chicks (part of the fun, they say!), but they did provide a list of possible breeds. I’ll include that below, along with some photos of my flock. I’d really appreciate any help or guesses you might have — especially if you’re familiar with how these breeds look as juveniles or adults.

As of today, August 7, I have 8 small tan colored eggs! I have no idea who laid them.

Possible Rare Breeds Include:
Appenzeller Spitzhauben, Barnevelder, Blue Andalusian, Buff Brahma, Cochin, Columbian Wyandotte, French Black Copper Marans, French Cuckoo Marans, French Wheaten Marans, Lavender Orpington, Light Brahma, Midnight Majesty Marans, Olive Egger, Polish (Buff Laced, Gold Laced, Silver Laced, White Crested Black, White Crested Blue), Prairie Bluebell Egger, Salmon Faverolle, Sapphire Olive Egger, Silver Lakenvelder, Speckled Sussex, Starlight Green Egger, Turken, Welsummer.

Possible Standard Breeds Include:
Amberlink, Americana, Asian Black, Barred Rock, Calico Princess, Black Sex-Link, Black Australorp, Jersey Giant, Brown Leghorn, Buff Orpington, California White, Cinnamon Queen, Delaware, Dominique, Golden Comet, Golden Laced Wyandotte, ISA Brown, New Hampshire Red, Sapphire Gem, Production Red, Rainbow, Rhode Island Red, Silver Laced Wyandotte, White Leghorn, White Rock.

Thanks in advance for taking a look at the photos and sharing your thoughts. Any insight is appreciated!

You got alot of Easter Eggers, one White Leghorn, one Gold Laced Wyandotte, an Australorp, & a Sapphire Gem.

 

[Chelle1908]

Yes. SGE are Prairie Bluebells crossed with a brown egg layer, but it's Hoover's and looks like they've thrown almost any breed in there. (Examples: Four(ty) Colors of SGE.) Yours looks like a Prairie Bluebell crossed with a Production Red. Those white earlobes and pea comb come from the Prairie Bluebell (PBs are Leghorn-Araucana crosses).

The only difference between Hoover's Starlight Green Egger and an Easter Egger is a ™.

There's a small chance any of the eggers could lay brown/tan eggs.

You got alot of Easter Eggers, one White Leghorn, one Gold Laced Wyandotte, an Australorp, & a Sapphire Gem.

Thank you! Do you think Summer and Red are Easter eggers too? Summer has the yellow legs, and red has a little bit of muffs on the side of her face, but not a big beard.

 

[Jener8or]

Thank you! Do you think Summer and Red are Easter eggers too? Summer has the yellow legs, and red has a little bit of muffs on the side of her face, but not a big beard.

Yes. Easter Eggers are just cross breeds bred to lay colored (blue/green) eggs. They are not a standardized breed, so no standardized looks. Sometimes the hatcheries will come up with unique (or not so unique) mixes and call them by a different name (such as Sapphire Sky, Starlight Green Egger, Prairie Bluebell etc.) but they are all Easter Eggers (which may or may not lay the color of eggs they are supposed to lay.)

ETA: The one common thing EEs have is a blue egg laying gene possibly somewhere in their ancestry. Sometimes this comes with different characteristics in their genetics of where they got the blue egg laying gene from (such as a muff and beard or pea comb from the Araucana / Ameraucana, etc.,) so they can be identifiable but they don't need these features to be an EE.

Blue Layer/Carrier + Brown Layer/Carrier = Green Layer, so that is how they "make" Olive Eggers (or SGEs). (All Olive Eggers are Easter Eggers, that specifically lay green eggs, or like I said, are supposed to.)