Help identifying the breed of my rooster

[Bill Matthews]

Easter Eggers are very simply chickens of either Ameraucana or Araucana derivation which STILL LAY blue, green, antique, or pink eggs.......Breeds that have been developed using some A or A blood are not called EES.....Most of the hatcheries have long established flocks that have been developed over several decades emphasizing egg and feather color variation. ......Stromberg's Hatchery for many years claimed to be the first importer of these chickens from Chile......Their Easter Eggers were really beautiful birds.....Mr. Stromberg died only a few years ago and whether he crossed the birds from Chile with higher production American stocks is anyone's guess..... He was a wonderful person and knew more about chickens than should be allowed by any known law....Mart's Poultry Farm in Windsor, MO had beautiful EES....Whatever they are and wherever they originated, EES are beautiful, useful, and a pleasure to own....They are great layers even in old age....Take care...

 

[Michael OShay]

Easter Eggers are very simply chickens of either Ameraucana or Araucana derivation which STILL LAY blue, green, antique, or pink eggs.......Breeds that have been developed using some A or A blood are not called EES.....Most of the hatcheries have long established flocks that have been developed over several decades emphasizing egg and feather color variation. ......Stromberg's Hatchery for many years claimed to be the first importer of these chickens from Chile......Their Easter Eggers were really beautiful birds.....Mr. Stromberg died only a few years ago and whether he crossed the birds from Chile with higher production American stocks is anyone's guess..... He was a wonderful person and knew more about chickens than should be allowed by any known law....Mart's Poultry Farm in Windsor, MO had beautiful EES....Whatever they are and wherever they originated, EES are beautiful, useful, and a pleasure to own....They are great layers even in old age....Take care...

This is exactly the point that I was trying to make. An EE has a blue egg gene and a either a brown or white egg gene (depending on what breed its blue egg laying parent was crossed with). If the EE passes its blue egg gene to its offspring, then the offspring will lay colored eggs and the offspring will be an EE, however, if the EE passes its brown (or white) egg gene to its offspring, then its offspring will not lay colored eggs and will not be an EE despite having one EE parent.

 

[donrae]

First hatchlings from this guy this weekend.

Mostly crossed with a barred rock. Would those be black sex links? Or "easter eggers"? They seem to have some light spots on their heads (roosters, I'm assuming) and a few that don't. Here is a picture of one with the head spot (can't see it really).



And then I have two like this guy (I'm thinking it's a rooster by looking at the wing feathers). I think mom is my silver laced Wyandotte.



Ideas of what these guys will look like grown up? I am not sure if I should tell friends I'm gifting them to if they are "easter eggers" or what.

I"m going to jump in here....your chicks from the barred momma are indeed black sex links. Pretty much any non-barred, non-white rooster over a barred or cuckoo hen will make sex links. You've spotted the difference already, males have the white spot on the head, females don't. Your males will be basically black barred, with some reddish leakage on the hackles and wings that will grow as they age. Females will be black, with reddish leakage at the throat/collar area.

I'm not positive, but I think the slw's chick could be sex linked, also. Gold is female, silver is male as it would be a red sex link, not a black (barred) based. I'm thinking this chick would be male, as it's the facial down you're looking at for a cross like this, but the lighting may be off in the pic. You'll just have to look in person and see what color it is.

Here's a great thread about sex link info https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/261208/sex-linked-information

If your rooster is pure for blue eggs, crossing him with a brown egg laying hen will give offspring that lay green eggs. If your rooster isn't pure for blue eggs, you'll get pullets that lay shades of green and maybe some brown. No way to know for sure until they start laying. Folks get all tangled up in the whole "Easter egger" thing, but tell your friends the pullets have a good chance of laying green eggs and everyone will be happy

 

[FVRM]

This is exactly the point that I was trying to make. An EE has a blue egg gene and a either a brown or white egg gene (depending on what breed its blue egg laying parent was crossed with). If the EE passes its blue egg gene to its offspring, then the offspring will lay colored eggs and the offspring will be an EE, however, if the EE passes its brown (or white) egg gene to its offspring, then its offspring will not lay colored eggs and will not be an EE despite having one EE parent.

Some people will still sell those birds as EEs because they will still resemble an EE no matter what color they will lay. But *read the bold*
Quote:

 

[Michael OShay]

It's not my intent to be contentious regarding this, but I do want to be accurate in information I share. Do you have any idea where FVRM got this information from? Does he have some kind of authentic documentation on this? I will try and ask him.

 

[Michael OShay]

It's not my intent to be contentious regarding this, but I do want to be accurate in information I share. Do you have any idea where FVRM got this information from? Does he have some kind of authentic documentation on this? I will try and ask him.

Oh, sorry. You are VFRM. ) The quote that I am questioning is "it would be an easter egger no matter what color they lay." What I want to know is if you have any authoritative documentation that supports this or is this just your opinion. Based on what I have always heard about EEs (I admit that I don't have any kind of documentation on this. In fact, I have not been able to find any documentation at all on when EE offspring stop being EE offspring) is that when the blue egg gene is no longer passed to the EE offspring, the EE offspring ceases to be an EE. This could happen with the very first mating of an EE with another breed. If there are any other BYC members out there who can supply some kind of authoritative documentation on when an Easter Egger x another breed offspring stops is no longer an EE, I would like to read it.

 

[FVRM]

Oh, sorry. You are VFRM. ) The quote that I am questioning is "it would be an easter egger no matter what color they lay." What I want to know is if you have any authoritative documentation that supports this or is this just your opinion. Based on what I have always heard about EEs (I admit that I don't have any kind of documentation on this. In fact, I have not been able to find any documentation at all on when EE offspring stop being EE offspring) is that when the blue egg gene is no longer passed to the EE offspring, the EE offspring ceases to be an EE. This could happen with the very first mating of an EE with another breed. If there are any other BYC members out there who can supply some kind of authoritative documentation on when an Easter Egger x another breed offspring stops is no longer an EE, I would like to read it.

well okay since EEs are not a breed theres no documentation. As far as the APA is concerned they are mutts loved by backyard chicken keepers. I kind of agree with you. In my opinion if i saw a photo of a bird that resembles EEs I would say it was an EE no matter what the egg color is. But I guess other people focus on egg color.

 

[Michael OShay]

well okay since EEs are not a breed theres no documentation. As far as the APA is concerned they are mutts loved by backyard chicken keepers. I kind of agree with you. In my opinion if i saw a photo of a bird that resembles EEs I would say it was an EE no matter what the egg color is. But I guess other people focus on egg color.

I guess the question of whether an EE x other breed offspring is always an EE is even fuzzier than the question of whether or not Pluto is a planet. )

 

[flemmingfarms]

Thank you all for the responses! I thought I'd post some pics of the chicks. They are 12 days old in these pics.

I believe I have two roosters of this cross. I believe mother hen is my gold laced Wyandotte.

I have two of these, what I think are BSL hens. Mother hen is a barred rock.

The rest are what I think are BSL roosters out of barred rock hens.

I've noticed that all the roosters have extra fluffy fluff around their eyes and the hens do not. Is this typical in roosters/hens in general? Or is this the Ameraucana trait? Again, thanks for the responses!