I'm a little confused

[Book Em Danno25]

Welcome to BYC!!

I'm glad you joined the flock!!

Many adventures await you and your flock. If you have any questions, feel free to ask around!!

-Turkenstein25

 

[hajile100]

Oh but will they still lay blue eggs

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Oh but will they still lay blue eggs

There is no guarantee. EE can lay blue, green, cream, etc. eggs depending on the breeding that was used to produce them. Generally speaking, they are more likely to produce colorful eggs if they have a pea comb, facial feathering and green/grey legs - but even those characteristics do not guarantee egg color, nor does the absence of those characteristics mean they won't produce colorful eggs. My two EE from last year both lay blue-green eggs. Chicks that resulted from breeding the EE cockerel that we wound up with by surprise at the same time to my GLW hens resulted in one pullet that lays dark green eggs and one that lays light cream eggs (the other three chicks hatched were all cockerels).
One way to look at it that can put a positive spin on the whole thing is that with EE it's a big surprise how they turn out feathering in, they come in all sorts of colors/patterns, and what color egg they wind up producing.

 

[Blooie]

x2 I thought I was getting pretty chicken-smart before I chose this year's chicks. Um, not so much....... I went to a place that has a great reputation for labeling their chicks as they came out of the hatchery-marked boxes. The breed I'd stood in line to get turned out to be a breed I've never even wanted in my flock, and all roos to boot. <sigh> Wasn't the store's fault - I watched them unload each and every chick from the clearly marked compartment's stickers in the hatchery boxes, put that sticker on top of the waterer in each part of their massive brooder, and when they were finished I saw them take that sticker from the top of waterer and put up a corresponding sign on the front of each brooder. Still got it wrong, because they went by what the hatchery said. See the young man on the ladder taking off the hatchery's sticker after the chicks were put in the brooder? See the brooder setup? Grrrr How does a store that does it so well have a problem?

 

[dekel18042]

Oh but will they still lay blue eggs

Araucana and Ameraucana should lay a blue to a bluish green egg. Americanas (Notice how they change the spelling) or Easter eggers can lay almost any color eggs. All my Easter eggers lay blue, slate blue, slate grey, greenish, or mint green eggs.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

x2 I thought I was getting pretty chicken-smart before I chose this year's chicks. Um, not so much....... I went to a place that has a great reputation for labeling their chicks as they came out of the hatchery-marked boxes. The breed I'd stood in line to get turned out to be a breed I've never even wanted in my flock, and all roos to boot. <sigh> Wasn't the store's fault - I watched them unload each and every chick from the clearly marked compartment's stickers in the hatchery boxes, put that sticker on top of the waterer in each part of their massive brooder, and when they were finished I saw them take that sticker from the top of waterer and put up a corresponding sign on the front of each brooder. Still got it wrong, because they went by what the hatchery said. See the young man on the ladder taking off the hatchery's sticker after the chicks were put in the brooder? See the brooder setup? Grrrr How does a store that does it so well have a problem?

I know this is about a failure, but I have to say what an impressive setup this store has for their chick days!

Ultimately, it's best to really read up on the breeds you want - learn the ins and outs of what a chick from that breed should *and should not* look like, ask what hatchery a store you are considering gets their birds from and visit the website so you can really read the fine print in the breed descriptions (this is often where they hatchery gives a wink and nod acknowledgement to the fact that their Araucana/Ameraucana are not pure birds), etc. It pays to be an informed shopper - though even that can sometimes fail because many breeds do have striking similarities, especially as chicks.

 

[hajile100]

Man so I'm not the only one... I'm usually the chicken man in my city but I guess you learn something new everyday

 

[drumstick diva]

Maybe they'll let you post photos now!!