Quick background: this is my first year raising chickens and this website has been so helpful, btw I'm loving it and having so much fun in the process. I started with some Cornish/Crosses in the early spring and everything went fine - they grew up and are now in the freezer (taste great). So I also wanted some layers, so later in the spring I went to the local farm stand (who sells chicks in my area) and got some advice as to what type would do well in my area and would be easy to take care of. They recommended some chicks that turned out to be "Easter-Eggers", they were 4 days old/ many different colors and they had both sexes ready to go. So I went home with 6 females and one male, raised them in the house until they were ready to move outside to the coop I made and they are doing great since I followed all the advice I read on the site. Now that they 4+ months old I have noticed that all of the hens have similar characteristics and look like what "Easter-Eggers" should, but my rooster is much larger and does not have the standard "tufts" on the side of his head. Now that they look like full grown chickens I started to review the breeds and it appears (by my untrained eye) that he is a "Buff Orpington" (another breed I recall they were selling at the time). So here is my question: I was hoping to let the hens hatch some chicks next year ( to give to friends and add to my flock ) but will he be able to breed with my hens and will I be able to get chicks from this cross ? I'm not concerned about "show quality" chickens - I'm just trying to avoid problems like chick deaths due to such a strange cross. And when he does become sexually mature is he going to hurt (possibly kill) my hens due to his larger size ? They were all hand raised and remain very friendly, I still pick all of them up and I have not noticed any fighting within my flock - but will that change with time ? I'm still learning and have enough room if I would need to change their living arrangements to ensure their safety. Looking forward to some ideas - Thanks in advance for your input. -Will ** Thanks for all the quick feedback everybody - I feel much better now knowing that everything will be OK, I've grown so fond of them and didn't want anything to go wrong with my flock.
I would say you are probably okay and that you can get fertile eggs from that cross. However, I've only been at this as long as you! So here's a bump and hopefully someone with more experience can help!
There's absolutely no problem mixing them! Chicken breed are kind of like dog or cat breeds, you can have purebreds if you want a certain look, but there are certainly lovable mutts ("barnyard mix") all over as well. With easter eggers, people specifically choose to cross-breed sometimes to get interesting egg colors. A marans x ee cross for instance should yield olive colored eggs.
EE really isnt a breed..just a classification... it just means lays eggs of a different color... most likely, you chicks are all the same genetically.. also you need to keep in mind, that in some color patterns, the roo color maybe be completely different than the hens.. particulary in the partridge and wildtype colors... much like mallard ducks...
You should be fine. People cross the two all the time without problems. He won't try to hurt them either. You can mix just about any chicken breed and be fine.
