Just found out we have an Easter Egger Cockrel, How to raise a one??

[Pazkez710]

This is Rembrandt. He is new to our flock and until a week ago we thought he was a she!. We have a diverse flock. 2 One year old Black Australorps, a Buff Orpington, Ameracauna/EE, a Dominique, 4 Red comets, a bantum white legged leghorn, and this year we got 3 Barred Rocks, 3 more BO, 3 Ameracauna/Easter Eggers, 2 Columbian Wyandottes and one Isa Brown. So we will have 21 Hens and one EE Roo. How do we raise an EE roo? Does anybody know how they behave? Should we keep him separate? What type of bird would we get if Rembrandt was bred with any of the others. What color eggs would it produce? The offspring i mean....Also how can you tell if an egg has been fertilized? He is very pretty and i love his coloring so far. I didn't want a roo, especially since this is our second year raising chicks. It is definitely addicting! How old do they have to be to be able to fertilize the eggs? Sorry so many questions but i was totally thrown for a loop! I thought we had Ameracaunas for one thing, but was told they are EE. Still only get blue eggs from our year old hen though?? Anyway, help with any of this would be so appreciated!!!

 

[Mrs. K]

Keep him with the flock, they older ones will teach him how to be a good rooster.

When he begins to crow, he is becoming sexually mature. They often become active at about 4-6 months, depending on what they can get away with. They don't really take care of the flock tll they are closer to a year old.

I had an EE rooster, and he was very good.

If you check your eggs now, when you open them, on the yolk, there will be a small white spot. When the egg is fertilized, that will look like a bulls eye. they are edible, you will not wind up with a partially formed chick in your fry pan. Chicks do not begin to develop until the egg has been kept warm to about 98-100 degrees for 24 hours.

It looks like you have mostly brown egg layers. If you breed him, and hatch out the chicks, you will probably get some mixed coloring birds, the EE eggs may lay colored eggs, may lay brown. over time I would expect your eggs to become more brown. I have two pullets that just started laying, out of a EE too, one a pretty green, and the other lays brown.

However, you can pick and choose which eggs to hatch.... so if you want the colored eggs, just hatch the EE colored eggs. It won't be fool proof, but should increase your odds.

Chickens are fun.

Mrs K

 

[LRH97]

He's a good looking little guy! I haven't had very many EE roos, only one or two I believe. I don't remember any bad experiences with them either. Temperament boils down to the individual bird, if you ask me. If you want babies and don't have a problem with a roo, there is no need to keep him separate. When he breeds the hens, you will get crosses (i.e. if he mated a Buff Orpington, you would call the chick that hatched from that particular hen's egg an EE/BO cross.) I'm not sure what color eggs they would lay. That would depend on genes and breed. A standard rooster usually starts the serious stages of puberty at around 4-6 months. Some may start before, some later. Please note: if you've never seen chickens mate before, if may come across as violent on the roo's part, especially if the hens haven't been exposed to a roo before. It's natural and things will go smoother once they get used to him. Like Mrs. K said, look for the bull's eye. The rule of thumb is usually 1 roo for every 10 or so hens. You can do your fertility test and as said before, look for the bull's eye to check fertility. Good luck and keep the questions coming if they arise.

 

[junebuggena]

Well, you'll have more than enough hens to keep him happy. With your brown egg layers, if he carries a blue egg gene, you could get green or brown layers. Do not keep him if he turns aggressive. Hatchery birds are not bred for temperament, so you can't really tell what he'll be like when those hormones kick in. Aggressive roos do tend to pass on that temperament to their offspring.

 

[Pazkez710]

Thank you all so much! Your info is so much appreciated!