Lakeshore Eggers Question

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I know this is a bit of an older thread, but I stumbled across it and wanted to comment as I have Lakeshore Eggers and I know it's not a very common breed and figured others might also be interested... I have attached a couple of pictures - the 2 "blondes" are my Lakeshores when they were pullets. The green eggs in the egg pictures are from one of them. The other one has never laid green eggs - hers were always a light peach color (but same size and shape as the green ones).

They are the smallest hens we have, but they lay the biggest eggs. The one that lays the green eggs is the best layer we have (she's the one with more gray in her feathers). She laid all through her second winter - not every day, but most days, even during her molt - poor thing! While I love the beautiful green eggs, I would not choose this breed again for several reasons.

1. They're a pain in the butt! Only 3 of our chickens have ever escaped from their pen. Two of them are the Lakeshore's, and by far the most frequent of all the escapees. Not only do they like to fly over things (they are very light and have long, thin bodies), but they are also fast as lightning and nearly impossible to catch - even as chicks! Despite the fact that they have been handled more than almost any of our other chickens due to all their health problems (more on that below), and even feeding them out of my hand often, one of them remains so skittish that I always have to nab her off the roost at night and confine her in a crate for any issues even if they aren't serious, as otherwise I would never be able to get my hands on her. She acts like I'm trying to kill her if I even move in her direction!

2.) They always have problems. Over the past 3 years that we've had chickens, there've been a few health issues (bumblefoot, internal laying, egg yolk peritonitis, etc.). The Lakeshores have had most of these. The peach egg layer stopped laying normal eggs last fall (after laying for about 1 year), and since then has only had internal laying or soft-shelled eggs (she's currently finishing up a course of antibiotics due to suspected peritonitis and her abdomen remains swollen). The one that lays green eggs has laid soft or shell-less eggs only a couple of times, but has also had bumblefoot, plus a torn and/or slightly prolapsed vent a few times now. I've heard this is likely to get worse as she gets older.

3.) Not healthy overall. They both seem to have thin/fragile feathers, so they quickly get beaten up with bare backs and always look disheveled. The green egg layer didn't molt fully this winter, so she still has old ratty looking feathers from last year, and her back is already getting bare again from the rooster's attentions. With their long combs and thin feathers and bodies, they deal better with the heat, but aren't very comfortable in our Ohio winters. Thankfully, only one got slight frostbite on her comb this winter. I feel bad for them as I'm sure the constant laying has a lot to do with their poor feather production and other general issues. It's just so much stress on their bodies!

I feed plenty of protein, but after seeing what they go through, I feel guilty having production breeds, and will try to avoid these in the future. I do love the pretty eggs, but may try a hardier breed like an Americauna or something like that in the future.

Just my experience, and maybe others have had better luck with this breed...


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Thank you for this update. Beautiful eggs and beautiful birds, but it's a shame they have so many issues.

I am from the "lakeshore" these are named after (Lake Erie) so I thought it would be cool to have a few of these next year when I'm able to have chicks. I think I won't though. I'm not allowed to have many chickens in my city so I need healthy ones. I'm glad I stumbled upon your post.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I had gotten one before, it was all black. I gave it to a friend before it laid because I had too many black chickens.