Making easter eggers

[Silvija]

Hello there,
I live in a country were easter eggers are unknown. But we do have all kind of breeds who lay other than white or light brown eggs like araucanas, marans and so on. I am planing to keep a flock of around 30 birds after culling and hope to make them easter eggers over time. I go for the color of egg - blue, olive and so on, good laying (doesn't have to be very high, just good enough to call it a layer) and possibility to have some meat on those I have to cull. I plan to grow some chickens just for the meat, but I want all culled birds to be good for eating too. What I have now is araucana roo and a mix of 9 hens - comercial layers, couple mix breeds, two cochins and a barnevelder. I'm incubating now few of my own eggs and a mix from the breeder - marans, orlovs and one I managet to forget, mostly to learn to use incubator and raise little chicks cause it's my first time. So it's a big mess! But me and my husband just started to raise chickens and everything is so new and beautifull! My idea for now is to keep only araucana roos - incubate some more araucana eggs this year for two or three more roos (1 roo for about 7 to 10 chickens) and auracana chickens I will get from the eggs, put all chickens I like with those roos and see what happens with the first generation next year. Does it make sense at all? I am not in a hurry to have a easter egger flock but maybe I am creating a bigger mess this way, not something that may work - healthy flock at least if I do enough culling of not so good birds?

 

[Percheron chick]

Nothing wrong with your plan. Pretty much what I do. Only use pure aracana roosters to guarantee the blue egg gene. Your selection of hens will create a cornucopia of feathering and egg colors. Some of my most beautiful EE hens have been Russian orloff crosses. They are better layers then their mothers at about 5 a week. Cochins are great to have around to hatch and raise chicks but can't lay like the others.
Sample of some of my eggs.

 

[Silvija]

Thanks! You put my mind at ease. Love the colors of your eggs, hope to get something like that from my chickens. And I thought orloff was not a good choise at all, nice to hear that it is after all.

 

[Percheron chick]

The eggs are all first generation. I will hatch some of their eggs (crossed with a lavender ameraucana) this summer. 2 of those eggs are Grey. Not sure what the hen was.

 

[MINDANAO DAVE]

Nothing wrong with your plan. Pretty much what I do. Only use pure aracana roosters to guarantee the blue egg gene. Your selection of hens will create a cornucopia of feathering and egg colors. Some of my most beautiful EE hens have been Russian orloff crosses. They are better layers then their mothers at about 5 a week. Cochins are great to have around to hatch and raise chicks but can't lay like the others.
Sample of some of my eggs.

I am really hoping you can give me advice. I am going to purchase a Easter Egger young rooster not proven yet. I live in the PHILIPPINES so it is quite expensive. If the rooster had parents that were both Easter Egger is the rooster I am buying a Easter Egger? Thanks I've posted 2 threads and no help from anyone

 

[Percheron chick]

I would still call him an EE. No idea what he got from his parents egg color wise until you hatch some pullets from him and raise them until they start to lay. Cross him on white egg layers so all you see from the resulting pullets is what he contributes.