I have seven EE's that are just over a year old and they are very grouchy. My Sooty is pretty similar to the one in the first picture and looks like a hawk more than the rest. They all have different markings. I have one buff named Abagail and six brown variations. Tessa has blonde cheek floof and Sooty's entire head is black. I have a mixed group. They try their darndest to escape from me touching them (they think they are royalty) except for Abagail. I can pick her up and cuddle her easily. They are beautiful birds, and they lay lovely eggs but I wouldn't get them again because of their timidness towards humans.
P.S. You should absolutely submit those photos for the calendar, they are gorgeous!
Thanks! The hens in the top and bottom photos are just under a year. The 2nd & 3rd are 18 weeks old — they were day old mail order chicks to start. The other 4 are 10 weeks old, and we hatched them out of eggs from a local breeder. They were brooded by a Buff Brahma. She's a terrific mom.
theChicken Whisperer24, though many people post about their friendly EEs, I have a similar concern with mine being flighty and afraid of me. The top hen, who looks like your Sooty, is named Soothead, so we think alike.
Thank you for posting! Your EEs are beautiful! I have 2 (of 5) that are EEs. We've loved watching how their patterns changed over their first couple months. They are 21 weeks now and probably still have a few more weeks to go before laying kicks in.
Chipmunk - queen of the flock
And Flappy - she is the least social of our group, but she's pretty!
Horrayfortulips, thanks for posting photos of your birds, they are beautiful. Hopefully they will start laying soon. My older girls started laying late - close to 30 weeks, but they weren't healthy when they came to me so it took them awhile for them to get up to speed. Please post when they do lay. Must be a pretty flock with these two and the Buff Orps.