Oh no, not another EE question. :)

[ging3rhoffman]

As I am new to the chicken world and as I am learning on BYC I started wondering if the hatcheries use only 3 or 4 pure breed Roos to their EE hens.

For instance I have an EE that looks and has the same coloring as an Welsummer. Then another one looks alot like Blue Ameraucana. It has the black head and grey/blue body. Just tryng to figure out what 3 or 4 basic pure breeds they use on their EE hens. Or am I way off?

Thanks

 

[Mahonri]

EEs are just mutts. Of course there is an official EE site now... you can google it!

I've seriously seen a ton of variety when it comes to EEs. You can get almost ANYTHING!

 

[ging3rhoffman]

I thought maybe the hatcherys stuck with the same 3 or 4 for their convience.

 

[Kev]

Way off.. many of the hatcheries get their eggs FROM people who breed the chickens and send the eggs to the hatcheries.

That is a good question- how many 'breeder birds' are providing eggs to those hatcheries.. probably in the hundreds, at least for the more popular breeds. EE are a very popular breed so there probably are many different breeder flocks supplying the eggs. So it has to be way more than just 3 or 4 roos..

EE is not a breed and have no standard so literally anything goes. The colors you see on your birds are simply draw of the luck.. some colors/patterns can tend to show up more often than others merely because of genetics rules. The breeders very likely intentionally mix the colors and/or keep pens of many different colors for a "mixed color" as it seems a lot of people love the mixed colors in a flock.

So if you were wanting to breed yours.. simply select a rooster that YOU like and breed him with whatever hen(s).. they will still all be EE. Have a more specific question(about how to breed for blues for example), ask that one.. but this comes with a warning- due to the deliberately mixed up EE genepool, a lot of the time it is nearly impossible to answer questions about breeding or breeding with EE for this reason. Who knows what other genes this or that EE has in it!

 

[TammyTX]

Ginger,

What color are the legs of the one that looks like a Welsummer?

The reason I ask is because I have EE'rs and Wellies. There is this one Wellie pullet who has slightly different markings and she is larger. I assume she is a Wellie because she has yellow legs but now I wonder.... All of my EE'rs have either green or slate legs.

 

[sloallie10]

Quote:
what is the web site called...hehe. i cant find it?

 

[Kev]

Tammy, check the comb of the bird in question. Pea comb is dominant so a cross of pea comb EE and wellie will give pea combs. However again, EE are such a mixed lot that there are EE carrying or even have single combs..

 

[Sequin]

Ok, but aren't EE's a first generation cross? For example Ameracuana x buff orpington? Or if you bred two EE's would you still get the muffs/beard and blue/green eggs? I thought they were first generation mixes. I would think that the qualities that make them EE's would dilute after a few generations and they would less consistently lay colored eggs and not really have the muffs/beard? That's my guess anyway. I know in breeding dogs it isn't just as simple as putting two dogs together. If you want something specific you have to keep bringing it into the lines to keep it.

 

[Byrdj]

Breeding two EE's together will still give you bearded/muffed blue/green egg laying EE's. Nothing will be diluted. Actually you will get some birds that are homozygous for the blue egg gene.

 

[Kev]

Note that EE have no standard. That means no specific breeding program or ANY rule to be followed as for those birds.

So.. it can be a cross, a cross between an EE and a pure bred, and/or many generations of EE x EE breedings. Because there's simply no rules at all.. can't even say they have to lay blue or green eggs as many EE lay eggs besides blue/green eggs.

The genes responsible for the pea comb, blue/green egg color, beards/muffs are dominant genes, which also means ANY cross with ANY bird with those genes will tend to look "Ameraucana-ish" which a lot of EE generally resemble.

Heck, anybody can deliberately cross EE, Amers and/or Araucanas with something like frizzle or silkies and make silky feathered, feather legged and/or frizzled 'rainbow egg layers'.. those can be called EE.. and nobody can object to that, because again, EE have no standard at all.