Pure EE or EE mix roo?

[Delmar]

Mrs Delmar and I currently have 2 roos, (3 if you count the one in my yard avoiding capture) One is an EE ( I do know there is no such thing as "pure EE" but this one isn't mixed with anything else)

and the other, I'm told, is an EE Leghorn cross.

We have had the Leghorn mix a lot longer (even though he is a few months younger) and Mrs Delmar is rather attached to him. Since EE's are considered mutts anyway is there no advantage to keeping the EE over the EE Leghorn mix?

 

[Bravo]

The first definitely looks like an EE and he looks more like an EE/Leghorn cross than the other roo does. The advantage to keeping him would be if he carries the blue egg gene and you want rainbow layers in your next generation flock

 

[Delmar]

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Wouldn't both carry the blue egg gene?

 

[Bravo]

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Wouldn't both carry the blue egg gene?

I dont know about the second one...the comb looks a bit funky compared to what I'm used to seeing.

I suppose if you know for sure that both are EE's then the answer is maybe. The only way to tell for sure is to hatch a bunch of their chicks and raise them to POL

 

[Bravo]

Also, the waddles on #2 are throwing me off a bit, too. I've never hatched an EE/Leghorn cross with waddles.

 

[sourland]

Ducks waddle, chickens have wattles.

Rooster number one is awesome looking. He'd be my pick based on his good looks.

 

[Bravo]

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LOL! Long day! 12hrs in and still a few more to go!

BYC is my mental vacation

 

[Delmar]

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He is a good looking guy, and I have him in with the girls right now, so he is going to get a chance to reproduce. One thing I know for sure. At least one of them is going in the freezer by this fall. I am not going to be feeding two full grown roosters over the winter!

 

[Delmar]

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I suppose it is possible that the person I got him from was not correct?

 

[coloradowildflower]

I've read on the boards that the blue-egg gene is closely connected to the pea-comb gene. I'm not sure, but you might do a search about that before you decide.

Here's one example of what people usually say about the link:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=4782216

Good luck!