The EE braggers thread!!!

[farmerChef]

You all are tempting me to collect some eggs to hatch I have my EEs, 1 black Am pullet, and 1 silver Am pullet in with my "birthday hatch" cockerel. He's a bit of a mystery to me- I only had black Ameraucanas and a few EEs and to the best of my knowledge he came from the black Am pair, but he's white. So I figure he's recessive white. As he's gotten older some of his hackles and saddle feathers have turned a bit yellow-tinged but I think it must be sun damage because he wasn't like that in early fall. Anyway, he won't give me much variety plumage-wise but he will serve his purpose to add a bit more on the egg color side of things since I have some EEs laying green rather than blue. I am going to use my yellow-legged EE cockerel over the black and silver Ams since he's liable to produce something interesting over the silver at least. He hatched out of a brown egg so I plan to just reserve his "talents" for those ladies laying a clear blue egg. However, I promised to myself not to hatch anything 'til March so I'll have to resist the temptation of all this hatch talk...for now!

 

You need to join the St Pattys day green egg hatch! Set eggs 2/25, link in my sig

 

[TW1Kell]

I am crossing a white hippy-head Polish Roo with a pure white, EE offshoot that was supposed to lay perfectly blue eggs. I hope the beard from the EE and the hippy-head from the Roo give me girls with beards and hippy hair. They're together, now.

Maybe I should clarify something since my post was quoted, maybe it was taken negatively. I said standard for EE hen coloration meaning that was what you get most often as an EE hen, tho I am told that mine actually meet the Ameracauna standard, I don't really know much about the standard. I was just told that by an old-timer chicken breeder??? It is what I call an EE. As for the comment about people liking the EE as a pretty chicken and getting cool egg colors...well, I'm in that crowd, as well. I raise mine to BE EE's and love the "look" of the chickens, and the cool egg colors. I didn't want to come across as being against EE's. I am a true fan of them, and prefer those to most other chicken breeds.

Now, on a bragging note: I may have said this before, but I've had lots of head injuries, hehehe...on year 2 and 3 of her life, so far, one of my Silver EE hens laid a HUGE egg, about every day with an occassional skipped day. The reason for the brag is that they are too large to close in a Jumbo carton, and they always had 2 yolks. It got to where the people that I give eggs to, were asking for some of Snowflake's eggs. They all loved to show them off. haha The old time farmers all acused me of having a large goose and passing her eggs off as coming from one of my chickens. "Flake" is now in her 4th year, and still laying, just I haven't seen any doubles this winter, so far.



That is Snowflake. The brownish tint that you see, is actually just lighter grey. She has no color but black to grey to white. Personality-wise, she's not the friendliest, as she actually gets startled by me, if I pay to much attention to her. She likes to eat out of my hand, but, unlike the other girls, she doesn't like to have her breast bone rubbed and will shy away if you try to rub her. Most of my chickens love that rub, even the Roos.

I hate messy winter weather. It's seems that the muddy feet bother them, and their home gets sooo messy! Rye grass doesn't last long with them, and I'm running out of gardens to convert to EE territory. haha

I started with 8 3 years ago, and now have 50 (I gave a Roo to a young boy down the road, nobody has died, lately) and my Wifey wants to know what my "goal number actually is". Who knows, right? I think she's worried about my 3 setter game hens and that incubator that I bought last fall...hehehe

 

[DURR]

Ok so I have a new layer in the flock and she laid a nice light olive egg. Is this possible with EE's? Or would she be called a OE?

 

[OldChurchEggery1]

Regarding what to use in the coop as litter: I'm doing an experiment this winter with my coop. Because we get the paper 7 days a week, we wound up with way more newspaper than we can possibly use to start our woodstove. I bought a shredder from Office Max and have been using the newspaper shreds as the litter in my coop. I've used it in the nest boxes, too, but it gets kicked out easily and the shreds stick to freshly-laid eggs because of the wet coating on the egg. That said, I don't mind a few fuzzy spots on the eggs since I'm not using the shells for craft purposes. I put a band of plywood to make a solid wall in the coop to keep the shreds from being kicked out into the area where I store feed. The positive aspects are that it 1) reuses something that would otherwise go to the recycling bin and recycling takes way more energy than re-use, 2) I can use the soiled litter in my compost piles or to help reduce bald patches on the steep slope in my side pasture, 3) it's very free since I'd pay for the newspaper content anyway, and 4) the newspaper is very absorbent which makes cleaning up the occasional cracked egg in a nestbox an easier chore.

Edited to note: I only use the newsprint parts of the paper, not the slick ads.

 

[CherokeeFlats]

Here's a better pic of Tucker





and here at the other 2 girls




This is Maxie





This is Sweet Pea

What color are these girls??

 

[Flowerbh]

Regarding what to use in the coop as litter: I'm doing an experiment this winter with my coop. Because we get the paper 7 days a week, we wound up with way more newspaper than we can possibly use to start our woodstove. I bought a shredder from Office Max and have been using the newspaper shreds as the litter in my coop. I've used it in the nest boxes, too, but it gets kicked out easily and the shreds stick to freshly-laid eggs because of the wet coating on the egg. That said, I don't mind a few fuzzy spots on the eggs since I'm not using the shells for craft purposes. I put a band of plywood to make a solid wall in the coop to keep the shreds from being kicked out into the area where I store feed. The positive aspects are that it 1) reuses something that would otherwise go to the recycling bin and recycling takes way more energy than re-use, 2) I can use the soiled litter in my compost piles or to help reduce bald patches on the steep slope in my side pasture, 3) it's very free since I'd pay for the newspaper content anyway, and 4) the newspaper is very absorbent which makes cleaning up the occasional cracked egg in a nestbox an easier chore.

Edited to note: I only use the newsprint parts of the paper, not the slick ads.

I also use shredded newspaper in my nests. I put a small amount of wood shavings in the bottom and then the shredded paper on top. They seem to enjoy moving the paper around them to form a nest. It is nice and easy to replace as it usually picks up in the wad the hens have made into a nest.

 

[CherokeeFlats]

Regarding what to use in the coop as litter: I'm doing an experiment this winter with my coop. Because we get the paper 7 days a week, we wound up with way more newspaper than we can possibly use to start our woodstove. I bought a shredder from Office Max and have been using the newspaper shreds as the litter in my coop. I've used it in the nest boxes, too, but it gets kicked out easily and the shreds stick to freshly-laid eggs because of the wet coating on the egg. That said, I don't mind a few fuzzy spots on the eggs since I'm not using the shells for craft purposes. I put a band of plywood to make a solid wall in the coop to keep the shreds from being kicked out into the area where I store feed. The positive aspects are that it 1) reuses something that would otherwise go to the recycling bin and recycling takes way more energy than re-use, 2) I can use the soiled litter in my compost piles or to help reduce bald patches on the steep slope in my side pasture, 3) it's very free since I'd pay for the newspaper content anyway, and 4) the newspaper is very absorbent which makes cleaning up the occasional cracked egg in a nestbox an easier chore.

Edited to note: I only use the newsprint parts of the paper, not the slick ads.

I've never tried shredded newspaper in the coop before. I use hay right now. I think it's pretty easy to clean that way too.

 

[TW1Kell]

Ok so I have a new layer in the flock and she laid a nice light olive egg. Is this possible with EE's? Or would she be called a OE?

We-e-e-e-ell, some of us call them OE's, and I have a few that lay OD eggs, but...I don't know that it is any more official than EE is. Is Easter Egger even a real chicken name since there's no actual breed specification?

 

[maryhysong]

We-e-e-e-ell, some of us call them OE's, and I have a few that lay OD eggs, but...I don't know that it is any more official than EE is. Is Easter Egger even a real chicken name since there's no actual breed specification?

Well maybe not in an 'official' sense of the APA but at least most chicken people know what you are talking about

 

[CherokeeFlats]

ok. question. What will happen if my EE hens get bred by my Leghorn Roo?? Will they still be EEs??