The EE braggers thread!!!

[LaLa Chickie]

Ok thanks everyone!! I am hoping they will lay soon!! And different colors too.... I do let them free range some, but not all day. I have a bunch of trees-- do you think they could be laying in there?

Mine did lay under scrub oaks and Pride of Madeiras on the slope...another layed under a work bench...so, most anywhere where they feel they are safe and out of site...

 

[MargaretAnneHK]

I ordered some EE eggs that will be sent out Tuesday. If all goes well, I hope to have some of these beautiful birds.

 

[maryhysong]

Well I got the first two pullet eggs from my birthday hatch (April 8), both very light brown. The girl that was singing the egg song today is a single comb bearded girl out of a Welsummer hen x EE roo. Oh well. Hopefully her pea combed sisters will lay olives.

 

[chirpingcricket]

I ordered some EE eggs that will be sent out Tuesday. If all goes well, I hope to have some of these beautiful birds.

Best of luck to you!!!

 

[DuckiesGarden]

We are thinking about adding a couple EE's to our flock of BO's and would like to know how winter hardy they are.  Our winters are long and can get extremely cold.  Do they do well coop'd up?
Thanks
Christina

 

[maryhysong]

Well, just went through 21 pullets and gave them the "Hogan test" (https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=DiJDAAAAIAAJ) Basically at this point I was just looking for the birds with the most width between the pelvic bones and the most space between the pelvis and the end of the breast bone. Out of 17 girls hatched April 8 I tagged three or four keepers. There are also 4 younger girls, hatched in May that I am keeping an eye on. Most of the keepers are actually out of Welsummer girls and an EE roo. So they are going to lay brown or green. But the EE girls I started with are so pinched in the tail they are teardrop shaped when seen from above and I"m trying to get them widened out a little.

I have another EE boy that is fairly wide in back and also has a big chest. I have a young purebred Ameraucauna pullet that I am going to breed him to; she is a very small bird, but she is fairly wide through the pelvis; I'll also breed him to these pullets I just selected, hopefully the next generation will be wider and lay nice blue eggs.

Do any of you select birds based on their size and shape rather than their egg color?

 

[nicole63021]

Well, just went through 21 pullets and gave them the "Hogan test" (https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=DiJDAAAAIAAJ) Basically at this point I was just looking for the birds with the most width between the pelvic bones and the most space between the pelvis and the end of the breast bone. Out of 17 girls hatched April 8 I tagged three or four keepers. There are also 4 younger girls, hatched in May that I am keeping an eye on. Most of the keepers are actually out of Welsummer girls and an EE roo. So they are going to lay brown or green. But the EE girls I started with are so pinched in the tail they are teardrop shaped when seen from above and I"m trying to get them widened out a little.

I have another EE boy that is fairly wide in back and also has a big chest. I have a young purebred Ameraucauna pullet that I am going to breed him to; she is a very small bird, but she is fairly wide through the pelvis; I'll also breed him to these pullets I just selected, hopefully the next generation will be wider and lay nice blue eggs.

Do any of you select birds based on their size and shape rather than their egg color?

Structure and comb type probably should be of equal importance to egg color. Our 1 remaining EE is a hatchery bird that's not even laying yet, but I can already see issues in structure for my liking, but with out knowing the mix, not sure if that's a fault, or just what went into her! She is still beautiful to me though, but if you are breeding, I would select for more than possible egg color. I do like how broad the head on ours is getting, and her teeny tiny pea comb. Wish you all the best!

 

[MargaretAnneHK]

thank you chirping cricket! I couldn't help myself after I saw the pics of the parent birds,lol.

 

[maryhysong]

Structure and comb type probably should be of equal importance to egg color. Our 1 remaining EE is a hatchery bird that's not even laying yet, but I can already see issues in structure for my liking, but with out knowing the mix, not sure if that's a fault, or just what went into her! She is still beautiful to me though, but if you are breeding, I would select for more than possible egg color. I do like how broad the head on ours is getting, and her teeny tiny pea comb. Wish you all the best!

Well this round was all about the body. These girls were from 3 EE hens that are all badly pinched in the tail, a very old Welsummer hen and her young daughter that was laying a pretty dark egg (sadly have lost those two girls to preds this summer) and an old Wellie/ Leghorn cross that lays a huge egg. Most of the girls I am keeping are out of the two Wellies. They had the most space between the pelvic bones and across the abdomen. The girls from the EE hens were so narrow in the pelvis a couple had a quarter inch or less of space between their bones. And a couple of them had NO space at all.

A couple of these girls have straight combs and will probably lay brown eggs, the rest have pea combs and will probably lay some shade of green. I'll be breeding the best of them next year to a different EE boy that is fairly wide in the pelvis and has a huge chest. Also I have a small but decent pure Ameraucauna girl that I will be breeding him to this fall so hoping to get some girls that are a little wider and that will lay blue eggs.

Once I can get these girls widened out a little I will select some more on looks and egg color, beards and muffs, but that is probably a couple more generations down the road.

 

[Hinotori]

My youngest EEs are getting all grown up! They are 8 weeks old now and look like miniature adults. I can't wait to see their adult colors.





The girls should lighten some and the boy will smoothe out. I wonder what color his beard will be as an adult. I think it may turn black like his wheaten ameraucana father's.