The EE braggers thread!!!

[MommaHen77]

I love my Easter Egger pure or not they make me smile and Laugh my little too Charlie he is my BUDDIE he loves
Watching what I do he likes to talk with me I like talking with him. I would love to have more other colors of EE someday. But I am happy with the ones I have Pearl is mostly all white she is likes to talk to me too and watch me. I can't wait for my Pullets to start lying their eggs so I can see what color I will get.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Ohh, and another thing on the Quote....That person said everyone else calls her Splash Ameraucanas Easter Eggers....that's not at all true?
I don't know who is calling her Splash AMs EE's, but any Ameraucana breeder whose worth a dime would call them Splash AMs.

I still do not understand why they Have blues in the Standard but not Splashes? Maybe because you cannot control the look of Splashes good enough? But you cannot breed blues without having some splashes??

People are working on getting splashes accepted. It is a long process and takes time. I would expect it to be accepted hopefully within the next few years

 

[Hinotori]

The breeding true 50% of the time applies to all chicken breeds and reads to me that it is because of the semi-dominant traits. Blue color, frizzled feathers, tufts on araucana. There are a few others I can't think of right now. Some are bad in two doses.

 

[jerryse]

I have both EEs and Amerucanas - learning about Amerucanas, and guess what! They are really not purebreds in the sense of consistently repeating type. They only have to repeat type 50% of the time, and the breeders cross other breeds in to strengthen type. I think I insulted the thread by calling Amerucanas "designer" chickens, though! I do love them, but 50% is not a purebred in my mind - like if you cross two SLW together you will get 100% SLW. Or am I still missing something?

The 50% is so colors like blue can be called pure bred and be in the standard . Same for the lethal ear tuft . Ear tufts are lethal with 2 copies of the gene . So breeding 2 tufted birds results in 50% tufted chicks 25% clean faced and 25% dead in the shell with 2 copies . Yes on very rare occasions reports of a live one . It allows traits that otherwise could not be in the standard 50% is as good as the genetics allow . So yes you were missing something .

As for pure breeds coming from mixed breeds this is true . However pure bred really means that they breed true reliably . Yes even the best do not always produce the best but that is the nature of genetics . A lot of people get a red haired child with no known red heads in memory . That is a recessive trait that can pop up when 2 people carry the recessive trait . I hope this helps with understanding these matters .

 

[jerryse]

Ohh, and another thing on the Quote....That person said everyone else calls her Splash Ameraucanas Easter Eggers....that's not at all true?
I don't know who is calling her Splash AMs EE's, but any Ameraucana breeder whose worth a dime would call them Splash AMs.

I still do not understand why they Have blues in the Standard but not Splashes? Maybe because you cannot control the look of Splashes good enough? But you cannot breed blues without having some splashes??

I can answer the question on splash . At the qualifying meet for the Ameraucana breed there were 6 breeders showing . I was one of those breeders . It takes 5 breeders of a variety for 5 years to get them in . So 8 varieties were being raised by 6 people . A huge undertaking for so few people . Splash and splash wheaten were just byproducts of blue and blue wheaten breeding . Not enough in existence at the time to show . Consider getting 8 varieties ready to show . Then consider getting 10 varieties ready and breeding all of these at once in the creation of the breed . We really did what some considered a impossible task . Not 1 variety has been added in the 30 years since acceptance . Who will join us to finish the task ? We have spent the last 30 years getting them better . We still have project colors we are working on . Only 2 of the original breeders are left still breeding .

 

[JackieandChicks]

I can answer the question on splash . At the qualifying meet for the Ameraucana breed there were 6 breeders showing . I was one of those breeders . It takes 5 breeders of a variety for 5 years to get them in . So 8 varieties were being raised by 6 people . A huge undertaking for so few people . Splash and splash wheaten were just byproducts of blue and blue wheaten breeding . Not enough in existence at the time to show . Consider getting 8 varieties ready to show . Then consider getting 10 varieties ready and breeding all of these at once in the creation of the breed . We really did what some considered a impossible task . Not 1 variety has been added in the 30 years since acceptance . Who will join us to finish the task ? We have spent the last 30 years getting them better . We still have project colors we are working on . Only 2 of the original breeders are left still breeding .

I am attracted to both EE & Amerucana - and am interested (and you are not too far away, I am in Michigan) and while I have a bit to learn yet, I am intrigued. But I don't have a lot of $ to spend on high-quality birds (and try explaining that to my husband). Is there a link/page I can review?

I'm still hung on the 50% - and someone posted on the Amerucana thread they even got Orphs from their Amerucana eggs. If I had a Siamese cat that I bred to another Siamese cat and got 50% Siamese markings and the others black/white or orange, the two cats are mixes.

And where does that leave the EEs from, say, Townline that all look exactly alike? More than 50% with their "Amerucanas" that are not...

 

[jerryse]

I am attracted to both EE & Amerucana - and am interested (and you are not too far away, I am in Michigan) and while I have a bit to learn yet, I am intrigued. But I don't have a lot of $ to spend on high-quality birds (and try explaining that to my husband). Is there a link/page I can review?

I'm still hung on the 50% - and someone posted on the Amerucana thread they even got Orphs from their Amerucana eggs. If I had a Siamese cat that I bred to another Siamese cat and got 50% Siamese markings and the others black/white or orange, the two cats are mixes.

And where does that leave the EEs from, say, Townline that all look exactly alike? More than 50% with their "Amerucanas" that are not...

The Ameraucana Breeders Club has a web site . Lots of information there . John Blehm is around Birch Run MI . He has a small hatchery . He is done for the season and sold his breeders to make room for growing chicks . There is the Fowl Fest show in MI in October . I plan to attend . Should be birds for sale . Be patient . Come to the show and meet some breeders . Not all birds are priced high . I am sure you will go home with something you can afford .

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

I have been reading through allot of the EE & Am threads since I joined BYC... I have had Ams before. So my 2 cents:

It is extremely important to understand it was a huge undertaking for the people that committed to developing a new breed, not just a new colour with an existing breed (which is hard too), and understand the Am was fought tooth & nail by allot of people in the poultry show world. Now that the Am breed is established there is allot of work still to do and any one dedicated to breeding, showing & promoting the breed can confirm that. My Ams where not SQ, but gorgeous birds none the less, but could have however been improved and had I bred for SoP I am sure I would have had nice birds in a few generations, but when I had Ams a rooster was not in the cards.

If you patiently read all the threads in one you will find the Am EE connection explained including the fight over what to call the Am with the APA, the "lost" paperwork and more. What I took away from that post when I read it is that Ams are the finished product so to speak, while some (not all) EEs represent the pool of birds that started the process or where rejected as better birds where bred (think of them as the starting group genetic pool) and that is why many EE lines look allot like Ams. But keep in mind also that now new kinds of EEs exist (new mixes such as CL mixes), new lines, & new breeding projects have been started many of which get confusingly all called EE... no doubt some projects will some day be true enough and fit the general Am standard to become Ams should enough folks want to work with that colour Am, but other EE projects will never have that potential as the end breeding goal is not Am SoP. It is my opinion that Splash is the next most logical colour for Am, so I hope that happens soon as I think that will be good for the breed.

I encourage people to at least to attend a show, check out SQ examples of birds, as it can be a really great hobby, help improve your flock knowledge and network of great people. I had a great time with my kids when they showed (we only had a few bad experiences, most shows where fun and the people competing really great folks), and even though I was not showing mom learned allot! The shows also expose you to breeds before you get them & you can chat with people in person working on projects or with breeds that you might be also doing or thinking of doing. So I really do encourage everyone in the EE community & the Am community communicate and go to shows, give each other a chance you might find a new friend and someone just as passionate about breeding good birds as you. Try not to get offended when someone posts an opinion you don't like, if they are consistent in being that way, well that is them do not project "them" onto the whole community as not all EE or Am folks or Show Folks or Non-Show Folks are that way.

It saddens me so many people have been put off of showing because of misinformation or what is perceived as or are rude responses to questions. It saddens me in particular that so much strife exists between EE folks and Am keepers, it is so unnecessary. At the end off the day we all want happy and healthy birds.

Peace everyone.
May your birds always make you smile.

 

[JackieandChicks]

The Ameraucana Breeders Club has a web site . Lots of information there . John Blehm is around Birch Run MI . He has a small hatchery . He is done for the season and sold his breeders to make room for growing chicks . There is the Fowl Fest show in MI in October . I plan to attend . Should be birds for sale . Be patient . Come to the show and meet some breeders . Not all birds are priced high . I am sure you will go home with something you can afford .

Is that the one in Hudsonville? Literally 10 minutes from my home

 

[sonderah]

So!! How about all them beautiful bird pics??? Lol