The EE braggers thread!!!

[Wishing4Wings]

Well, I really can't say, since I've never actually had egg laying EEs...The only ones I got last year were from a lady around where I live and they were all roos. These I have now will probably start sometime in August. I do know you can't go wrong with Cackle as far as plumage, though. They are just the prettiest birds I've ever owned. Friendliest, too.

We'll both be looking out for blue eggs this summer!

Can anyone else tell us if their hatchery EEs lay blue eggs? Thanks!

 

[flower]

I think Kassaundra who got her chicks from Myers reports that her very lovely birds lay blue eggs and in fact they started out with blue eyes but they turned to amber as they grew. My EEs home grown and from hatchery lay green eggs but I plan on breeding some blue egg layers (Ameraucanas) with white egg layers to make EEs that will lay blue eggs. But as soon as the brown layer is added to the mix they will be green.

 

[Kassaundra]

I think Kassaundra who got her chicks from Myers reports that her very lovely birds lay blue eggs and in fact they started out with blue eyes but they turned to amber as they grew. My EEs home grown and from hatchery lay green eggs but I plan on breeding some blue egg layers (Ameraucanas) with white egg layers to make EEs that will lay blue eggs. But as soon as the brown layer is added to the mix they will be green.

Yes, mine all lay blue to green eggs. And they were from Meyers.


This was taken in the sun so the colors are a little washed out.

 

[Simmonsfunnyfrm]

Wow!! Washed out or not, you can still see all kinds of colors in those cartons! Boy, I really can't wait to have that myself!!! Makes me feel better about hatchery blues, obviously they are out there.

 

[chicken pickin]

Very beautiful eggs Kassaundra. So many shades of blues to green. Im dying to get a blue but am only expecting green I hope im nopt let down if I only get green eggs But blue would be amazing. So many people I tell about my easter eggers have never even heard of a blue or green egg before so I cant wait to start passing out colorful eggs.

Question For ALL

I know EE are mixed but can you all tell me WHEN DID YOUR EE LAY HER FIRST EGG? im sure the range is wide but im curious because my girls are getting close they are all almost 17 weeks so I know its just around the corner.

 

[Kassaundra]

My girls hatched on Sept 21 (several years ago) but the first one laid towards the end of the following Jan. most or all were laying by the end of Feb. but from what I've read mine were a little earlier then most EE's

 

[CGinJCMO]

About the pea combs and single combs. EEs typically have pea type combs, which are passed down from their Ameraucana ancestry, and look sort of flattish and fat and bumpy. But, since EEs are often crossed with other breeds, you will see some EEs with single type combs, which is the "classic" comb that most people are familiar with, that are thin and upright with finger-like projections. The pea comb is related to the gene for blue/green eggs, so if someone saw that Candy has a single comb and not a pea comb, she probably does not have the blue/green egg gene and you'll get lovely brown eggs from her. (This is not 100% as some people have reported a single combed hen laying blue eggs, but it's rare.)

When trying to sex a young EE, the development of the pea comb can be an indicator. Young males' combs will be more prominent and look like three distinct rows of peas or bumps (think peas lined up in a pod) by or before 6 weeks. A female will have only one row of bumps (peas-in-the-pod) down the center of the comb area. This "single row of peas" is different from a "single comb" which is a different type of comb altogether! Can be confusing, and folks forget that not everyone has the same amount of experience.

What do you call a comb hat has nothing raised? It looks like a "skid mark" if I had to describe it.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

What do you call a comb hat has nothing raised? It looks like a "skid mark" if I had to describe it.

Hopefully someone out there has more knowledge than I have! I'm still learning, but I'll try to help. Hope others chime in... Please!!!

I looked on The 8 Comb Types under the "Learning Center" to see the different types of combs. Since some were drawings, I went to the breed section to see how it looks on a real chicken. From what I've noticed, mature females don't seem to get combs as large as the roos, and immature females' combs often just barely resemble the comb type. Since EEs are by definition crosses, the combs that they end up with may not be representative of the pea type. (If showing a purebred, this would result in disqualification.)

It's hard to tell from your pics, but my EE pullet (at 14 wks) has a single raised ridge down the center of her comb area, and it slopes off on either side. In profile, she looks like your white pullet.

Is your top pic a pullet or cockerel? Age? My 14 wk cockerel's comb looks just like the one in The 8 Comb Types. This could be an immature male, but maybe a pullet with an indistinct pea comb. I see reddish color on the wings, but it looks more evenly distributed, so I'm thinking pullet. (?) Need a better pic.

I'll try to see if I have any pictures of my pullet's comb up close. She's pretty skittish.

Hope this helped a little.

 

[flower]

Kassaundra beautiful eggs from your beautiful birdies !!!!




Blue Egg Genetics

The gene for blue eggs O is dominant, birds that have either O/O or O/o+ will have the gene.

This gene is located extremely close to the pea comb gene P, again a dominant so either P/P or P/p+ will be pea combed.

These genes are nearly always inherited together. So any pea combed pullets are very likely to lay blue/green based eggs.


pure pea comb(PP) x single comb(r+) = 100% impure pea combs(P//p+)

impure pea comb(P//p+) x impure pea comb(P//p+) = 50% impure pea combs, 25% pure pea combs, and 25% single combs

impure pea comb x pure pea comb = 50% pure pea comb, and 50% impure pea comb

impure pea comb x single comb = 50% impure pea comb, and 50% single comb

This information is copies from postings on the NN thread by our "master geneticist, KEV"


About PEA combs in EEs: because the genetic makeup is very mixed, there is a big variation on the combs. from me.

 

[flower]

I forgot to say that mixed genetic combs of EEs do change as the bird grows. The two birds above are young and the combs are not completly developed yet. Hormones do cause changes as in all animals.