What exactly is an Easter Egger?

[call ducks]

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No Cream legbars are not EE's, Amercuans or Auraucans. Cream legbars are a Auto sexing breed that lays blue eggs.

 

[cashdl]

Blue the roo looks like an imature creme legbar or at least a cross. how old is he?


Lanae

 

[oesdog]

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He is only 18 weeks - so yes a baby Cream legbar
They also come in other colours. Silver and gold Legbars
And are closely related to the Cotswald Legbar.

So even though he has the blue egg gene like Wiki says, he isn't an EE because he is an Auto sexing breed. Hes not a Mutt as Legbars are a recognised rare breed now even though they originated through several other breed crossing. Auracana, Brown Leghorn and Barred rock?

I was confused because I read Wiki and thought EEs just had to have Ameraucanas or Araucana in their blood line and lay blue eggs or have the blue egg gene?

oesdog - Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh I can;t joint the EE thread -

 

[cashdl]

I think they are almost non existant here. Very cool looking birds.

Lanae

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Quote:
No Cream legbars are not EE's, Amercuans or Auraucans. Cream legbars are a Auto sexing breed that lays blue eggs.

ooh thats so cool! Ya learn something new everyday!

 

[oesdog]

Quote:
No Cream legbars are not EE's, Amercuans or Auraucans. Cream legbars are a Auto sexing breed that lays blue eggs.

ooh thats so cool! Ya learn something new everyday!

Its not cool !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-

- I still can;t joint the EE thread?

Oesdog

- oh well have to buy an EE? Whats is an EE again????????

 

[cashdl]

You can join the EE thread, just tell them that you want to get some EE's. They have lots of pics and you can see what they are and look like. The creme legbar is harder to get than an EE. You can go to just about any farm supply in the spring and get an EE. Look for the chicks with the green legs and poofy cute faces.


Lanae

Sorry I forgot your in Ireland.

 

[cashdl]

Actually what you would call the Araucana there is closer to an EE than an Araucana here.

They are a blue or green, or sometimes pink egg laying chicken that is a mix breed chicken that has a blue egg layer somewhere in its background. Usually they have Pea combs, green legs, beards and muffs.


Go get an Araucana hen and breed it to your creme legbar and voila EE. LOL!

Lanae

 

[oesdog]

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I think the Cotswald legbar is near to that - it lays Green/pink and blue pastel eggs. Closely related to the Cream Legbar and als a rare breed bird.

Oesdog

 

[CityChicker]

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That is how I understood it aswell, that an EE is not a breed, simply a decendant of the Ameraucauna and Araucauna carrying the gene

Actually, the opposite of that is more appropriate. The Wiki entry is actually very accurate. They came from common ancestors. The US "Araucanas" of the 1970's bared *very* little resemblance to those of today. In fact, the name "Araucana" was pretty much hijacked by a relatively small group of breeders at that time. In general, prior to and around the time of APA standardization, the Araucanas of the day FAR more closely resembled what are known as Easter Eggers today. That is why I would say it is more appropriate to say the Araucanas and Ameraucanas (which came later) descended (although in the strictest since that is not a good choice of words) from the Easter Eggers. The Easter Eggers just weren't called that until years later after the name Araucana was taken and applied to a relatively small range of birds. Prior to approval by the APA, they were really very haphazard in type and color. There was very little consistency. Most were bearded, but not all. A few here and there were rumpless. Some weren't. VERY few were tufted. Most weren't. They also came in every color imaginable. All were known as "Araucanas".

What basically happened is one group of breeders standardized the type and colors they were breeding for and got them approved as Araucanas. A few years later, another group of breeders that preferred a different type, got theirs approved as Ameraucanas. The name Easter Egger came later as basically a name applied by breeders to describe the birds that didn't fit within either standard. Make no mistake though, the original Araucanas before APA approval far more closely resembled the EE's of today.