So, What do you need to know about Easter Egger chickens? I find Easter Egger chicken breed to be unique and fascinating in every aspect. From their distinctive feathers to their funny personalities and colored eggs, these birds are amazing to be among your flock. If you’re eager to know anything about Easter Egger chickens, read on to uncover the mystery surrounding them.
There is a lot to learn about Easter Egger chickens. You can start by learning more about their breed history, temperament, hardiness, productivity and types of eggs among others.
Easter Egger chickens are not a breed but a group of chickens with specific features. One of the most notable features is the production of extra-large multicolored eggs. The eggs range from green to blue and pink including other colors.
Physically, these birds have black outlined eyes that set them apart from other chicken breeds. Friendly and sociable, this type of chickens makes an interesting yet beneficial addition to your flock. To keep them happy, you should provide them with different treats occasionally.
Given that they are friendly chickens, you can train them to sit in your lap whenever you are around them. Due to their small size and calmness, these birds are a great choice for your family flock. Here is everything you need to know about Easter Egger chickens.
Easter Egger Chickens-Breed History
As mentioned earlier, Easter Eager type of chickens are not a breed as such. They are a variety of chickens that have a blue egg laying gene. The modern version of these chickens is descended from a breed of chickens known as Araucana.
According to legends, Araucana breed evolved first in Chile. Through that evolution, these types of chickens started producing blue colored eggs.
In actual sense, Easter Egger chickens are a cross between any breed of chickens and blue layers such as Ameraucanas. This explains why most chicken owners mistake Easter Egger chickens for Araucanas or Ameraucanas.
How did they get the name, “Easter Eagers”? These birds derive their name from their butt nuggets. These features resemble those eggs many people look for during the spring festival held annually.
The Pigment
Their blue colored eggs have a pigment known as enocyanin. This pigment covers the eggshells, thus giving the blue eggs their unique characteristic color. Studies show that this blue color is nothing else other than a genetic anomaly.
Not an Actual Breed
Since they are not an actual chicken breed, two or more Easter Eggers are more likely to look completely different. Interestingly, an Easter Egger chicken crossed with any dark brown egg layers, the offspring is an Olive Egger chicken.
Also, this type of breeding may lead to the emergence of a second-generation Easter Egger. Across of Marans and Easter Egger leads to green egg layers Easter Eagers.
On the other hand, there is an abundance of bantams falling under this type of chicken breed. Most of them are a cross between full size or bantam blue egg layers with another bantam chicken. Even though Easter Eggers are somehow small, their bantam varieties are even smaller.
Easter Egger Chicken’s Temperament/Behavior
These birds are exceptionally friendly, social and hardy. They can thrive in cold and warm weather. Generally, these chickens are friendly to adults and children alike, thus a good choice of pets among other uses.
Physical Appearance of Easter Egger Chickens
Easter Egger chickens are a combination of other chicken breeds and blue egg layers. This explains why there are variations in looks among them. Due to these physical differences in looks, there is no breed standard. No wonder they are not considered a true chicken breed.
For instance, you will find some birds with pea combs while others with a regular comb or single comb style. A few of these chickens have both the single comb and pea comb style.
A few of the Easter Egger chickens have beards and ear tufts while the rest don’t. Also, some of these birds have tails and others are rumpless, meaning that they don’t grow tails.
Easter Eggers display different color legs. Some are characterized by dark-colored shanks while others are distinguished from the rest by their light-colored or blue legs. The only consistent physical attributes of these birds is their toes. They all have four toes.
The Easter Egger chickens come in various colors such as gold, grey and many more. Most importantly, they have a conspicuous black eyeliner around the eyes. A number of these chickens have grey feathers that clearly show off their bright eyes.
For the roosters, the difference in appearance is the same as that for hens. One rooster can look completely different from others. Some may have pure black feathers while a handful of them can display copper or grey beards and ear tufts.
Egg Colors
Most of the eggs laid by Easter Eggers vary in colors. The color of the eggs range from seafoam green to light blue and dark green to pink. Much to your surprise, each bird lays eggs with only one color. For example, if one of your hens lays blue eggs, she will always lay the same type of egg color consistently.
Egg Laying Ability
Some people will ask you if Easter Eggers are good layers. The answer is, yes. These birds are excellent layers and they are likely to produce lovely, large eggs of different colors. Only that the color of their eggs will depend solely on an individual chicken’s genetics.
Some people will ask you if Easter Eggers are good layers. The answer is, yes. These birds are excellent layers and they are likely to produce lovely, large eggs of different colors. Only that the color of their eggs will depend solely on an individual chicken’s genetics. Despite their ability to lay more eggs, these chickens don’t go broody. In this regard, you should look to getting a consistent supply of multicolored large eggs across the year.
Easter Egger chickens start producing eggs at the age of six to seven months. Others can take a year to start laying eggs. However, their egg-laying age depends on a number of factors.
One of the factors that influence their egg-laying ability is their diet. You should consider feeding them a 16 percent layer feed when they start laying eggs.
The season of the year is another factor that determines their egg-laying ability. In winter Easter Eggers, just like other chickens, will lay fewer eggs or stop laying completely.
The environment in which you are raising your chickens will also play a role in egg production. If their surrounding is stressful, they will not lay eggs as you would expect. But if everything around them is fine, you should expect more eggs from your flock of Easter Eggers.
Taking Good Care of Your Easter Egger Chickens
Being able to know about Easter Egger chickens, you need to feed them a high-quality chicken feed. You may consider chicken start feed if your birds are still small to help them grow faster.
For layers, you can provide them with the nutritious layer’s mash to improve their egg production. Adding a few herbs to your chickens’ diet will help balance their meal. At the same time, you need to give them treats such as mealworms, fruits, a few insects and so on.
Be sure to keep your birds in a well-built and comfortable coop. Any type of chicken coop is fine for your flock provided that it can accommodate them.
Alternatively, you can free-range them if you have enough space in your backyard. When you take good care of your chickens, you will reap more benefits from them in the long run.
Related Questions
How many eggs per year should you expect from Easter Egger chickens? Although the number of eggs per year depends on different factors, you should expect no less than 250 eggs annually. This is the number of eggs you should collect from your Easter Egger layers in one year. To keep your hen laying consistently, you need to feed her with at least 16 percent protein. On top of that, include oyster shell supplement to their layers mash to produce eggs with healthy shells.
How long do Easter Egger chickens live? If you are an experienced chicken owner, you should know that most chickens live up to 8 years or even longer. This is possible if you provide them with essentials such as a good diet, clean water, a conducive environment, and medication. Don’t forget to give them adequate security throughout. Since Easter Eggers are just like other breeds of chickens, they also need your attention to live longer.
Final Thought
Easter Egger chickens are not a true breed of chickens because they don’t conform to breed standards. These birds are popular for their beautiful multicolored eggs among other interesting traits. Friendly and easy to handle, Easter Eggers are a perfect choice for your backyard flock.
Below is a Pinterest friendly photo…. so you can pin it to your Backyard Chicken Board!!
