Easter eggers

[BigBlueHen53]

How prevalent is this crossbeak issue you folks have mentioned? I get the sense this is a fairly common issue with EE’s.

Over the years I've probably had over 100 EE and never had a crossbeaked one. I've only recently even heard about it. They've all been very healthy, sturdy little birds.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Rick, where to even start. This could get long.

First, thousands of year ago there were feral chickens, then people started domesticating them. They learned to selectively breed them to enhance egg laying in some, meat in some, and just pretty in others. These became landraces. Then one day a group of nobles were hanging around a tavern table and decided to have a contest of who could raise the "best" chicken. To get someone to judge the chickens they had to come up with "standards". What should the comb look like, what color eyes, leg color, skin color, posture, number of claws, size, and many other features.

Thus were breeds born. The general method was that they developed the standards and then had to breed a chicken that came up to those characteristics. It could take several chicken generations. I may have taken a liberty or two in telling this story but it is remarkably accurate. A landrace is a chicken well adjusted to the area it was developed. Some selective breeding may have influenced how they were shaped but it was largely climate and use.

The blue egg layers were discovered in Chile, not a breed but a landrace. There were no breed standards, no standard colors and such, they were just chickens that laid blue eggs. In the general area was a different tribe that had chickens with muffs, pea combs, and were tailless. Another landrace, no breed standards.

There was absolute confusion where these chickens were introduced to western civilization. Somehow the blue egg layers and the muffed, pea combed, and tailless were thought to be one landrace. Over time the blue egg layers made their way around. Breeders in the UK developed a breed that laid blue eggs, might have a tail or might be rumpless, and had other certain characteristics. In the US breeders developed what we call the Auracana, bearded rumpless and such and got their breed accepted by the American Poultry Association (APA). A few years later another group of breeders developed a blue egg laying breed that had tails and other different characteristics and got what they called Ameraucana approved by the APA. Since then other breeds have been developed that lay blue eggs. Some have been accepted by the British or American or other national poultry associations but some have not.

Some hatcheries had flocks of blue egg laying chickens before the APA developed or accepted the Araucana or Ameraucana breeds. They still have them. They may not come that close to the recognized breed standards but they were being called Araucana before the breed was even developed.

Easter Egger is a slang term for a blue egg layer that is not a breed. They are not a breed, there are no breed standards. There is not really a commonly accepted definition. For some people the hen needs to lay a blue or green egg to be considered an EE. How do you account for roosters that don't lay eggs? For some they need to hatch from a blue or green egg to be considered an EE. For some if one of their ancestors laid a blue or green egg then they are considered EE even if their mother or grandmothers laid brown or white eggs.

If someone has an EE, they may be from a flock before breeds were developed. Those colored egg laying flocks were not just in hatcheries. They may be an Auracana or Ameraucana that doesn't fuly meet breed standards. They may be a mix of a blue egg laying breed and a white, or brown egg laying breed.

I see all these comments about EE's not going broody, having crossbeaks, and other things as it these were common with all EE's. I have no doubt their EE's display those characteristics but that does not mean all EE's do. They are so diverse how can there be any consistencies.

I developed my own EE's. I got some Ameraucanas that a neighboring lady (working with a consortium) was developing a new color/pattern to try to get them accepted as an approved color/pattern Ameraucana by the APA. That got me the blue egg gene. I crossed them with my flock that was a mix of Speckled Sussex, Black Australorp, Delaware, Buff Orpington, and Buff Rock. After a few years of selective breeding I had a flock that were all either black or red speckled, that lay really well, and grew large enough to be really useful as meat. Every hen went broody because I selectively bred that into my flock. None were crossbeaked. Every hen laid either a blue or green egg. Some had a single comb, some had a pea. Most had a comb that was a mix of pea and single. Some had muffs, some did not. I consider mine EE's though they look a lot different than many other EE's.

probably a lot more than you wanted to read, if you even made it to the end. Try to enjoy your chickens whatever you want to call them.

Thank you for this! Very informative and interesting.

 

[Justagalwithchicks]

I have an assortment of birds in my flock, 2 of them were EE. One of them ended up being a roo so we had to rehome him but my other EE is so docile and gentle. She used to fly on to my back and ride around with me when she was younger. She waits for me to put her to bed every night off the coop roof (the other girls go into the solar door) and she lets me cuddle her and kiss her beak and she’s so gentle and kind. I would say she’s the top of the flock because she’s a leader but she’s not a bully and doesn’t peck the other girls. She is a Blue EE (her feathers) but also her eggs and she’s my only one that didn’t do a hard molt and had kept laying consistently through the winter. She’s my reliable egg layer and emotional support chicken

 

[Justagalwithchicks]

How soon can you tell if it's a cross beak? I have an EE that I love and was thinking of adding another..

 

[WingItRanch]

Ok, so here’s another question that will probably seem odd. How do you know you’re getting an EE? My understanding is that they’re sort of mutts and not really a breed?

Ridgerunner gave a much more detailed answer but I'll also provide a little explanation.

First of all, your question is kind of funny for this reason: so many people end up with EEs when they are actually attempting to buy pure bred Ameraucanas. You'll find countless threads here on BYC where people ask what the sex of their Ameraucanas are only to be informed they actually have EEs.

If you buy an EE, you'll get one. They're super easy to find and very popular. Sometimes they'll be labeled "Americanas" or other slightly different spellings.

 

[rosemarythyme]

How soon can you tell if it's a cross beak? I have an EE that I love and was thinking of adding another..

Depends on how bad of a case it is. Generally the earlier it shows up, the more severe it will be.

In the birds I had, I picked up one at 7 weeks old and didn't really notice anything at the time. The other one, the misalignment started showing up earlier, so her case was a bit worse.

 

[Rick589]

So this crossbeak issue, in the end how does it ultimately affect the quality of life for the chicken. I’m sure the severity will be a factor, but worse case scenario? Could it be so bad that the chicken would need to be culled?

 

[Justagalwithchicks]

Depends on how bad of a case it is. Generally the earlier it shows up, the more severe it will be.

In the birds I had, I picked up one at 7 weeks old and didn't really notice anything at the time. The other one, the misalignment started showing up earlier, so her case was a bit worse.

Thank you- that helps! I wasn't sure if it was day 1 or months it shows.

 

[rosemarythyme]

So this crossbeak issue, in the end how does it ultimately affect the quality of life for the chicken. I’m sure the severity will be a factor, but worse case scenario? Could it be so bad that the chicken would need to be culled?

Severity is definitely a factor. Mildest cases can be safely ignored. The worst cases are a quality of life issue and the bird either needs to be tube fed or put down otherwise as it can't eat well enough to survive.

Crossbeaked birds should not be bred/have their eggs hatched as there may be a genetic component to it.

Some folks on here do have a 100% cull policy on crossbeaks as they may have a harder time keeping on weight due to difficulty feeding, or need extra care (i.e. beak maintenance, special feeders), and may not lay well due to all that. But if it's just a backyard bird many owners don't mind making a little extra time to take care of them, even if they aren't quite as productive. Mine laid just fine.

 

[Mrs. K]

Could it be so bad that the chicken would need to be culled?

Yes, and it can get worse as they grow. A chick might be able to eat enough to stay alive, but as she grows, she needs more feed and will eventually can starve to death.

However, any breed can produce a cross beak. And you can miss it, when they hatch. I had one show up about 4-6 weeks old. I thought she had a stick caught in her mouth.

If you keep them you need to keep a very close eye on them.