Please help identify my blue egg hens!

I have no experience with specialty breeds but have inherited these hens that lay blue/green eggs. From research they dont look like araucuna or ameraucuna. They look more like an orpington but these don't seem to lay blue eggs! The hens are nice shaped and fairly solid with grey/blue feathers that have a distinct 'outline'. There are darker feathers on the head and neck. The rooster( Who is not the original but the nicest looking from a batch of chicks) has similar colouring but with some brown as well. There are also some white hens with dark speckles that came with them that I think also lay blue eggs although I would have to remove my two fat brown hens to be sure! Are they an identifiable breed and should I be trying to keep them pure and breed for bluer eggs or are they not worth the effort?

From what I understand, they are EE's, or Easter Eggers; which are any chickens that have the "blue egg gene" Usually a cross with Araucaunas or Ameraucaunas. I have some EE's from a hatchery-they were advertised as Ameraucaunas, but I guess they are just mixes...maybe why your guys don't look like the typical blue egg layer. She is a pretty gal by the way! :)

Dawn

Most colored egg layers have green legs if that helps. you cannot see the legs in that pic.

I love her coloration. She has the small comb that
I have seen on the Araucanas and thier crosses. She
does not look like the pure bred Araucanas I have
seen, as those have no tail. As mentioned above
by beautifulbrahma, the crosses are called EE's or
ameraucanas. Can you post a pic of her eggs? I
would love to see just what shade they are, as I have
some EE chicks on the way, and have never seen the
eggs.

stuandbeck-Here's a pic of two of my Americauna/Plymouth Barred Rock pullets. They are full sisters. As you can see one has the feathers below her eyes and the other one doesn't. Their combs aren't very big either. My girls lay green/blue eggs and their legs are of normal color.
Susan

This message was edited Jan 14, 2008 11:28 AM

Here's a pic of their full brother, they also have another sister without the feathers below her eyes. They we're all hatched out at the same time, I incubated six eggs but only five survived. I gave the other cockerel away, he didn't have the feathers below his eyes either.
Susan

He doesn't have any tail feathers because the older hens keep plucking them out. I would have edited my last post but have reached my max for the day, DRAT!
Susan

yep, stuandbeck they are EE's. They're Americana's! I got a few of those myself! My chicken "Lucky" is an American white leghorn. Crazy ha!

Actually, they might be right. It probably is an Araucana hen. It thought they had a big tail like Americana's do!

Eric

This message was edited Jan 14, 2008 4:43 PM

Here are some of mine-my darn flash washed the color out though, they really are a pretty light turquoise/sea foam green...that's how I would describe them anyways :)

[IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r36/3boysandadobe/Chickens08/IMG_1194Medium.jpg[/IMG]

Let's try that again...

Here is a picture of my EE chicken, Ishtar. I had another one who had the coloration of a golden eagle! She was gorgeous, but died of a weird fast growing benign tumor problem. ( It was really weird)

She lays a nice greenish egg. It impresses all the people who get eggs from me. She's really cranked them out all winter since she started laying in late November. I've been impressed with her.

Your Ishtar looks just like my Sybil (the hen recently killed by a neighbor's dog) she laid beautiful green-blue eggs.

Ishtar is a really pretty hen. She looks like she's wearing
pantaloons!
Thanks for the picture of the eggs. And, though they are
beautiful, I had this dark turqoise painted egg-looking pic
in my mind of the EE's eggs. That's par for me, though!LOL
A vivid imagination!

That pretty hen of yours is laying the colored eggs because she has gotten that gene somewhere down the line. A chicken of any color can have it. They are usually called Ameraucana, because Araucana is in their background, (which did have the olive colored legs and are multicolored.) I have raised and showed chickens almost all my life, and today still have close to 100. Hope that helps

Hi, Dutchlady,
Can you recommend a primer book for chicken showing?

Had to get my EE pictures in too. I ordered Ameraucana chicks but found out later they are just EE's. Just to clear up any confusion Ameraucanas are not the same as EEs. They are a distinct breed whereas EEs are any bird that carries the blue egg gene, and can lay anything from blue, blue-green, green, olive, pink or tan eggs.

That was ShyAnne. This is Fanny.

This is the first egg from one of my EE next to a regular and extra large egg from my Golden Comets.

Nicely colored eggs chickenrancher!

Thank you!

You're welcome. I have one Americauna pullet that lays green eggs with a little blue on one end, it's like she can't make up her mind what color to lay! LOL!

Hi Truest, The American standard of perfection published by the American Poultry Association is what is used at the shows (mine is an old 1973 edition) If you are thinking about showing, go to some of the poultry show (State Fair is a good place to start), notice perfect feathering for each breed, clipped toenails, and mineral oil on legs, wattles and combs. The right comb for the breed you are showing, right name, etc. Even one speckle on one feather of the wrong color will get you disqualified. Good Luck!
Everdina

ShyAnne looks a lot like the EEs I've had. They are good girls.

DSutchlady. I love chicken shows. They strike me as being so silly but so awesome at the same time.

( I actually have the same response to things like monster truck rallys!)

I'd love to show chickens some day, but first I'd have to get better about my off standard hens and roos. I can't bear to cull anyone! I just love them all too much.

My first goal is to hatch out some eggs this spring with my broodies galore ( lots of silkies!)

Backyardhens, You don't have to cull any chickens, we don't kill anything either, ours die of old age. Just don't show any that aren't perfect for that breed. Nice thing is you get free tickets to the State Fair, sometimes even parking. We have standard (large) Araucana's, buff rock, barred rock,
and small (bantam) cochins..all colors, black, white, frizzle, buff, red, mottled,blue, barred and ..silkies,black and white and a few mixed. (on purpose).
I would love to find someone who raises button quail, I have only one male left and he is lonely!

stuandbeck
Your bird in the first picture...
looks like a Andalusian or a cross of one
its doesent have great lacing....
The speckled ones are splashes...that when breed to a black will give you more blues

DutchLady. I am sure that is true, with an active breeding program, don't you end up with a LOT of chickens?

Right now I'll be happy if I get any chicks in the spring, and we'll take it from there :)

BackyardHens, Yes, if you let the roosters do their thing, or let the hens sit, or incubate the eggs, you get too many chickens! More to choose from if you are showing.
We have some friends who take all the young roosters, that helps.
What kind of chickens are you wanting?
I would like to find someone who is raising button quail, close to us in Iowa would be even better.