What Exactly Is An
Easter Egger Chicken?
For 2017, the Easter Egger made the #1 spot of chickens sold by Meyer Hatchery for the entire year. It is an extremely popular breed for several reasons. They are a good layer of large-sized eggs, which are primarily green but can also sometimes be blue, brown, creamy white or even pink. They are quiet and gentle and do great with children. Easter Egger chickens are usually happy with some confinement but are also good at foraging. They come in a wide variety of feather colors making it a guessing game as to what your little chick may look like as an adult.
The Easter Egger is not a recognized breed so you will not find them listed in the APA Standard of Perfection. They are descendants of the Ameraucana and the Araucana breeds but have been crossed with many other breeds to give us that great color variety of both feathers and eggs. Many Easter Eggers have slate colored legs and tufts and muffs around the head, which comes from their Ameraucana roots. Occasionally an Easter Egger can be rumpless and this trait is from the Araucana ancestors. Because of their mixed ancestry, Easter Egger chicks can be difficult to distinguish from other breeds until they are a few months old. The combs on Easter Eggers are usually a rose comb, but other comb types are possible.
It’s important to note that although the Easter Egger has the genetic potential to lay any color of egg, once a young pullet begins to lay, she will lay that same egg color for her life. So if she begins to lay and gives you a brown egg, she won’t suddenly lay a blue egg the next day and then a green egg the next. Genetics do not work that way.
I think Easter Eggers are a terrific breed and I hope you will consider them if you haven’t yet owned one. If you do own Easter Eggers, tell us about them in the comments below. We love to hear your stories!
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I have bought half a dozen Easter Eggers from Meyer Hatchery and love them! All six turned out with different colors and lay beautiful eggs! My Easter Egger rooster is beautiful and very nice with the other roosters in the flock. These beauties are definitely one of my favorite chickens breeds. 🙂
Thanks for sharing, Eden! I’m glad to hear that you like them as much as I do! They really are a great backyard bird!
I have a few Easter Egger crosses with one of those “fancy All black” chickens with a little black Silkie Roo “Larry” tossed in to the mix….I call them my “Toe Birds” females are solid black medium sized girls with ear muffs and head feathers that stand up like a blue jays head feathers….the feathers stand up on the top of their heads, but are more obvious when the bird is interested or excited….they have big dark eyes, that don’t miss a thing. Very curious birds. Multiple toes and lightly feathered legs. They lay medium size olive green eggs. The males are black with a necklace of golden neck feathers. I’m going to let them set some of their eggs again to see if they are breeding true. They are real characters. I love the personality of them. Busy, friendly, curious, pretty, sweet temperament….and lots of funny toes!
Hi Jannine! Thanks for sharing about your Easter Eggers. What a unique and interesting breeding experiment. The cross sounds beautiful!
MarieN,
Thanks for the write up on my favorite chickens to have. Presently have 20 hens and 1 roo. All are what I call Easter Eggers. While they may not be the best layers to own for production, we own them for eggs for our use, way more eggs than two people want to eat. Sell a few, give away a few to folks who are on limited income.
I didn’t buy my chicks from Meyer Hatchery, found some locally to replace my older hens, which were also Easter Eggers. Now that I have a rooster again I will probably fill the incubator in the spring, start a new flock since I usually do not get 2 full years out of a flock before they cease to lay and just become something to feed.
After that flock is done, I may try some chicks from Meyer. Long wanted to buy one of those Araucana breed roosters to cross with Easter Eggers. Love the blue eggs in the nest boxes. I get some blue, mostly greenish eggs but almost all layers or giving green eggs now. Green eggs and ham!
Hi John! Thanks for sharing my love for Easter Eggers. They are great birds to own and those egg colors are so beautiful!
I have 2 Easter Egger hens one black and one white, got them from a lady who had bought them as chicks fromyall. They are at least 2 years old and both lay a pale greenish blue egg about 3 times a week. I also got a rooster from her and he is the best flock protector we have ever had. Plan to set some eggs and buy some more chicks this year.
Hi Mary! Thank you for sharing about your Easter Eggers! I’m totally in love with both my black and my white Easter Egger roosters and find them to be excellent guardians for my hens. I agree that they are the best roosters I’ve ever owned.
I have 1 Easter Egger chick.. sadly the box it arrived in with 19 others all died in route.
Her name is Houdini because 1, she escaped death box and 2, because as a day old chick she managed to get out of her open top brooding box that is over a foot tall. She does it all the time now at a week old. She’s ridiculously gorgeous and she has her own little personality…. I say she but have a feeling she will be a rooster lol. Either way I’m loving the breed and should have more soon.
Hi Sarah. Thank you for reading our blog and leaving your comment. That’s sad to hear about your losing the other chicks, but Houdini sounds like a really tough chick! Easter Eggers are one of my favorite breeds for sure.
I bought 5 sexed Easter Eggers from my local feed and seed. They indeed all turned up female. No rooster. I raised my Vir-hens! (Vir-gins in Spanish pronunciation!) from one week old, in a box in my home. They all slept in a big pile on top of each other even though I gave them a roost. They still like to sleep that way, even tho they have roosts! Cute as can be. And the friendliest birds I’ve ever had – parrots included! Always sweet, don’t peck me, curious and attentive. Lots of eye contact. Come when I call them. Enjoy seeing me and come running when I arrive to put them in at night. They follow me around like puppies, talk up a storm and like to interact with me. Sometimes when they walk with me, they step in front of me and drop to the ground in a crouch for me to pet them (I understand that’s the body language hens also use to get serviced by a rooster.) I almost trip over them. They are very affectionate, smart and communicative. I’ve had combative white meat birds that peck the eggs, fight and kill each other, but now, with these sweetest of Easter Eggers, I think I’ve found my favorite all around nice sized red hen. Each lays an egg a day, and only one is broody. Since, however, the eggs are infertile bcuz of no rooster, poor dear sits for nothing. Brooder became a bit mean to the other birds now that she’s begun brooding, but still doesn’t peck me when I slip my hand under her warm b’neath to collect eggs. They give green and blue eggs of a nice size and love to forage.