At Cika Lee Hollow, we have lots of beautiful birds. In the morning, you can look out on a foggy morning to see Hens of variety roaming the yard. There's the four Rhode island reds and two barred Plymouth rocks I got after my grandpa's passing. Then Luanne and Diane the Leghorn sisters are down below the porch, waiting for the perfect timing to fly on up and eat the spilled or left over grain that the milk goats didn't eat after milking. Then there's Brooke the silver laced Wyandotte, Flurry and Raven the Easter Eggers, the former lays your blue eggs, and Ebony who lays green eggs. Then, with a sudden squack, our oldest and probably most ornery hen, Taiko the New Hampshire Red cross bounds across the yard, probably going broody again. Over to the side roams our Cochin bantam flock, all black with various sizes of combs. Maverick, my huge Australorp rooster, struts around, keeping my three obnoxious barred roosters at bay. I tend to collect unwanted roosters, I've noticed. Julius, my Cochin bantam rooster, watches from his big free range cage; he will start fighting Maverick if he runs loose and we're all sick of it! Julius is probably 1 pound and Mavis is a good 8 pounds, but Julius is still leader of all.
Gash and the Easter Eggers Lee (Rear), Sultana, and Lobelia (Behind Gash) while the goats graze.
Flint the Black Copper Marans Rooster... he is loved by all the visitors here!
Tobias, the "Fire Jubilee" Easter Egger rooster.
Lobelia the "Blue Diamond" Easter Egger hen.
This is how we do it...
Egg handling... Our eggs are produced. I collect them at 10 am and again at dusk. I record daily and monthly production, and store eggs in the refrigerator. After awhile, I clean dirty eggs and label the cartons for sale.
Colored eggs?! Our girls do lay green and blue eggs. Well, not all of them, but we always have a green egg or two in the cartons we sell! Some people do not like Green or Blue Eggs. They believe they are unhealthy and other things. They want white eggs or brown eggs. There is no difference between the content of the eggs, no matter the color! You can get Black eggs and they wouldn't taste any different or have any more nutritional value (yes, and black eggs do exist; they are lain by the Ayum Cemani; not only are their eggs black, but their skin, meat, organs, and faces are too!)! But it does depend on if your hens range. A free range hen could produce healthier eggs lower in cholesterol than, say, a grocery store egg (which most grocery eggs have been sitting on the shelves almost a month already, and packed with antibiotics and hormones from the commercial ration given to their laying hens... just saying'.)
Ah. The wonderful color circle. The dark brown eggs are Marans eggs, which are known to lay very dark eggs depending on their variety (color/ comb style/ legs)
So, what's the difference between Easter Eggers, Olive eggers, Ameraucanas, Favaucanas, and Araucanas?
Many people believe all these breeds (Except E.Es and O.E.s; they're hybrids) are the same, and that they all lay rainbow eggs. WRONG! In reality, Ameraucanas and Araucanas lay ONLY blue eggs. Ameracaunas have muffs and beards and slate legs, and only come in 8 colors/varieties recognized by the APA. Araucaunas have Ear tufts, have a lethal Allele gene, which causes early demise of almost half of the chicks due to hatch in a few days, and only lay blue eggs. I have no clue what the heck a Favacauna is supposed to look like; as far as i know, they're just another hybrid. Its a cross between an Ameraucana and a Faverolle chicken. Olive eggers are a cross between Marans chickens and Easter Egger, Ameraucana or Araucana chickens, and not all of them lay dark green eggs! Lastly, an Easter Egger is an Ameraucana, Araucana, Favacana, another Easter Egger, or an Olive Egger crossed with another breed of chicken for certain characteristics like meat gain, colored eggs, ear tufts, or white legs. Most are crossed with laying breeds, like Leghorn, Barred Plymouth Rock, Rhode Islands, and even some with Australorp!
What the Polka Spots look like!
A barred E.E., possibly a Barred Rock/Ameraucana cross.
Just the barnyard variety... :-D
We are currently raising probably over 40 chicks right now. It seems we've had a good hatching (and buying) season! I have started crossing different breeds I have been quite happy with for the barnyard environment, and are now testing them out for durability, laying ability and egg color, and personality. So far I have been quite pleased,, and am selling some for everyone else to try. The Mountaineer Grays and the Polka Spots are exceeding my expectations, and will be available in bulk starting next year after my experiments are complete. These crazy silkie crosses are very bizarre, and will be great for ornamental pet flocks with thier wild colors and feathered legs. Another breed I'm testing are my Appalachian Concords. I don't have enough to really be sure of their performance yet, but as soon as I do, I will update my findings! A future breed cross you can expect will be Olive Eggers and Feather legged Easter Eggers, which are a favorite with me. I have collected 14 Easter Egger chicks this season, and hatched out 2 more, though the one will be reserved exclusively for the table egg flock due to her deformed right wing (and yes, I do call her Nemo!). Also expect various Wyandotte crosses, and more Barred Rock and New Hampshire Red crosses as well. These should start spring of next year too.