Easter Egger Chickens: Breeds, Rooster, Hen, Eggs, Pictures

If you want to know all about Easter Egger chickens, this guide will greatly help you. Araucana and Ameraucana chickens are the most popular blue-green egg layers.

Here we have explained the history, lifespan, egg production, temperament, egg color, and characteristics of Easter Eggers. They are one of my favorite chicken varieties, which I love a lot.

Almost all chicken varieties have pros and cons, so we have included the advantages and disadvantages of raising Easter Eggers in your backyard coop.

What are Easter Egger chickens?

Most people think Easter Eggers is a chicken breed, but that is untrue. It is a popular term for chickens developed from breeding blue-green egg layers and other breeds. 

Easter Eggers are hybrid chickens developed from ‘Araucanas.’ The eggs of Araucanas are covered by a pigment called enocyanin, which causes the blue-green outer shell of the eggs.

The Easter Egger chickens are developed by breeding Araucana chickens with other standard breeds. So, you can see various Easter Eggers laying white, blue-green, olive, and buff eggs.

If we compare the looks and characteristics of these chickens, they differ from most of the other chicken breeds. They are unique and cute chicken breeds.

History of Easter Egger Chickens

However, the history of Easter Eggers is unclear, but we can compare the history with that of the parent chicken, i.e., Araucana chickens. Araucana is older, with blue-green eggs, than Ameraucana. 

The Araucana chicken was first seen in 1914 when the Spanish aviculturist, Salvador Castelló, visited Chile. He saw this chicken for the first time and gave it the name ‘Gallina Araucana.’

If we discuss the second most popular Ameraucana chicken, it was first developed in America in the 1970s. It is developed from the Araucana chicken, which is bought from Chile.

APA does not recognize Easter Eggers because of their non-standard varieties. They are found in different types with multiple colored eggs.

The lifespan of Easter Egger Chickens

The lifespan of the Easter Eggers is around 7-8 years. However, the parent breed, i.e., Araucanas, may live 1-2 years more.

It is also up to the genetic code and breed quality that ensures any poultry breed’s life expectancy. Good feed and care are essential things in poultry farming.

Temperament and Behavior

The Easter Eggers are one of the best friendly chickens. If you have kids in your home, they will love to play with them.

The EEs chickens occasionally go broody, so don’t expect broodiness. Within a few days, your Easter Eggers will love to graze near you and start following your commands.

Easter Eggers are cold-hardy chickens and love to explore in cold climate conditions.

However, they can easily live in hot climates, but it is better to have trees in your backyard. The mixed gene helps EEs to tolerate both heat and cold.

Use some good quality chicken scratches and treats to make them friendly with you and your children.

They are always free-rage near their owners. EEs love to sit on your hands and thighs. Easter Egger chickens are lovely and energetic chickens that love to play with your kids and run toward you.  

You can also buy chicken toys to engage them in their spare time.

Weight

Easter Egger hens weigh around 4-4.2 lbs, and roosters weigh 5-5.2 lbs. So, you can consider them among the medium-sized fowl.

Beautiful Egg Layers

Yes, Easter Eggers lay colorful eggs, but they are hybrid egg layers. So, you can’t say the egg color from the start.

However, selecting a white Easter Egger, a blue Easter Egger, a Buff Easter Egger, an Olive Easter Egger, etc., is very hard.

Most blue egg-laying chickens are bred with dark brown egg layers like Barnevelder, Welsummers, and Marans to get Olive Eggers.

Here you can read our list of chickens that lay colored eggs.

So, Easter Eggers are not an actual chicken breed. They are hybrid chickens developed from breeding Araucana chickens with other pure breeds. 

Easter Egger chickens lay around 200–220 eggs per year, i.e., four eggs per week. They typically lay blue to green-colored eggs, but sometimes you can see white, brown, and olive-colored eggs.

Physical Characteristics of Easter Eggers

As we know, Easter Eggers are hybrid chickens developed from blue egg layers and other chicken breeds. So, getting the genes and characteristics of both chicken varieties is common.

Because of this, the Easter Eggers are not a standard breed and are not recognized by any poultry association. So, they do not have any standard appearance, which can be easily explained.

You may see a single standard comb or pea comb on their heads. The Easter Egger chickens look different from other chickens because of their cheek poufs and beards.

Easter Egger hens look like roosters because of their large neck areas, poufs, and beards. The complete body has a regular pattern of feathers. 

When roosters get angry and fight, you will see a rounded umbrella design in the hackle feathers. Easter Eggers may have tufts on their ears or may not.

They have pale yellow to dark brown beaks, and their legs may be yellow to slate-colored. You may see some feather formation on the legs of a few EEs chickens.

The Easter Eggers roosters always walk upright and look sturdy, while the hens look calm.

Easter Eggers Rooster Vs. Hen

The Easter Egger chickens are developed from blue-green egg layers like Araucana chickens. They are mixed-breed chickens and are not known as a perfect breed.

Easter Egger roosters are in different colors like black, blue, golden brown, and more.

The roosters are medium in size but appear the same as the hens. The roosters typically weigh around 5 lbs, while the hens are 4 lbs on average.

Most Easter Eggers roosters are friendly, but you may see a shy nature in a few. However, according to different genes, you may see aggression in a few roosters.

On the other hand, hens of this breed are very calm and friendly. Easter Egger hens rarely go broody, so you need an incubator for hatching their eggs to keep them for breeding purposes.

Easter Eggers are Low-cost birds

In every type of chicken breed, the recognized or pure-bred baby chicks are expensive; as Easter Eggers are a non-standard breed, the chicks and the adult birds are easily available.

Easter Egger chicks are available for about $5-$6 in most hatcheries and local farms. Pure-bred poultry birds always cost more than mixed breeds.

Care Guide for Easter Eggers

There is no special care needed for Easter Egger chickens. They are very strong and have good immunity to normal infections.

However, it would help if you did all the required vaccinations and deworming for them. As they are hybrid chickens, they have very good health.

Genetic problems are very rare in Easter Eggers. Give them occasional treats so that they will connect with you.

Facts about Easter Egger Chickens

Here are some amazing facts about EEs – 

1. Easter Eggers are a mix or hybrid chicken breed.
2. They are very calm and lovely.
3. Easter Egger hens lay blue-green colored eggs because of a genetic pigment called enocyanin.
4. Easter Eggers are known for chickens developed after cross-breeding Araucana chickens with other egg-laying chickens.
5. These chickens have puffs and beards.
6. EEs are also available in a bantam size but are not as popular as a standard size.
7. The hilarious truth about these chickens is that they are not APA-accepted. Therefore, they are not even called a breed.
8. There is no standard breed of Easter Egger chickens.
9. Easter Eggers are forceful and healthy chickens, living easily in all weather conditions.
10. The EEs hens do not go broody, so you must use an incubator if you want chicks.

Pros of raising these EEs chickens

There are some wonderful benefits to raising Easter Eggers in your backyard coop:

1. You can consider buying one if you are searching for a chicken that lays various colorful eggs.
2. Adding a few unique chickens to your flock is also a wonderful thing.
3. Easter Eggers are good egg layers, laying around 3–4 eggs per week.
4. Compared to other standard true breeds, the price of Easter Egger chicks is very low, so you can reduce your initial investment in chicken farming.
5. The Easter Egger chickens rarely go broody, so if you want to collect eggs, this is a good chicken for backyard poultry farming.
6. They have a good tolerance in hot and cold climates, so you don’t have to take extra care of them in any weather conditions.
7. The Easter Eggers chicks and chickens are easily available in America and most countries.
8. They love free-range, so if you have some good space in your backyard, they will love to forage. 
9. Lastly, EEs are calm, docile, friendly, and lovely chickens. They love to play with you and your kids.

Cons of raising EEs chickens

Let’s know about a few common problems with raising Easter Eggers-

• Easter Eggers are chickens and are not a bird for meat production.
• EEs occasionally go broody, so this mixed-breed chicken is not good for breeding purposes.
• You cannot take them to any exhibition because they are not standard recognized breeds.

How to Tell If an Easter Egger is a Rooster or a Hen?

Easter Egger rooster and hen almost look the same in physical appearance, so it’s confusing to know which one is male or female.

As we all know, an adult rooster crow always has little aggression towards external predators. So, by watching their activities, like mating and dancing toward hens, you can tell which one is a rooster.

But if you ask about knowing their sex in early-stage, the method is the same as other chickens. Here is our detailed guide on Hen vs Roosters.

Summary

Easter Eggers are lovely hybrid chickens best suited for many climates. They are friendly and calm and love to play with children.

You can also teach them a few commands by giving them treats. Eggs are excellent mixed-breed chickens, but you can keep them for meat.

Easter Eggers can fulfill your needs if you search for a few low-cost, high-profit chickens. Remember that EEs are not a recognized chicken breed, so that you can take them to exhibitions.

But yes, EEs are great chickens for backyard farms. I would appreciate your sharing your Easter Egger chicken-raising experience below in the comment section.