Thursday, August 12, 2010

What is a Easter egger


Before there was the Aruacana, Before there was the Ameraucana There was the Easter Egger.(That's Our Story and we're Sticking To It!)Bred from two south American breeds (a small single comb,rumpless that laid blue eggs and a tufted chicken that had a pea comb, flowing tail and laid brown eggs) and reportedly had been crossed with asian breeds;
they were brought to this country around1925 from Chile' South America.In later years, a bearded/muffed type was developed.Continually Cross bred with other breeds of chicken, the plumage color has become one of the most diverse in all the chicken world.Easter Egger's come in almost every color and pattern imaginable; this combined with their colorful eggs, that can range from blue to green and even pink, make them a truly remarkable chicken.
Unfortunately, a few breeders decided to change the nature and diversity of this magnificent breed.In the case of the so called "Ameraucana",breeders limited the color of plumage to eight types, while at the same time, striving to eliminate any Green egg laying birds, in favor of the blue egg type.In all fairness, it should be pointed out that, the only reason an Ameraucana cannot be considered an Easter Egger, is that, in 1984 the APA declared these eight color varieties to be a separate breed; It is for this reason alone that they are not acceptable as Easter Egger's under the EECOA standard of perfection.In the case of the Aruacana,The lethal mutation associated with ear tufts was established within the breed, along with a lack of tail feathers (rumpless).To maintain the Ear tuft traits, the birds need to be crossed with chickens that do not carry the gene, as two sets of the gene will kill the offspring.it has been said that breeders must produce one hundred off spring to produce one "True Aruacana", and although the rest of these bird would technically be called Easter Egger's, EECOA considers them to be substandard Aruacana's, since we cannot condone the perpetuation of a breed that is not viable and we will not accept the by-product of this type of breeding.Yet, despite this inability for a viable continuation of these "Desired Traits", without the constant infusion of genetic variation from outside this supposed "Established Breed", in 1976, The APA declared Aruacana's a registered breed of chicken, while the Easter Egger, remains on the APA blacklist.
How to Identify an Easter Egg Chicken / Easter Egger
Generally, an Easter Egger should exhibit some of the following traits The Pea comb is a must (Keep in mind there are other breeds that have a Pea Comb)Green legs, beard and muff and production of green, blue or pink eggs are standard
The easy way to Identify and Easter Egger is to see what color egg they produce, if the egg color is green, you most likely have an Easter Egger
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