Just joined with a question

[Guest]

I found your forum doing research on a rooster I have.  Last spring I was given a chick that came from Murry McMurry as an exotic chicken.  We had no idea what it was and had fun just watching him grow and the antics that he performed.  I decided to do some research and here I am.

He has the muffs and beard and a pea comb.

I have attached a picture I took yesterday.

Martha

[Guest]

Hi Martha,

Your rooster is what we call an \"Easter Egger\", which is a term used for a non-purebred Ameraucana (one who has other breed blood in him.) He\'s actually rather lovely for a crossbreed, and one can see he has Wheaten blood in him by his coloring (although it is not completely correct.) The real giveaway is his green legs. Purebred Ameraucanas must have slate legs (blue) with no hint of yellow in them (which makes them green)

Your bird, even if crossed to a purebred hen, will sire hens who will lay green, rather than blue eggs. And as a crossbred, you will not do well with him if you show him in APA shows. However there\'s no reason you can\'t keep him and enjoy him if you\'re not concerned with purebred status. How is his temperment?

Cheers,

[Guest]

Laura,

Thanks for the information.  Yes his legs are green and I always thought that was kind of unusual.  He is fun to watch and enjoys helping me in the garden.  He is anxious for spring so I will be out with him all day.  I have a plant nursery and so I\'m outside quite a bit.
Last summer he would fly up onto my back when I was bending over pulling weeds or sit on my shoulder.  He is a good runner and I like to watch him chase the grasshoppers.  
He has gotten a little aggressive, especially in the morning when I first let him out so I have a walking stick with me just to keep him away.  Later on he is better.  He used to have a couple of rooster buddies but they are no longer with us.  Do you think he would be happier with some friends?

Martha

[John]

will lay green, rather than blue eggs

Laura,
I agree with most of your comments, but would say we really can\'t predict the egg color.

[Guest]

we really can\'t predict the egg color.

Very true. The eggs might be anything from a tinted cream to pink to blue to olive green. Unless you know the breeds his parents were (and with hatchery birds you don\'t know) there\'s no way to be sure. Often though, Easter Eggers will lay greenish eggs, as they usually have a brown egg-layer in their background.

Martha, if he is the only chicken you have, I am sure he would appreciate some company, but another rooster may only lead to fighting and more aggression. And getting only a few hens might not be enough for him (the usual ratio quoted is ten hens to every cock bird.) So if he’s reasonably happy alone, and you don’t want to get into chicken ownership in a big way, why not just enjoy him as he is, a solitary bird?

[Guest]

I second what Laura says here from hard experience. Enjoy this rooster as a solitary bird, else give him a minimum of 10 hens. No second rooster unless you have 20 hens or more. A great way to have rooster problems is to give him only a few hens. Oh...and be sure roosters are legal where you live. In rural areas it\'s no problem, but if you\'re in a suburb, development or urban area -- do check before you become too attached to this bird.

One of my roosters, which I unfortunately had to give up (because I didn\'t practice what I preached above) was very aggressive in the morning also. He\'d come barreling down the ramp of the coop often chasing a hen and the way he ran, he looked like he was on wheels rather than running. The hen woud hide behind a tree for an hour. You\'ll also find that different roosters have somewhat different personalities.

Of the pair that I had, one would not crow often, but was a highly successful mater; the other crowed all the time, but was a lousy mater. The quiet one was the one who\'d be barreling down the ramp like gangbusters. I miss them both, but anyway...

A certain amount of aggressiveness in roosters is normal -- it\'s part of their job description -- what you don\'t want is having it directed at humans or resulting in injured birds.

Keeping him solitary -- or providing 10 hens minimum should help keep things orderly.