5 min readfrom Raising Chickens or Other Poultry for Eggs, Meat, or as Pets

I need help choosing between two Easter Egger chicks!

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Hello, lovely chicken people! I find myself in a bit of a clucky conundrum and could use your feathery wisdom. After a recent predator scare left my small flock down to just one adult Easter Egger, I ordered a new batch of 14 chicks—seven of which are Easter Eggers! Now, I’m torn between two adorable candidates for my final EE: one I call Skunk, with striking chipmunk markings, and the other, Mottled, who is sweet and friendly. While I adore their looks, I’m also weighing personality traits, as I’m hoping to strike a balance between snuggly lap chickens and independent thinkers. Join me on this journey of overthinking and let's figure out who should join my flock!
I need help choosing between two Easter Egger chicks!
I need help choosing between two Easter Egger chicks!

Hello lovely chicken people! I'm in a bit of a bind making a decision and I think I could use outside help. This post will probably end up way longer than it needs to be, I'm a bit of an overthinker and I'm taking you all on that journey with me if you'd like to come along!

After a predator attack on our already small flock of three a couple months ago we were sadly left with 1 adult Easter Egger chicken. Because my mother in law was also getting chicks this year we decided to order a batch with her, and decided to use the opportunity to get some fun breeds in addition to some more EEs. In total we've got 14 chicks at our house. 7 easter eggers, 4 blue french marans, 2 speckled sussex, and a welsummer. We're keeping both sussex and welsummer, 2 of the french marans and 2 of the easter eggers, and mil who wants mostly EEs is taking the rest.

Now in the past I've always just got what I got, I never had the opportunity to choose which chicks I'm keeping after raising and bonding with them. We've already picked out which marans we want, and one of the EEs for sure. My problem is picking the last EE. It is between two of them, and I swear I think I change my mind every 15 minutes. I need fellow chicken people to guide me.

So between the two there's one I'm referring to as Skunk and one I'll refer to as Mottled. Skunk was striking to me from the beginning because her chipmunk markings were very high contrast. Her lighter color is very buff and her dark stripes are nearly black. Her legs are light yellow. She just looks so interesting and I'm incredibly curious about how she'll turn out as an adult and I think she'll be really pretty.

The mottled one on the other hand doesn't stand out much from the other brown chipmunk EEs at first but on closer inspection she has a lot going on with the patterns on her head, she has a more grey undertone than the others and even as a chick her cheek puffs are particularly robust. Her legs have that greywash color to them.

Now I don't want to pick only on looks, but I certainly love how pretty and different easter eggers can be so it is a factor for sure. But I definitely want friendly chickens too and I'm really hoping a few in this new batch would like to be lap chickens.

Between the two EEs the skunk one seems way more independent. She is less receptive to being held, and while she still comes up to me when I hand offer them food, she's usually one of the last to investigate and hop into my hand. It doesn't seems out of shyness, but more disintrest. The mottled girl on the other hand just melts into me instantly. She is so friendly and sweet even from a day old that it's really hard not to bond with her.

So signs point to mottled girl, right? But here's where my overthinking comes in:

While we want friendly chickens and we're putting in the effort to socialize them, I think it's also important to have chickens that are independent thinkers. Maybe more watchful and protective in alerting for predators, and also I think the ones that are a bit more spicy in personality can provide the most comedy because they're always getting into or up to something.

The marans we're keeping are incredibly docile and sweet and seem to love being held, they relax instantly when you pick them up. The sussex also, one in particular, seems very friendly and incredibly interested in me, as is the welsummer. The EE we already know we're keeping you can tell she has a hilarious and bright personality and she's already making me laugh dive bombing into the chick pile like she owns the world.

So we already have some really sweet soft personality birds, in fact I'd say they all seem particularly chill with the exception of the buff EE were keeping and the welsummer who seem a little brighter and more inquisitive.

So...do I add another soft soft girl or one who would tip the balance back to more active/independent? What if we pick too many soft ones and needed another Bad Bitch instead to be a strong leader? Or what if I pick the more independent one instead and she becomes flighty and mean and I regret letting go of the sweet girl who just wanted to snuggle?

I'm including pictures of the two. I know easter eggers can be a giant mystery as to how they'll turn out, but if anyone here who has more knowledge on chicken genetics has some insight about what mixes they could possibly be or how they might look as adults I'd love to hear it! Particularly if anyone had a chick that looked like either of them I'd love to see how they turned out.

I've included pictures of the two, and tried to show their early wing feathers as well.

I know this is a very long post for what is ultimately probably a pretty inconsequential decision but I think it's fun to think about. If it were you, which chick would you keep and why? I need help!

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#chicken breeds#chickens#fear of chickens#chicken behavior#chicken myths#chicken anatomy#chicken eggs#Easter Egger#chicks#blue french marans#speckled sussex#welsummer#flock#friendly#personality#predator attack#independent#chipmunk markings#breeds#socialize