Still an easter egger?

PhiberOptikx · Feb 4, 2016

I am wanting to be honest in what I sell so I have a few questions. I have 2 EE roos and some EE hens. I also have some Silver Laced and Golden Laced Wyandotte girls. I am wanting to hatch this spring and am not sure what to label the crosses as. I could just hatch the blue eggs but am interested in hatching all. Would it be possible for the crosses to lay blue eggs as well?

JetCat · Feb 4, 2016

it can be very likely that even your chicks hatched from blue eggs will not lay blue eggs, they are (as an EE is) just a mixed mutt.

PhiberOptikx · Feb 4, 2016

Yes but is it dishonest to call a wyandotte/EE an EE?

donrae · Feb 4, 2016

Depending on your rooster's genetics, the best you can hope for crossing him with a brown egger is pullets that lay green eggs.

When I cross two pure bred birds, I market the offspring as such. Yours I would call EE/Wyandotte mixes, that's what they are. I would tell folks there's a chance of green or brown eggs from the pullets, unless you've test bred your EE and know for sure he's pure for the blue egg gene. That's the only way you could guarantee all green egger offspring.

If you want to be sure you're selling green eggers, you'll have to raise them to point of lay and sell them once you know what color each bird is laying.

JetCat · Feb 4, 2016

donrae said:
.......... unless you've test bred your EE and know for sure he's pure for the blue egg gene.

EE are not a purebreds to start with and in most cases only carry one blue egg gene.

enola · Feb 4, 2016

It is entirely possible for an Easter Egger to carry two blue genes for shell color.

donrae · Feb 4, 2016

If they lay blue eggs, they're pretty much pure for the blue gene. It's theoretically possible they carry one white and one blue, but in most cases my blue egg laying hatchery birds have been pure for the blue egg gene, meaning they carry two copies.

PhiberOptikx · Feb 4, 2016

So what would a blue brown cross produce? Just curious. I know the only way to know what I will get is to keep one until laying age.

JetCat · Feb 4, 2016

PhiberOptikx said:
So what would a blue brown cross produce? Just curious. I know the only way to know what I will get is to keep one until laying age.

a brown egg layer to a blue egg laying EE (which would be an F1) would be a Gen 2 olive egger.

donrae · Feb 4, 2016

Regular brown, like your Wyandottes, crossed with a blue egger will give various shades of green, from mint to sage to teal/aqua, sometimes a grey-ish green.

A dark brown egger (Welsummer, Marans, etc) crossed with a blue egger should give olive green eggs. You need that dark brown genetic input to get the rich olive color.

Still an easter egger?

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