Blue egg genetics?

[Organics North]

Yes I think you are correct if you have an EE roo. I will be using PURE show quality Ameracuana roo for this project. (Paul Smith stock)
ON

 

[The Rancho]

I need genetics help with my hens! I have EE hens and a Marans roo....will their offspring hens lay olive colored eggs only? or will there be some blue or blown layers too? and if i cross the offspring back to the roo what will that do to the egg color of that cross? i'm really confused and genetics are not my thing. any help is really appreciated!
Destiny

 

[roxysmydog]

I need genetics help with my hens! I have EE hens and a Marans roo....will their offspring hens lay olive colored eggs only? or will there be some blue or blown layers too? and if i cross the offspring back to the roo what will that do to the egg color of that cross? i'm really confused and genetics are not my thing. any help is really appreciated!
Destiny

I know this post was from two years ago but I am curious how this cross turned out if you actually hatched some eggs. I have a BCM roo and EE hens. I would like to cross them for olive eggers. I am so new to hatching eggs and genetics, I'm trying to learn some things. My dad has a roo that is 1/2 EE, 1/2 jersey giant. He has a mix of different hen breeds. I want to hatch some of his eggs out and see what I would get. All of his girls are brown layers except he has a couple white leghorns. I am curious if I would get the sky blue eggs from them. I wonder if since each chick will only have 1/4 of the EE gene, would they get any of the blue layer gene?

 

[LaurenRae]

I love hearing how some of these crosses came out. Pictures are always welcomed for those who have them!! I have an EE who I believe is laying very lightly tinted eggs (they look white compared to the brown eggs from my buff orph, australorps and barred rocks, but ever so slightly tan next to my white cabinets) no blue eggs. I'm thinking of crossing her with a purebred Ameraucana roo that a friend has.

I'm just trying to clarify, blue is a dominant trait right? So if I cross my EE (presumably bb - no blue allele) with a pure Ameraucana roo (presumably BB - two blue alleles), the babes should come out Bb, heterzygous for the blue trait hence laying blue eggs? Or very slightly bluey-green eggs if they inhereit the super light coating of brown on the tinted eggs my EE lays.

Or possibly bb x Bb (if the roo is heterozygous), giving 50% bluey-green, 50% tinted. Is my science correct here? It's been a while since Ive had genetics =D

 

[Rietta]

I just tried to review this very forum for some answers and... my head hurts. My hen hatched a egg from Ameraucana Roo over Sicilian buttercup , blue/white eggs. excited to see final egg color. The little pullet is a hot mess though

 

[ChookieG]

Hey guys I know this is an old thread.. but thought I'll just refer a site (see link below) to anyone who's still confused... the site seems to make it much easier to understand.. and thanks to this thread I've worked out my Araucana cross is heterozygous for the Blue gene as I have two F1 pullets that lay green/olive eggs and one that lays brown. I was unsure the roo still had the blue gene as it was apparently quite outcrossed. Their mummies lay very light brown (almost white) eggs. I actually hatched 10 chicks but sold 5 so am unsure of the 5 I've sold. Two of the 5 I kept are cockerels.

https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/gms2-breeding-for-blue-eggs/

 

[Silkie2299781]

In order to get blue eggs from offspring, the rooster has to carry a blue egg gene and be matched to a hen that carries the same.

Otherwise, anything goes..but if one is brown egg you will only ever get brown or green eggs - no blue eggs. I think that is where the rooster conversation comes up.

Jody

I know this is a very old thread, but can you figure out if a rooster carries the blue egg gene without seeing it hatch? How?

 

[FunClucks]

I know this is a very old thread, but can you figure out if a rooster carries the blue egg gene without seeing it hatch? How?

DNA testing. $25. They can test feathers or blood, or the egg shell the bird hatched from and tell you if it has the blue egg gene and how many copies of the gene (1 or 2). I haven't done it, but you can search on this site or Google for more details.

Also, test mate it to a white egg laying variety (no tinted layers). If the rooster has a large amount of progeny and they all lay blue, then it's likely homozygous for blue egg gene (2 copies). If half the progeny lay blue and half lay tan or brown, the rooster is a green egg layer and is heterozygous for blue egg gene (1 copy of blue). A green egg layer rooster has one blue egg gene, and also has genes for brown pigmenting - each offspring gets either the blue or the brown.

By appearance you can also make a good guess if it has the blue egg gene. Pea comb in easter eggers often means at least one blue egg gene, because they descend from Auracanas usually. However, there are breeds out there that link their blue eggs with straight comb (cream crested legbar), or link brown eggs with a pea comb (Brahma?), so this is not always reliable.

 

[Silkie2299781]

Thanks! I might end up doing a DNA so I can use him for some egg color projects! I'll also breed him when I get leghorns this fall!