Can you point me to threads/reading material to learn more about chicken genetics?

[RuffIedFeathers]

I tried reading this "Genetics of the Fowl" book https://www.amazon.com/Genetics-Fow...26083&sprefix=chicken+genetics,aps,204&sr=8-1
and found it difficult and confusing. I'm not completely new to genetics, I did take some classes in college, but I'm trying to understand more about egg color genetics for mixing breeds.
I'd really like speckled and/or green eggs (or eggs with both!). The only breed I have right now that lays green eggs are my Silverudds isbar. The other laying hens I have to mess with are:
Silver double laced barnevelders, bielefelder, pita pinta, blue and black ameracaunas, buff orpington, rhode island red, cream legbars, black copper marans, light sussex.

Chicks that I have and may or may not keep are: Australorps, white legbar, barred rock, cinnamon queen, delaware, dominique, new hampshire red, speckled sussex, faverolles, welsummer, buckeye, wyandottes (blue laced and splash laced red), lavender orpington, 55 flower hen, deathlayers and Ameracauns that I ordered from Once in a Blue Moon (not here yet).

As you can see, I'm really all over the map. I do like raising chicks though, so last year I raised a bunch and then sold the pullets I decided I didn't want. I kind of just want a fun project right now. I'm bored and overworked with my 3 little ones. =( Any good or interesting ideas for a project?

 

[Sally PB]

@nicalandia, what do you think?

 

[ShrekDawg]

@The Moonshiner knows a lot about genetics.

 

[DarJones]

All egg shells start out white. If the blue egg gene is present on chromosome 1, the egg shell turns blue. Blue shell is a dominant gene meaning 1 copy gets blue eggs. Then there is the zinc white gene most often found in Mediterranean breeds. Zinc white turns an otherwise cream white egg shell to bright white. Zinc white also affects porphryin production turning eggs that would other wise be medium to dark brown into sandy tan colors. Porphyrin is a biopath. All extant chickens appear to have the biopath but in some breeds it is turned off. Porphyrin is a coating on the surface of the egg that can range from sandy-tan to medium brown to dark Marans brown. As a biopath, there are numerous genes that affect expression of porphyrin. There are also some known chromosome segment deletions associated with absence of porphyrin. Speckled eggs appears in a few breeds but most are limited in amount of speckling. Welsummers are noted for sometimes producing very heavily speckled egg coatings.

By the way, the ratio is not 1:100 where crosses to non-pea comb birds result in a cross-over. The actual ratio is about 1:35. So 3 out of 100 might express straight comb and blue eggs. I'm working with Silver Laced Wyandottes that lay blue eggs and either have straight comb or rose comb. The eventual goal is to stabilize rose comb blue egg laying black laced silver birds.

 

[cluckykate114]

from what i i have read from one page, is breeding a welsummer hen to a (blue) homozygous roo will result in green speckled eggs.

https://silverhomestead.com/how-to-breed-for-egg-color/