Easter Egger club!

[junebuggena]

So, if I know the color of eggs my hens produce, is there a high likely hood that the offspring will be a shade of that plus whatever his genetics holds? How does egg color pass on exactly?

Correct. Both the hen and the rooster contribute genes for egg color.

 

[FlyWheel]

Well, if I remember my high school biology correctly, both the hen and the rooster will posses whatever egg color genes were given them from either parent. If one gene is dominant that will over power the other in that hen, but either gene can be given to the off spring of that hen and rooster.

Now if you have a good idea which egg color genes each parent has there is a chart you can make which can at least give you an idea what the percentages are of their off spring's egg colors. But as others have noted, which genes any particular offspring got will still be a mystery until that hen actually lays an egg. And just to make it more interesting there are two separate elements to egg color; the color of the shell itself, and the coating (if any) that is 'painted' onto that shell before it exits the hen.

I hope that increases the clarity a little closer to that of wet dirt.

 

[junebuggena]

Well, if I remember my high school biology correctly, both the hen and the rooster will posses whatever egg color genes were given them from either parent. If one gene is dominant that will over power the other in that hen, but either gene can be given to the off spring of that hen and rooster.

Now if you have a good idea which egg color genes each parent has there is a chart you can make which can at least give you an idea what the percentages are of their off spring's egg colors. But as others have noted, which genes any particular offspring got will still be a mystery until that hen actually lays an egg. And just to make it more interesting there are two separate elements to egg color; the color of the shell itself, and the coating (if any) that is 'painted' onto that shell before it exits the hen.

I hope that increases the clarity a little closer to that of wet dirt.

It's actually pretty simple. There are only two possibilities for shell color, white or blue. Blue is dominant over white. Brown eggs have a coating applied over the white shell. Green eggs have the same brown coating, but applied on a blue shell. There are over 9 different genes that are known to produce the brown coating, and a bird can have several of those genes. This is the reason there are so many shades of brown, ranging from cream all the way to the dark brown of Marans eggs.
Each parent has two genes for egg color, and will pass one of those genes to their chicks. Coating genes are not tied to eggshell color genes.
For example, I had a rooster that was pure for the blue eggshell gene (two copies for blue, no genes for white), no coating genes. I bred him to pure Barred Rock hens. The Rocks are pure for both white shells and the coating genes. All chicks inherited a blue eggshell gene and white eggshell gene. I was expecting only green layers. I ended up with one hen that laid blue. She did not inherit a coating gene at all.

 

[FlyWheel]

True, but unless you are breeding 'pure bloods' it's still going to be a crap-shoot as to which of the available genes each chick got. So unless you egg-zamine each chick's DNA you can't be completely sure until it actually lays something.

 

[cmccullough1390]

Working more on the coop everything is bought should only be three days now here's an update I can't keep up with pics of all 25 of them lol

Watson - bantam mix

Puddin - D'uccle mix

Harley Quinn - Rhode Island Red

Joker - Rhode Island Red

Arya - Easter Egger

Appa - Gold Laced Wyandotte

Scarlet - D'uccle mix and Puddins sister

Baby pile

Avalon - Easter Egger loves pj pants

Nimue- Easter Egger

Captain Boomerang - bantam mix my beautiful roo roo loves Jon Snow

 

[Spyruby]

I just got home from camp and my EE's grew up sooo much!

 

[lovechicks1293]

I just got home from camp and my EE's grew up sooo much!

I KNOW! they grow up so fast

 

[gbartha]

Hi everyone. This is Ginger, my 5.5 week old easter egger. I need opinions on her gender. Is my Ginger really a George?

How can you tell with Easter Eggers?

 

[cmccullough1390]

Hi everyone. This is Ginger, my 5.5 week old easter egger. I need opinions on her gender. Is my Ginger really a George?

How can you tell with Easter Eggers?

Still somewhat pale but my older girls are paler each hen or roo develops different if it darkens at all with in a few weeks you have a boy either way very beautiful

Arya

Sansa

 

[FlyWheel]

Avalon looks to be something of a pervert, kinda reminds me of that kid in Schwarzenegger's Kindergarten Cop.

"Boys have a cloaca, girls have a...wait, they both do?"