Easter Egger Sexing "tips and tricks" *Pictures Included*

[Nickeechickee]

Sigh, I guess I will have to just keep waiting. She is squatting, so hopefully it won't be much longer. She is my only surviving EE (one ended up being a roo and a raccoon got two) so I'm really hoping for a colored egg.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Quote:
There isn't any sure fire way to predict egg color, especially when you don't know the parentage. The presence of colored legs and beards/muffs do not in themselves indicate egg color, but can be used as clues to the breeds in the bird's lines (Ameraucana or Araucana).

One gene controls shell color, either blue or white. In Ameraucanas and Araucanas, this gene is located very near the gene for pea combs, so those genes are usually (but not always) inherited together. This is why a mixed bird of Ameraucana descent with a pea comb is expected to carry a gene for blue shells most of the time. Hens that have 2 blue genes will lay a more deeply colored egg than a hen with only one blue gene, which will have a paler colored egg.

About 8 genes control the amount (if any) of brown pigment that will overlay the shell. These pigments tint white shelled eggs various shades ranging from cream to chocolate brown. Brown pigments overlaying blue shelled eggs create shades of green, khaki, moss, and olive. The brown pigment genes are inherited independently from the blue shell gene, and there are no really reliable external clues to show the presence or amount of brown pigment an individual bird will produce.

Clues from earlobe color are very unreliable. Common white egg layers like Leghorn, Andalusian, Ancona and other Mediterranean breeds happen to have white earlobes. The majority of brown layers have red earlobes. However, the color of the ear lobe does not determine egg color, it's only another clue as to the possible breeds in the ancestry of a bird. There are breeds that do not follow this rule at all, and there are also other colors of ear lobes beside red and white.

So if you look at Curry, pictured above, she appears to be a fairly typical hatchery EE (sold as an Ameraucana). Her Ameraucana ancestry shows in her pea comb and green legs, and although she has no muffs/beard, Curry does not have wattles either, also an Ameraucana trait. Her earlobes appear white, which shows that somewhere in her breeding there is probably a white layer, most likely Leghorn, used to increase egg size and production. The green legs show that a yellow legged bird was introduced somewhere in her past, maybe from a light brown layer (such as Plymouth Rock or Wyandotte) to add size and hardiness.

All this points to expecting a pale green egg from Curry, but you really won't know for sure until she lays one. Hope you update us when she does!

 

[Nickeechickee]

Will do! Thanks for the info! She is a hatchery EE - came from Meyer hatchery if that helps at all. I will post pics when we finally get that egg.

I was reading somewhere that blue eggs are blue all the way through, while brown eggs are only brown on the surface and are white on the inside. Would green follow the trait of blue then? Or if they are a combo of brown and blue would they be blue on the inside and green on the part you can see? Or white in the inside?

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Will do! Thanks for the info! She is a hatchery EE - came from Meyer hatchery if that helps at all. I will post pics when we finally get that egg.

I was reading somewhere that blue eggs are blue all the way through, while brown eggs are only brown on the surface and are white on the inside. Would green follow the trait of blue then? Or if they are a combo of brown and blue would they be blue on the inside and green on the part you can see? Or white in the inside?

white shell + no brown coating = white egg, all the way through
white shell + brown = brown egg (white shell inside)

blue shell + no brown coating = blue egg, all the way through
blue shell + brown = green egg (blue shell on inside)
blue shell + dark brown = olive egg (blue shell on the inside)


The shells are either white or blue, all the way through. Any brown is added to the outer layers of the egg, but the inside of the shell usually still appears white or blue. Green eggs usually have a bluer looking shell on the inside, but it's sometimes hard to tell. Also, the blue pigment that colors the shell can vary. It is not always a pure blue, but can appear greenish, and the depth of color can fade during the laying season and be affected by carotiniods in the diet and overall health of the hen. The blue pigment originates in the liver, so health is important.

 

[Jana14]

Hello
I was wondering if anyone could help with figuring out which of these are roosters. They are 9 weeks old. I'll start with the ones I think are roosters and make sure my pictures are working before I invest too much time into this post.

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4


# 5 Champ

#6


ETA their ages

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Hello
I was wondering if anyone could help with figuring out which of these are roosters. I'll start with the ones I think are roosters and make sure my pictures are working before I invest too much time into this post.

1

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3

Jana14, could you please post their ages. It really helps.

 

[Jana14]

These ones I think are pullets
#7


#8 the dark one. I think the white one is Champ, a rooster




#9 We have 3 that look like this. I thought they were pullets but their patchy coloring is making me wonder.

#10 Toaster




#11 This one I really want to be a girl because it is my favorite colour. He/she is a little camera shy. Sorry for the poor quality pics.

 

[Jana14]

Oh sorry! They are 9 weeks old.

 

[Countrywantabe]

Ok when I purchased my two Easter eggers I picked out two chicks that looked different than the rest in hopes of ending up with different colors. Maybe that wasn't a good idea - did I pick out the two roosters in the bunch of pullets? These are 7 weeks old.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Countrywantabe, your white chick is a cockerel, and the brown looks like a pullet.