All the same color???

[bluer78]

3 of my 5 easter eggers are laying as of now, first one for a new layer today!
What are the odds, they all are the same sage green color! Is this the most common color to find from an easter egger? I was hoping for a little color assortment...
This pic shows one from all 3. One of them was even supposed to be an olive egger... obviously not

 

[Ridgerunner]

It depends on the make-up of the flock they came from. Some flocks lay very similar colors, others can have a huge variety of shades and colors. It is no different than flocks that lay brown eggs. Some can have eggs of very similar shades of brown while some flocks can vary wildly.

 

[bluer78]

It depends on the make-up of the flock they came from. Some flocks lay very similar colors, others can have a huge variety of shades and colors. It is no different than flocks that lay brown eggs. Some can have eggs of very similar shades of brown while some flocks can vary wildly.

They all came from different places! Lol! Technically idk which hatchery they all ordered them from.. But I got 2 that were already laying from 2 different people, and had a batch with 3 babies I got from a whole other person. Quite the coincidence!!

 

[bluer78]

Easter egger #4 Chicken Nugget with the same color! I'm in disbelief now, that there are any other shades!
I have 1 more easter egger that isn't quite mature enough yet, I feel I have quite a few more weeks before I'll see her egg... but this one came from the same batch as the new one from yesterday. And the last one, yet to lay, is from that same batch as well.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Since they are from different sources that is remarkable. Even the ones I made had a wide range of shades.

 

[FunClucks]

So, if you want a for sure colorful egg basket, here's some options to consider:

From Hoovers Hatchery (I have some of these):

Prairie Bluebell Egger (lays light blue eggs most of the time, 15% chance of a tan egg. I have one of 6 that has a greenish tint and 1/6 that is so light it's nearly white. The rest are a light powder blue, not vivid, but blue if you put them in a white egg carton). Eggs are medium to large, I have some that lay almost extra large but not quite, and one that persists in laying medium. Lays about 5 days per week. These chickens are active, flighty, curious, and intelligent, would be great foragers, but you can confine them too. ~4 lb hens. They are a hybrid, so don't breed true, but I liked knowing what color their eggs would be when I bought them. Basically a fancy, hatchery created version of an easter egger.

Starlight Green Egger (lays green eggs, I think 15% chance of a tan egger?) Eggs are medium, lays 6-7 days a week. Mine lay 7 days a week, but miss a day about every week or two. Beautiful regular kind of pea soup green color that's almost olive. Definitely different than the sage green ones you have. One of my SGEs ended up laying tan, but it's a pretty light tan, and I'm keeping her because she lays every single day, one large egg. Can't argue with that. Another fancy hatchery easter egger.

Some I don't have but plan to get:

Green Queen (hatchery mix green egger). I've heard it's a Faverolle mix, very pretty. Another fancy hatchery easter egger.

Whiting True Blue (an actual breed, sold by murray mcmurray, developed by Tom(?) Whiting to lay many large to extra large brighter blue eggs). They breed true for blue eggs. I think they don't have, or only have the occasional green tint to their eggs.

Whiting True Green (another breed created by Tom Whiting) lays many large to extra large sage green eggs. They breed true as well (ETA: Actually, Mc Murry says they haven't tested whether these breed true for egg color or not. Thanks @NatJ for the correction.)

Chicken math is fun to practice.

 

[Chicken poppy]

So, if you want a for sure colorful egg basket, here's some options to consider:

From Hoovers Hatchery (I have some of these):

Prairie Bluebell Egger (lays light blue eggs most of the time, 15% chance of a tan egg. I have one of 6 that has a greenish tint and 1/6 that is so light it's nearly white. The rest are a light powder blue, not vivid, but blue if you put them in a white egg carton). Eggs are medium to large, I have some that lay almost extra large but not quite, and one that persists in laying medium. Lays about 5 days per week. These chickens are active, flighty, curious, and intelligent, would be great foragers, but you can confine them too. ~4 lb hens. They are a hybrid, so don't breed true, but I liked knowing what color their eggs would be when I bought them. Basically a fancy, hatchery created version of an easter egger.

Starlight Green Egger (lays green eggs, I think 15% chance of a tan egger?) Eggs are medium, lays 6-7 days a week. Mine lay 7 days a week, but miss a day about every week or two. Beautiful regular kind of pea soup green color that's almost olive. Definitely different than the sage green ones you have. One of my SGEs ended up laying tan, but it's a pretty light tan, and I'm keeping her because she lays every single day, one large egg. Can't argue with that. Another fancy hatchery easter egger.

Some I don't have but plan to get:

Green Queen (hatchery mix green egger). I've heard it's a Faverolle mix, very pretty. Another fancy hatchery easter egger.

Whiting True Blue (an actual breed, sold by murray mcmurray, developed by Tom(?) Whiting to lay many large to extra large brighter blue eggs). They breed true for blue eggs. I think they don't have, or only have the occasional green tint to their eggs.

Whiting True Green (another breed created by Tom Whiting) lays many large to extra large sage green eggs. They breed true as well.

Chicken math is fun to practice.

Reading this really reminded me how much there is to learn about chickens. Cool read! Thanks for sharing.

 

[NatJ]

Whiting True Green (another breed created by Tom Whiting) lays many large to extra large sage green eggs. They breed true as well.

https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/whiting_true_green.html
In the Q&A section, McMurray says, "The Whiting True Greens may or may not breed true for egg color or feather color...we have not tested it."

(For the Whiting True Blues, McMurray says several times that they do breed true for egg color. But apparently they don't know about the Greens.)

 

[FunClucks]

https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/whiting_true_green.html
In the Q&A section, McMurray says, "The Whiting True Greens may or may not breed true for egg color or feather color...we have not tested it."

(For the Whiting True Blues, McMurray says several times that they do breed true for egg color. But apparently they don't know about the Greens.)

Oh, okay, my bad. Thanks for the clarification. I was wondering how he managed to get true breeding greens, what with the genetics behind it.

 

[NatJ]

Oh, okay, my bad. Thanks for the clarification. I was wondering how he managed to get true breeding greens, what with the genetics behind it.

For whatever reason, people chose to focus on breeding for blue eggs (Araucana, Ameraucana, Legbar) rather than green eggs, so that's what is easiest to get right now. But genetically it's just as easy to have them breed true for green (light or dark.)

Blue vs. not-blue is controlled by one gene. Obviously blue eggers can breed true, so no problem there.

White vs. shades of brown is controlled by other genes, in other places on the chromosomes. So just like there can be true-breeding white eggers, brown eggers, and dark-brown eggers, there can also be true breeding blue eggers (blue but no brown), green eggers (blue with brown), and olive eggers (blue with dark brown.)

Despite it being "simple" genetically, actually breeding such chickens takes at least a few years, and that's after someone decides to bother in the first place. I know there are some hatcheries working toward true breeding olive eggers, and I wouldn't be surprised if they are common in less than a decade.