Arkansas Blue egg layers

[ronott1]

THIS IS AWESOME - ----


But I don't get the correlation between selection for the darkest egg possible and lower production ????

It is like leg color in yellow skinned breeds. The same yellow for leg color also colors the yolk. Hens that lay a lot of eggs will lose the yellow in their legs. The yellow will come back when they molt. You can make the egg yolks a darker color by getting them to eat marigold extract and or corn. That increases the yellow in their system.

The bile salt that makes the egg blue will be come depleted in hens that lay a lot of eggs. The color will come back when the hen stops laying egg during a molt.

 

[1muttsfan]

Dark egg layers such as Marans have the same problem. Since hens that lay fewer eggs have more pigment available to color the shells, they will maintain dark egg color longer than hens that lay more eggs, and deplete their pigment stores faster. So selecting for hens with consistantly dark eggs tends to also select for poorer layers. An example of the Law of Unintended Consequences.

 

[1muttsfan]

The best time to evaluate egg color is when a hen first starts laying, either as a pullet or after a layoff such as a molt.

 

[Metella]

A-HA ! so it is not necessarily connected like I thought !

I get the connection now. Thanks !

 

[Manningjw]

THIS IS AWESOME - ----


But I don't get the correlation between selection for the darkest egg possible and lower production ????

Edit: Woops, didn't realize you guys did a far better job answering the question than I did! It would help for me to hit the "next page" before writing my reply!!

 

[Metella]

Maybe I'll find some blue flowers and feed them to my AB's ha ha ha ha

 

[Manningjw]

Maybe I'll find some blue flowers and feed them to my AB's ha ha ha ha

Good luck with that!

Here is some more reading material including which Chinese breeds of chickens lay blue eggs! Dongxiang is the main breed referenced, also has black muscle/skin. Would be a really fun breed to get my hands on but I doubt that will ever happen.

http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/content/85/3/546.full.pdf

 

[Manningjw]

Here is an example from my own birds - comparing an egg from a hen who just finished brooding/raising a clutch of chicks to a blue egg in peak productive laying hen. I also included a green egg that came from a hen who previously was an "Olive egger" but due to laying 6+ eggs per week for several months, they have faded to regular old EE coloration.



Now comparing that Green egg, to her eggs from the first month of laying eggs: Also included, one project blue egg layer's egg, and 1 white leghorn egg.

 

[ronott1]

Good luck with that!

Here is some more reading material including which Chinese breeds of chickens lay blue eggs! Dongxiang is the main breed referenced, also has black muscle/skin. Would be a really fun breed to get my hands on but I doubt that will ever happen.

http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/content/85/3/546.full.pdf

It looks like they are hard to find in China too:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956303/dongxiang-or-lushi

 

[Metella]

Reading it all up ! thanks.

On a fun note - I may have whipped up 2 new AB breeders in New York - upstate ... if they have good luck with my eggs and raising the birds - they are already talking about getting eggs from you guys to get diversity in their flocks and breed

THEY were very happy with the egg color and all the pictures I shared of my birds.