Blue brahma eggs

[CCUK]

Hi. I am thinking of hatching some eggs later this year and I was maybe wanting to easter egger a Brahma! I would like a Brahma that layed blue eggs. I have two arucauna hens and two partridge brahma hens. I have a friend with Araucana cockeral and brahma cockerals. How would I do it? Would it be brahma cockeral with Araucana hen or Araucana cockeral with brahma hen? Or is there a different chicken that is better to introduce the 'blue gene'? And could I use any successful chicks to breed more or would it be a single generation cross?

 

[Cyprus]

Whatever cross you do, the resulting female offspring won't look 100% like Brahmas.
You'll probably get the most Brahma looking hens from crossing a Brahma rooster with an Araucana hen.

 

[R2elk]

Hi. I am thinking of hatching some eggs later this year and I was maybe wanting to easter egger a Brahma! I would like a Brahma that layed blue eggs. I have two arucauna hens and two partridge brahma hens. I have a friend with Araucana cockeral and brahma cockerals. How would I do it? Would it be brahma cockeral with Araucana hen or Araucana cockeral with brahma hen? Or is there a different chicken that is better to introduce the 'blue gene'? And could I use any successful chicks to breed more or would it be a single generation cross?

I believe that it would take quite a process to breed a Brahma looking chicken that lays a blue egg. The hardest part will be to breed out the brown egg genes.

 

[CCUK]

Thanks. I know it won't look 100% brahma but so long as it looks more like one then not that's fine! I like my brahmas and thought it would be interesting to see if I could get a blue egg layer from one!

 

[CCUK]

I believe that it would take quite a process to breed a Brahma looking chicken that lays a blue egg. The hardest part will be to breed out the brown egg genes.

Would that mean breeding out a few generations to establish the blue gene?

 

[R2elk]

Would that mean breeding out a few generations to establish the blue gene?

It's fairly simple to breed in the blue egg gene since it only requires one copy of the gene to have the color expressed. The problem is that when you bring the blue egg gene to a brown egg layer, the combination will create a green or olive colored egg depending on how strong the brown pigment is.

The other problem is that brown has at least 12 different genes that can contribute to the brown egg color. It is easy to breed in the one blue gene but it can be very difficult to breed out all of the brown egg genes. As long as any of the brown egg genes are present you can't get a pure blue egg.

 

[CCUK]

It's fairly simple to breed in the blue egg gene since it only requires one copy of the gene to have the color expressed. The problem is that when you bring the blue egg gene to a brown egg layer, the combination will create a green or olive colored egg depending on how strong the brown pigment is.

The other problem is that brown has at least 12 different genes that can contribute to the brown egg color. It is easy to breed in the one blue gene but it can be very difficult to breed out all of the brown egg genes. As long as any of the brown egg genes are present you can't get a pure blue egg.

Right. OK. So I'd more likely end up with green or olive eggs.

 

[The Phantom]

I am trying a Brahma EE Cross right now. The eggs will hatch next week

 

[R2elk]

Right. OK. So I'd more likely end up with green or olive eggs.

My guess would be green. I recall my Brahmas laying a light brown egg.

 

[CCUK]

My guess would be green. I recall my Brahmas laying a light brown egg.

So if first generation would lay green eggs, if I was to have a cockeral from them and then put it with a purebred Araucana would the second generation eggs be more towards blue or just a lighter shade of green?