Can a chick that comes from a brown egg lay blue or green eggs?

[artvandolay]

Hello,

I had a barnyard mix with some EE, but the blue eggs were cracked so I tossed them. I am wondering if one of the brown eggs could have possibly had a gene that passed on the blue eggs trait even if they hatched from a brown. Is this possible?

TIA

 

[AidKD]

It is possible depending on what genes the chicken has. Who are the parents?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

The answer to that is yes....or no...it depends on your genetics of the parents.

Blue eggs are caused by the oocyan gene (that causes bile to be thrown into the shell gland to produce blue shells). It only takes one oocyan gene to cause blue shells.

Brown shells are caused by a hemoglobin wash applied as the egg travels down the egg duct. It literally is a reddish brown (iron based) tint applied to the shell. Brown wash over white shell (no oocyan gene) produces brown tints of eggs. Brown wash over blue shell produces green tint eggs. Dark enough brown wash over blue shell produces olive shell eggs. There are about 13 genes that control the brown wash application, so it varies as to how much of that is passed along to the offspring. I typically find that if a I breed a dark brown line to a light brown line I get offspring with a middle brown egg...but it varies.

We can tell from the brown shell egg that momma did not have the oocyan gene, so she did not carry the genetics for a blue shell. She won't be passing anything along that way. However if she is bred to a rooster who does carry the oocyan gene, she could have offspring that lay green eggs. Here's the breakdown

Dad has only 1 blue shell gene....momma has none....50% of the chicks could have green eggs (with 1 blue shell gene from dad and some brown wash from mom) and 50% of the chicks could have brown tone shells (did not inherit dad's 1 blue shell gene, left with whatever brown genes from dad and brown genes from mom).

If dad happens to have 2 blue shell genes...then 100% of the chicks will inherit 1 blue shell gene applied with mom's brown shell genes (and whatever dad has), and you will get shades of green to olive.

Wait until the daughters lay eggs, breed the green shell daughters back to dad (since now you know he has at least 1 blue shell gene), and you begin to set your green/blue line...25% will have 2 blue shell genes, 50% 1 blue shell gene, 25% no blue shell gene.

It's a lot of fun.

Good luck on your turn out.

Lady of McCamley

For fun here's a photo of my lines as I was setting color:

 

[artvandolay]

It is possible depending on what genes the chicken has. Who are the parents?

It can be any one of these: Marans, Old English Orpington, Olive Eggers, Easter Eggers, Brahma, Dominique, Plymouth Rock

 

[Lady of McCamley]

It can be any one of these: Marans, Old English Orpington, Olive Eggers, Easter Eggers, Brahma, Dominique, Plymouth Rock

The only way the chicks will grow into blue/green/olive laying hens will be if the rooster was an Olive Egger or Easter Egger if all the others are pure breeds.

And that is likely 50% chance as most OE and EE have only 1 blue shell gene to pass.

LofMc

 

[artvandolay]

The answer to that is yes....or no...it depends on your genetics of the parents.

Blue eggs are caused by the oocyan gene (that causes bile to be thrown into the shell gland to produce blue shells). It only takes one oocyan gene to cause blue shells.

Brown shells are caused by a hemoglobin wash applied as the egg travels down the egg duct. It literally is a reddish brown (iron based) tint applied to the shell. Brown wash over white shell (no oocyan gene) produces brown tints of eggs. Brown wash over blue shell produces green tint eggs. Dark enough brown wash over blue shell produces olive shell eggs. There are about 13 genes that control the brown wash application, so it varies as to how much of that is passed along to the offspring. I typically find that if a I breed a dark brown line to a light brown line I get offspring with a middle brown egg...but it varies.

We can tell from the brown shell egg that momma did not have the oocyan gene, so she did not carry the genetics for a blue shell. She won't be passing anything along that way. However if she is bred to a rooster who does carry the oocyan gene, she could have offspring that lay green eggs. Here's the breakdown

Dad has only 1 blue shell gene....momma has none....50% of the chicks could have green eggs (with 1 blue shell gene from dad and some brown wash from mom) and 50% of the chicks could have brown tone shells (did not inherit dad's 1 blue shell gene, left with whatever brown genes from dad and brown genes from mom).

If dad happens to have 2 blue shell genes...then 100% of the chicks will inherit 1 blue shell gene applied with mom's brown shell genes (and whatever dad has), and you will get shades of green to olive.

Wait until the daughters lay eggs, breed the green shell daughters back to dad (since now you know he has at least 1 blue shell gene), and you begin to set your green/blue line...25% will have 2 blue shell genes, 50% 1 blue shell gene, 25% no blue shell gene.

It's a lot of fun.

Good luck on your turn out.

Lady of McCamley

For fun here's a photo of my lines as I was setting color:


View attachment 3480737

Thanks, I am going to have to read your explanation and look into this again. I would only keep one or 2 roosters. I am hoping either to keep and Australorp from a separate clutch or and Erminette from another clutch. If I get a hen that lays blue or green eggs, I was hoping I could keep that one and then perhaps breed it with one of those two roosters.

I just didn't know if I could have any with the genes for green or blue eggs. These are the combinations it could be but none of the actual blue eggs were incubated.

Marans, Old English Orpington, Olive Eggers, Easter Eggers, Brahma, Dominique, Plymouth Rock
I think I have at least two easter eggers that hatched but they were in brown eggs.

 

[artvandolay]

The only way the chicks will grow into blue/green/olive laying hens will be if the rooster was an Olive Egger or Easter Egger if all the others are pure breeds.

And that is likely 50% chance as most OE and EE have only 1 blue shell gene to pass.

LofMc

So, the other has to be purebred? I think some are but some are the barnyard mix, so I won't know.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Thanks, I am going to have to read your explanation and look into this again. I would only keep one or 2 roosters. I am hoping either to keep and Australorp from a separate clutch or and Erminette from another clutch. If I get a hen that lays blue or green eggs, I was hoping I could keep that one and then perhaps breed it with one of those two roosters.

I just didn't know if I could have any with the genes for green or blue eggs. These are the combinations it could be but none of the actual blue eggs were incubated.

Marans, Old English Orpington, Olive Eggers, Easter Eggers, Brahma, Dominique, Plymouth Rock
I think I have at least two easter eggers that hatched but they were in brown eggs.

If you hatch brown eggs with hens bred to Australorp or Erminette, you'll only get brown layers.

If you hatch blue/green eggs from hens bred to Australorp or Erminette, you'll get 50% blue/green layers and 50% brown layers. You will have to only set blue eggs if you want to keep your chances of getting blue/green if you use brown layer rooster lines.

LofMc

 

[artvandolay]

If you hatch brown eggs with hens bred to Australorp or Erminette, you'll only get brown layers.

If you hatch blue/green eggs from hens bred to Australorp or Erminette, you'll get 50% blue/green layers and 50% brown layers. You will have to only set blue eggs if you want to keep your chances of getting blue/green if you use brown layer rooster lines.

LofMc

I figured if they were both brown I would only get brown unless there was some gene that maybe made it through.

If I get a blue/green laying hen from this clutch and then use one of those I figure I could get some future blue/green layers. What do you mean set?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Pure breeds just help us know what the genetics are without surprises. Of your chicken choices, only the hybrids of Olive Egger and Easter Egger will have a chance to have a blue shell gene (as they are hybrids of blue shell layers...either Cream Legbars or Ameraucanas or Araucanas typically).

The further you breed away from the blue shell lines, the greater the chance you will breed out your blue layers especially if you are setting brown eggs. Why? Because you KNOW that the hen didn't carry the blue shell gene as she was laying a brown egg. That means the rooster will have to have the blue shell gene. Since he doesn't lay eggs, the only way you can figure out his genetics is by testing him over brown layers to see if you ever get a blue/green layer. That's time consuming obviously...and if he is a hybrid, he probably has at best 1 blue shell gene (if he came from a pure bred blue shell layer and a pure bred brown layer). The further your generations out with the rooster, you soon get no blue shell gene.

So you have to test your rooster to see if he carries the blue shell gene otherwise only set and hatch blue shell layers to keep your blue shell line going otherwise you'll soon breed out the blue.

LofMc