Cream Legbar Laying Pink Eggs??

[minifarmmom]

Yes, it is very likely your Cream Legbar that is laying the pink eggs. I get pink spots on some of my eggs with a blue base, but have never seen a completely pink eggs. I was wondering If I ever would. The was an article in the National Geographic in the September 1948 issue about "Easter Egg chickens". It was written about a man that had learned about the Blue Egg laying ear tuffed Araucana of South America from a 1927 National Geographic article (image from 1927 article below) and decided to get some.

View attachment 1657343

He found some contacts in South America and to his dismay learned that it was nearly impossible to find the Blue Egg Laying ear tuffed birds any more because they had been nearly all crossed out to imported breeds. By a miracle he was able to get a few birds. He said one looked something like a barred rock cross and one was something like a RIR cross but that they did have ear tuffs so he breed them. After ten years of white eggs he notice eggs with a pale blue hue to them and started to type breed for the blue eggs. He was successful and ended up with blue eggs, green eggs, and pink eggs. There is a color enhanced photo in the 1948 National Geographic, but I can't find it posted on line. From what I have seen the pink is a coating that goes on the out side of the egg shell. It is present in all the Blue Egg breeds tracing back the South American origins. It is really rare in the Legbars, but much more common in the Araucana line in the USA.

Here is are egg photos from the Awesome Araucana Hatchery. They have been breeding their line of Araucana since the early 1970's. As you can see, they get quite a good representation of pink eggs. View attachment 1657333 View attachment 1657334

Very interesting! Thank you very much for the article. I thought all cream legbars were from Europe though?

 

[GaryDean26]

Very interesting! Thank you very much for the article. I thought all cream legbars were from Europe though?

Yes...You are correct. The Legbar was developed by Michael Pease and R.G. Punnet in the Livestock Genetic Research labs of Cambridge University in England. The beginnings of the breed trace back to the botanist Clarence Eliot's trip to Patagonia in 1927. Elliot's trip was to collects new plants to study and cultivate in the UK. He also brought back some livestock including two blue egg laying hens. He donated the blue hens to the R.G. Punnet who was the government appointed Chief of all genetic research in the country at the time. Punnet only successful breed on of the hens. He studied the blue egg genetics for 3-4 years then published his findings. While doing his Blue Egg Research he made the first formal discovery of the gene for Cream Plumage in the UK which was likely from the Gold Penciled Cock that was breed to the Blue Egg hen the first year. Punnet did a formal study of the Cream Genetics after the conclusion of the Blue egg genetics in which he created a Cream Light Brown Leghorn with a Crest and the Blue Egg genes from the south american hen, the cream gene from the Hamburg cock and the type of a leghorn. Punnets career defining research was the development of Auto-sexing breeds. The year the Punnet Retired Michael Pease crossed the White Egg Laying non-crested Gold Legbars that Punnet had develop with a commercial white Leghorn to increase egg production in the line. In so doing Pease made the 2nd discovery of Cream Plumage in the UK. He and Punnet wanted to know if both instances of Cream Plumage with the same gene or different genes that worked in the same way. They crossed the Blue Egg Laying Crested Cream Light Brown Leghorns that Punnet had created during the study of the cream gene with the Cream Crele Legbars that were sports from the White Leghorn out crosses. They proved that both instances of cream were the same gene and a few years later at the London Dairy show (1947) took a pair of blue egg laying, crested, cream legbars to exhibit. The rest is history. They Cream Legbar was admitted into the standard of the Poultry Club of Great Britain about 10 years after their debut at the London Dairy show. Yes, the Legbar was developed in the UK and most of what is in the USA is from imports from the UK since 2010. The blue egg gene however came from the same Auracana origins in south america as the later stock that went was developed into the Easter Egg chickens in the 1940's, the Auracan in the 1970's, and the Americauna in the 1980. Auracana breeds were also developed in the UK from later imports of South American birds. The UK Auracana was cross with the Cream Legbars in the later 1980's so save the breed from extinction. So....There is a lot of blue egg generics in the Legbar and all the blue egg genetics seem to be linked to the gene from the pink coated eggs. The pink coating is becomeing more and more rare since it is being culled out rather than left unrestricted in the gene pool. It is still there and resurfaces from time to time.

 

[minifarmmom]

Yes...You are correct. The Legbar was developed by Michael Pease and R.G. Punnet in the Livestock Genetic Research labs of Cambridge University in England. The beginnings of the breed trace back to the botanist Clarence Eliot's trip to Patagonia in 1927. Elliot's trip was to collects new plants to study and cultivate in the UK. He also brought back some livestock including two blue egg laying hens. He donated the blue hens to the R.G. Punnet who was the government appointed Chief of all genetic research in the country at the time. Punnet only successful breed on of the hens. He studied the blue egg genetics for 3-4 years then published his findings. While doing his Blue Egg Research he made the first formal discovery of the gene for Cream Plumage in the UK which was likely from the Gold Penciled Cock that was breed to the Blue Egg hen the first year. Punnet did a formal study of the Cream Genetics after the conclusion of the Blue egg genetics in which he created a Cream Light Brown Leghorn with a Crest and the Blue Egg genes from the south american hen, the cream gene from the Hamburg cock and the type of a leghorn. Punnets career defining research was the development of Auto-sexing breeds. The year the Punnet Retired Michael Pease crossed the White Egg Laying non-crested Gold Legbars that Punnet had develop with a commercial white Leghorn to increase egg production in the line. In so doing Pease made the 2nd discovery of Cream Plumage in the UK. He and Punnet wanted to know if both instances of Cream Plumage with the same gene or different genes that worked in the same way. They crossed the Blue Egg Laying Crested Cream Light Brown Leghorns that Punnet had created during the study of the cream gene with the Cream Crele Legbars that were sports from the White Leghorn out crosses. They proved that both instances of cream were the same gene and a few years later at the London Dairy show (1947) took a pair of blue egg laying, crested, cream legbars to exhibit. The rest is history. They Cream Legbar was admitted into the standard of the Poultry Club of Great Britain about 10 years after their debut at the London Dairy show. Yes, the Legbar was developed in the UK and most of what is in the USA is from imports from the UK since 2010. The blue egg gene however came from the same Auracana origins in south america as the later stock that went was developed into the Easter Egg chickens in the 1940's, the Auracan in the 1970's, and the Americauna in the 1980. Auracana breeds were also developed in the UK from later imports of South American birds. The UK Auracana was cross with the Cream Legbars in the later 1980's so save the breed from extinction. So....There is a lot of blue egg generics in the Legbar and all the blue egg genetics seem to be linked to the gene from the pink coated eggs. The pink coating is becomeing more and more rare since it is being culled out rather than left unrestricted in the gene pool. It is still there and resurfaces from time to time.

Very cool! I appreciate all of the information. My little pink egg pipped today..so I will update with pictures and see if a true legbar hatches! I have 5 other "normal" blue legbar eggs set to hatch as well.

 

[minifarmmom]

 

[minifarmmom]

It hatched out to be what looks like a little cockerel cream legbar

 

[minifarmmom]

 

[aart]

You can tell gender already?
Maybe later you could post pics of males and females?
Will you cull from breeding program because of the white shell gene?

 

[minifarmmom]

You can tell gender already?
Maybe later you could post pics of males and females?
Will you cull from breeding program because of the white shell gene?

Legbars are autosexing, so yes. At least he's looking purebred so far..I'll post another pic when he's more fluffed up. I won't cull, I may even try to continue to breed my own 'pink' legbars. I'd love to have autosexing both blue & pink egged birds!

 

[aart]

Legbars are autosexing, so yes.

Yep, similar to sexing Welsummers, IIRC....
...... definition of head triangle and eyeliner tells the tale?

 

[minifarmmom]