Dark blue eggs?

[Huskers lover]

Hey everybody I have a question about egg color? I know that all eggs start white inside the hen but as it lays it some die thiers brown with some sort of blood product (some darker than others). Some hens though start with a blue egg instead of a white and if you cross it with one that lays very dark eggs the hen will die the blue egg brown making it green. My question is how do I get dark blue eggs instead of baby blue? I've seen that some EEs like coastal blues can lay darker blues but mostly light blue, and light greens. One way I think would to selectively breed EEs that lay darker blues, but that would take quit a long time since EEs can have quit a large array of egg color cromozones and it would be difficult to isolate certain ones. Another way I've been thinking is to cross an azure blue (for the egg production) with a high producing olive egger and maybe get EEs that may lay dark blue or many different colors. Let me know your thoughts till then go big red.

 

[Fluffy_Butt_Hutt]

By darker blue, what specific color are you talking about? Maybe send pictures of eggs you've seen or a hex color code?

 

[Cloverr39]

I'd suggest choosing an actual breed that lays blue, not crosses like EEs or Azures if you don't want to end up with a lot of variety in egg colors. Crosses like that are often heterozygous for the blue egg gene, which not only means the eggs would be paler blue or more greenish, but also that they can pass on other egg color genes to their chicks, so you could end up with a handful of white or brown layers in the process.
With blue laying breeds (Ameraucana, Araucana, Legbar, etc.) they're more likely to be homozygous for the blue egg gene, at which point when breed them, you should only get blue layers, and then you can select for a more vibrant blue hue.
Not all blue layer lines are perfect, so try to avoid hatchery stock and look for a good breeder, as hatchery birds are often not of the best quality and less likely to breed true for egg color.

 

[wrathsfarm]

I'd suggest choosing an actual breed that lays blue, not crosses like EEs or Azures if you don't want to end up with a lot of variety in egg colors. Crosses like that are often heterozygous for the blue egg gene, which not only means the eggs would be paler blue or more greenish, but also that they can pass on other egg color genes to their chicks, so you could end up with a handful of white or brown layers in the process.
With blue laying breeds (Ameraucana, Araucana, Legbar, etc.) they're more likely to be homozygous for the blue egg gene, at which point when breed them, you should only get blue layers, and then you can select for a more vibrant blue hue.
Not all blue layer lines are perfect, so try to avoid hatchery stock and look for a good breeder, as hatchery birds are often not of the best quality and less likely to breed true for egg color.