Easter Egger club!

[Gryphon]

Blythspirit, if you look back a page or two you'll see a link I posted to a blog that explains genetics and specifically blue egg genetics. It even goes over how to get stronger blue color instead of green. If your eggs are dark enough to qualify as olive (which a LOT of people are trying to get!) then you're better off trying to refine the olive to a pleasing shade, rather than trying to turn them blue again.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Here are a couple of articles I find very good. I especially like the history one. It clearly shows that Araucana and Ameraucana were developed from EE’s, not the other way around. And I think the Ameraucana name is really appropriate. A bunch of Americans got together and voted for what an Ameraucana should look like, then they went and created it. How American can you get?

EE/Ameraucana/Araucana comparison
http://apa-abayouthpoultryclub.org/Edu_Material/Easter Eggers vs.pdf

Ameraucana History
http://www.ameraucana.org/history.html

I'm going at look at those links. They look fascinating. But maybe look at this as a quick version of how the genetics work.

The way the shell genetics works, there is one gene that sets the base color, either blue or white. Blue is dominant so if just one of the genes at that gene pair is blue, the base color will be blue. Brown or green is just brown on top of the base color. There are a whole lot of different genes that contribute to brown. That’s why you can get so many different shades. Think of it this way:

Base blue + no brown = blue
Base blue + brown = green
Base white + no brown = white
Base white + brown = brown

If a chicken has one copy of the blue gene and one of the white, there is no telling which of those genes will be passed to the offspring. You can hatch a green or blue egg and get a pullet that lays either a base blue or a base white, depending on what the hen contributes genetically. The rooster can influence that too. But if either the rooster or hen has two copies of that blue gene, all the pullets will lay base blue eggs.

 

[PrairieChickens]

Thank you so much! You have answered the questions I have been having about my girls very simply! I love my girls and I won't replace them because of egg color and if people are silly enough to not want my eggs because of color that's okay too, I have a waiting list of people who understand it makes no difference. I just felt ignorant because some people know enough to know that Ameraucana's are supposed to lay blue eggs and when I tell them that's what I have I get the 'why are the eggs green' question. Your eggs are beautiful. They have the perfect color and bloom on them. Thank you so much for your help. I will change my signature to EE's besides which Ameraucana is so hard to spell. LOL..(one more question is the 1 hen that is laying the blue eggs just a dominate strain of the Ameraucana signature blue egg or just the 'luck of the draw'? Everyone wants the 'blue eggs'). Silly people I should mark them way up! .

I'm not entirely clear on how the genetics work, but I know that if you cross an Ameraucana with a brown egg layer, the offspring might lay brown, blue, or green eggs. Ameraucanas crossed with white egg layers tend to produce blue or light blue eggs.

I'm actually looking to get some olive eggers this year, as well as black copper marans. Having wild-colored eggs is one of my biggest selling points, and customers love getting cartons full of white, blue, green, pink, and brown eggs. There are plenty of people who will pay extra for exotic-looking eggs--don't waste your time fretting over fuddy-duddies who don't get it!

 

[davidchickens]

thanks!

 

[CarolinaHen]

I got EE babies today! Of course they were labeled Ameracauna's HAHA, but we all know what they really are. Cut adorable fluff balls. I love how when they are little it's so hard to tell what color they will be as adults. Now my Peaches and Pickles and Cricket will have bearded buddies. They are supposed to be pullets, we shall see. (I know I have already posted these, but this is now my whole EE flock, even though pickles and cricket are half breeds.

And the new babies! (there are two duckling s in there also lol)

So cute! Hey........ where can I get some web-footed EEs?

Just kidding! What kind of ducks are they?

 

[CarolinaHen]

Appenzeller rooster/ EE hen. Look at those cheeks!!!!!!!!!!

Hoping for a crest too!!

 

[DuckRaiser]

Appenzeller rooster/ EE hen. Look at those cheeks!!!!!!!!!!

Hoping for a crest too!!

A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E Adorable!

 

[chickenlver2013]

I wanna show off my Easter Egger cockerel and his babies!

His name is Colonel

The babies come out sex linked.. And they will probably be Olive Eggers Because their mothers are brown egg layers

 

[Pie Kitty]

Just got our first easter egger egg! I would describe it as a bluish-green/slate color but I'm open to interpretations.

So excited! Our girls are just 21 weeks old!



And here are our super-star easter eggers. We suspect the early layer is Cheeks, our girl all the way to the left. There is no way to know for certain though.



In this photo left to right is Cheeks, Puff, Olive, and Blondie.

 

[Gryphon]

Congratulations! It's a lovely little egg.