EE Rooster Comb and Egg Color Gene QUESTION (PICS)

[mcleveland]

Thanks to this forum, I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere that depending upon an Easter Egger Roo's comb type will determine the egg color of his off spring (when mated with another EE hen, I'm assuming?)? Is that correct?

My EE Roo doesn't have the typical pea comb, What would you call his comb? Rose comb? And egg color gene?

Thank you for any information you can give me!

 

[Kelsie2290]

The peacomb gene and the blue egg shell gene are both dominant and are located close together on the chromosome , so they are usually inherited together... (have seen various numbers 93-97% of the time).
So if you are doing a cross between a second generation EE ie (Araucanas/Ameraucana etc X single combed bird, so the offspring carries one gene for blue egg shell and one gene for peacomb) and a brown/white single combed egg layer, the peacombed birds are most probably also going to be your colored egg layers.
Once you get more generations down the line and have some single combed colored egg layers or peacombed brown egg layers wind up in the breeding flock selecting by comb type is not as accurate. Also single combed blue egg laying breeds like Legbars, Manx Rumpies etc are getting more popular.
People seem to call that a modified peacomb, the peacomb is dominant but crossing into single combs etc seems to have an effect on how they look, probably because of various other genes that affect the comb somehow... also if the breeder is not selecting for good type, like anything else comb types will vary from the idea over time.

 

[donrae]

I would call it a modified pea comb. Looks very similar to pea x straights I've hatched out before. Those large whitish earlobe would also have me wondering if he has some white egg genes. You'll just have to breed him and see what his offspring lays.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’m not sure of the right terminology, the genetics gurus will know, but a pea comb gene is either incomplete dominant or partially dominant. It’s something like the blue feather gene where two copies of that gene gives you splash, one copy blue, and zero copies black feathers. With the pea comb gene two copies give you a pure pea, one copy gives you what I call a wonky pea, and zero gives you a single comb. But if the pea comb is mixed with the rose comb you get a cushion or walnut comb. Then there are a lot of modifiers that may give you a vee comb, buttercup comb, tall or short, floppy or stiff, big or small. The basics of comb genetics are really pretty simple, but with all those potential modifiers it quickly becomes a mess.

I can’t tell by looking what that comb is. It could easily be a wonky Pea, some variety of cushion or walnut, or maybe some other modifier is really messing it up. Interesting looking though, isn’t it. It does look like it has some pea in it.

Kelsie got it exactly right. The blue egg gene and the pea comb gene are so close together on the chromosome they usually travel together. But the more opportunities they have had to split the more likely they have. Another possible complication is that not all pea combed chickens lay colored eggs. If you happened to have another breed in the ancestry that was pea combed, all that is out of the window.

Another factor is that your rooster looks like he is a mix. It is likely, though not assured, he has one blue egg gene and one white egg gene. Which of those genes he gives to his offspring is purely random. Some may get the blue, others will get the white. Green and brown is just brown on top of blue or white. If he is split with one blue and one white and you mate him to a hen that does not have the blue gene, then about half the pullets should lay colored eggs and half not colored. But that I just the odds. Last year I hatched 8 pullets out of green eggs so 4 should have laid colored eggs with that rooster. Only one did and she has a pure single comb, no pea at all. But the next hatch I got 7 pullets and six laid greed eggs. All 6 had a wonky pea. This stuff does not come with guarantees.

There is really no genetic link between ear lobe color and egg shell color. Through selective breeding most white egg layers have white ear lobes and most brown egg layers have red ear lobes, but if you go through Henderson’s breed Chart you can find several exceptions. When you start mixing them none of that matters. I’ve had mixed breed brown egg layers with white ear lobes and have no idea where that white came from. They were descended from brown egg laying hatchery chickens with red ear lobes. Chicken genetics are fascinating but man are they a mess.

It sounds to me that you need to hatch some eggs and see what happens. Have fun with it.

 

[mcleveland]

Thank you All so much for the replies! That helps. This is the first time I've had a male easter egger.
I'm no gene guru by a mile shot, and understanding the genetics can be quite hard to at times but I am noticing the thing with the earlobes. Not always the same color of the egg that is laid.

So yeah, I suppose I will just let him breed with my other 2 Easter Egger pullets and see what happens. BTW, one of my easter egger pullets laid her first egg today. I've had easter eggers before that would lay the light color blue eggs and the mint color green eggs. But today, Goldie laid a Sage colored egg with white speckling. It's beautiful. But I suppose the sage will diminish to a lighter green the more she lays?

Here's her egg:

 

[AthenaT]

looks like a olive egger egg to me...I have been trying to find one for my flock along with a pink egger....someday