Egg color mixing...

[AlilSassy]

Admin move this to the right spot if this isn't it, spent 20min trying decide where to put this lol.

Ok, color mixing gurus... I've finally got some pretty much pink shells out of my flock that I've been trying to get for a bit... now I've been noticing someone is actually producing a pink shell throughout...not white inside... this should mean I could mix with a tan to get that mauve like color, right? Or a blue layer might be batter for that color? I still need to nail down who lays the pink throughout shell, which I'm hanging in the back yard cracking the pinkish eggs open as they are laid (hens are loving today's mission btw lol)...but after... pretty sure it's one of my Orps, Possibly one of the Langshan...they all lay my pinkish eggs... here's some pics... my phone is severely killing the color though... the egg is a light almost burnt pink color, inside is a salmon pink like color... I have a pic next to a light tan egg, but like I said...phone messing that up to see well. White interior of similar color egg for comparison.

(Haven't posted since new layout, hope this works right, hard to navigate on my phone)

 

[Lady of McCamley]

You are attempting a project that is near and dear to my heart. Egg color.

Interesting egg. Very pretty.

Without having the egg shells in my hand, I can only give some educated guesses as to how that was produced.

From my understanding of egg color genetics, though, I think your egg is still a white based shell with heavy bloom with perhaps a bit thinner/more porous shell that allows the bloom to show through, rather than a true pink shell. (Your photos show white still on the edge.)

Genetically, base shell is either white or blue. Shell color comes from the calcium the hen produces from her shell gland. If bile is thrown into the mix, the egg shell is blue. If no bile is thrown into the base, the shell is white. There are 2 genes that determine the bile production into the base shell. Blue is dominant, so if you've got a single gene blue (like an EE) typically you have a paler blue. Two blue genes typically give you the darker blues.

Further tinting happens down the egg tract if the genetics are present to add a brown wash (from hemoglobin) to the base shell....just like painting a wall. It takes about 13 genes to cover the genetics for how much brown wash is applied. The heavier the wash, the darker the tint...from ivory, tan, to very dark brown. Some tints are pinker than others. Brown wash is pretty elusive. I've purchased non-laying pullets from really dark lines that produced, to my disappointment, moderate colors.*Usually* the color tone from a dark layer bred to a lighter layer is a middle tone between...but not always. I have two daughters from a Barnevelder and Splash Marans (at 5 scale...who should have been a 7 scale). One lays a pretty terra cotta color (about a 5 scale) the other is a plain brown. (About 3 scale).

Bloom, the final phase, is added at the end as a protective coating to prevent egg spoilage. Bloom can also have some tint, and from my understanding, it can be pink or a bit grey, which is how you can end up with mauve or lavender-ish eggs. The closest I've come to mauve is with a hen that laid heavier bloom over a pink-brown wash (lighter tint) applied to a base white shell. (That was actually a Black Sex Link of all things).

Whether to use a brown layer or a blue layer with that elusive bloom to produce pink or mauve, well therein is the question.

Color genetics dictate that brown wash applied over base blue shell produces green. The tone and color of green depends upon how much brown wash is applied. The darker layers such as Welsummer, Barnevelder and Marans lay a lot of brown wash over the blue shell which is how to produce olive eggs...breeding a dark layer over a blue layer. (My Barnevelder over my Cream Legbars produced daughters that lay a lovely olive).

Then we have to go back to that bloom, to which I've not seen any definitive genetics for. If tinted bloom is laid over a green egg or olive, you can get some interesting tones, depending upon what kind of green base you are working with. If it is more of a blue tone, you might end up with more lavender.

Historically, Langshan have supposedly been the answer to the mauve egg. (One line claims a Langshan line that lays mauve eggs...more of a "plum" than purple). They lay white base shells with brown tint and bloom.

Langshan traditionally were darker layers, and were used to produce the Marans lines. However, a lot of that dark wash has been bred out of Langshans as the breed fell into disrepair or was converted to more production. (Brown wash actually requires more time in the egg duct, so the darker layers are not typically your most productive layers.)

It is thought the Langshan lines create a pink/mauve coloring likely from the kind of bloom they apply over their brown tinted eggs.

So my best guess would be it is your Langshan, and that particular bird is laying somewhat thinner or more porous white shells with just the right touch of brown wash and bloom to produce a pink tone you can also see from the inside.

I would trap nest your Langshans first to determine if that is true.

I would also test the egg to make sure it is still strong quality (as why breed poorer egg shells...pretty color, but fragile eggs that will result in poor hatchability).

My thoughts. Keep us posted. I'd love to see your progress.
LofMc

PS: BTW I've gone more olive at moment...I had a set back with a coon that cleaned me out of Cream Legbars and my best Marans, so I'm currently in grow outs waiting to see egg colors arrive and further breeding potentials.

But I have produced some lovely olive and some really gorgeous terra cotta. But I do not currently have any birds adding enough bloom to produce a pink on my way to mauve. For that I'll have to play with my lighter tinted shells and was planning on getting some Langshans.

Good luck with your project
LofMc

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Here's a good article on the elusive pink/mauve.

The really pink eggs shown on there have been debated as photo shopped (even by the author).

https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2012/07/15/gms3-breeding-for-other-egg-colors/

 

[AlilSassy]

Wow, a lot of info there, Lady . Maybe I should strip the membrane off. Could be it, though that appears white where it is sticking out past the broken egg. Of course my pink layers appear to be afternoon layers lol. I think all my blues have laid already and my one Marans. The shells have been all decently thick of the pink one, with exception to this one this morning I used for breakfast, BUT it was a double yolker I'll read that link here in a min.

(Currently none of these girls are being bred, and currently have only a tan, blue and blue green mature males for egg color, do have a 7 egg Marans male[hatched from]growing out though)

 

[AlilSassy]

http://www.the-coop.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=34543&page=all

This was inside the convo on the link above... talks about green tinted shell as well. Very interesting.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Yes, I thought you'd like that conversation thread. It is interesting.

From what I've gotten from my hens over the years, all shells have either been white or blue. Any see through color on the inside was due to porous shell as the shell base was still white or blue.

But as you can see, the genetics are complicated and there is much variety.

Which makes the breeding for egg color both fun and challenging.

LofMc

 

[Hickory Creek]

The purple eggs look like plums the "langshan" ones.
https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2012/07/15/gms3-breeding-for-other-egg-colors/

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Yes, I don't think those are meant to be a photograph of actual eggs but a comparison to plums?

Whether Croad Langshans lay plum or not is controversial. There are those who say that particular strain indeed lay a plum colored egg while others say that has been highly over stated.

LofMc