Egg color question

[Notaneggspurt]

If you think of brown egg coloring like a can of spray paint then the speckled/incomplete color eggs would be from a can that isn't working properly. As some say, "a glitch in the paint department". Not sure if that's something that could indicate a general hiccup in the reproductive system. I'd think it might not be something to breed for.

Is the speckling for sure pigment? When mine had an infection the were off color spots on the eggs that were extremely porous or thinner areas. They became much more visible as the egg sat.

 

[Minky]

Its definitely pigment. They are like galaxies swirling and blotchy. She's laid them like that from the beginning. The others are from Welsummers, and they are a more uniformed speckling on one end.

 

[Rose Quartz]

I did some looking into egg shell coloring. (a while ago)

GENOTYPE EXPRESSED COLOR
O/O BLUE
o+/o+ WHITE
BROWN

There is no genotype for the brown pigment.

capitol letters are Dominant over lowercase.
O/o+ can manifest as a normal blue color shell, the same as O/O or as a slightly lighter shade of blue.

Brown does not cancel out blue or white. while the pigment can go through the shell, approximately 80% of the pigment is found on the outside of the shell.

with a white shell o+/o+ the egg shell can range from an off white to a dark chocolate color.

With a blue egg O/o+ and o+/o+ brown will cause a variety of green colors, from light blue-green to a dark olive color.



the spotting and swirling is something that is genetically affected, it has to do with the length of time an egg spends at different points in the reproductive tract while it's forming. as an example, Marans egg shells are so dark because they spend a longer time forming the shell than other breeds, it's something that is bred for, indicating length of time it takes to make the shell is genetic.

The problem is that there are at least 13 genes that affect the brown pigment. Al least. They haven't done enough research into it to find out if there are more, or even exactly how it works.



Hopefully this gives you an idea of what you have and what you can do to try to breed for the colors you want.

 

[Cyprus]

the spotting and swirling is something that is genetically affected, it has to do with the length of time an egg spends at different points in the reproductive tract while it's forming. as an example, Marans egg shells are so dark because they spend a longer time forming the shell than other breeds, it's something that is bred for, indicating length of time it takes to make the shell is genetic.

The problem is that there are at least 13 genes that affect the brown pigment. Al least. They haven't done enough research into it to find out if there are more, or even exactly how it works.

My apologies for being incorrect

 

[Cyprus]

I just read that paternal lines have much stronger influence on eggs when breeding for certain traits
https://countrysidenetwork.com/dail...o-breed-chickens-for-egg-and-meat-production/

 

[Rose Quartz]

My apologies for being incorrect