Egg color question

[Halfpasthen]

I finally got some Ameraucana hatching eggs from a local breeder because I wasn't satisfied with the blue I was getting from me easter eggers. The blue is MUCH more vibrant.

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

I am going to see if I spray the eggs with a spray oil (they do this for 4H show egg competition) how that effects the photo

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

Yes, breeders often have better egg colour I think.

 

[FeatheredFriends&Horses2]

Yeah I think some breeds you might get the “pink” but itis hit and miss, then if that is your goal you have to try and selectively breed for it.

Exactly!

 

[Halfpasthen]

I should have explained better about my decision to get ameraucanas this time over easter eggers. Yes, breeders tend to have better stock and egg color quality control. But ameraucanas *should* lay a better blue egg even from a hatchery because they are guaranteed to have blue eggs genes from each parent vs an ee who may not. So I think if you want better blues you should get bantam ameraucanas.
As for pink eggs I agree with other posters that my barred rocks and my cuckoo marans tend to lay tan to darker brown eggs with a heavy bloom. It's not a guarantee but it's apparently true for me and several other people.

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

I think the Naked Neck that is laying the pinkish egg is this one… but the other one lays a dark brown.

I think I lucked out with the two EEs that laid pretty blue eggs, one of their hidden nests… I miss those two chickens a lot.

 

[HomesteadDeb]

I have two Hoover Hatchery Ameraucana mixes that are specifically bred to certain egg colour. A Prairie Bluebell (blue egg) and a Starlight Green Egger (green egg) They are both calm, but not very snuggly, nor are they bantam, and not sure if you can get them in bantam. They are beautiful birds though (two of my favorites! Shh, don't tell the others) and their eggs are a great colour. The blonde is the green egger and the one with darker penciling/partridge colouring is the blue egger.

 

[DarJones]

If you dig around, there are several research articles showing the effect of zinc chelate on eggshell composition. Pure sky blue eggs result from a hen homozygous for the oocyanin gene plus the high intensity white that comes from extra thick eggshells with a higher concentration of zinc chelate. The other part of the puzzle is turning off the porphyrin genes that produce a brown coating on eggs. Sky blue eggs with a brown coating appear tan over blue in color. Deeper blue colors coated with more porphyrin give various shades of olive green in some cases shading toward pale grass green.

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

Yes, it is definitely a combination of genes that gets you a good blue…

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

A picture of one of the Olive Egger eggs when the browning aspects has been depleted in her cycle. You can see how blue it looks.