Egg Layers Part 2

[aart]

We believe the darker brown speckled eggs have a Black Copper Maran father, have asked what the likely father of the green egg is (perhaps Ameraucana?)

8 Ameraucana mixes

Can't remember where you got these eggs to hatch, what color they were, and what were the possible breeds in the mix.
That sure looks like a blue shell, can confirm by peeling the white inner membrane immediately out when breaking an egg to eat.
One of the parents had Ameraucana or Easter Egger in it's lineage.

 

[Ted Brown]

Can't remember where you got these eggs to hatch, what color they were, and what were the possible breeds in the mix.
That sure looks like a blue shell, can confirm by peeling the white inner membrane immediately out when breaking an egg to eat.
One of the parents had Ameraucana or Easter Egger in it's lineage.

The egg appears to have a green tint to my eyes but... I will check when we break it open but I am not convinced that I will be able to categorically say what the colour is. I have read that blue/green is one of only two (with white) "true" colours where both inside and outside match.

The eggs came from a friend of my sister/BIL on Vancouver Island; she has over a 70+ layers and keeps 3 or 4 roosters (used to have 7-8 but recently culled some out). Her layers are a mix of several breeds - ISA's, Black Copper Marans (our dark brown/specked egg layers), Chanteclers, Ameracucana, etc. and she does not segregate breeds leaving it to the rooster and hens to decide who get who. She does seem to know which hens mate with which rooster as each rooster has a separate area that they keep to (BUT no hard fences to keep them apart). Angela keeps the flock for egg production not purity of breed.

I have had a hard time figuring out which chick came from which hen (and therefore which rooster); my sister has a list that she and Angela compiled when they selected the eggs early September. I have asked her to try to sort things out but it will always be a bit hit and miss. Almost certainly they are all mixes.

I have also read that Aarucanas have the blue/green gene as do Cream Legbars and EEs

Regardless of the colour I am getting what I hoped for which is an assortment of egg colours.

 

[aart]

I have also read that Aarucanas have the blue/green gene as do Cream Legbars and EEs

Pure Araucana, Ameraucana, and Cream Legbars have blue egg shells.
EE's are a cross using one of the blue eggers.....
....and are often called Ameraucana(various spellings) or Araucana when sold at farm stores or by disreputable/ignorant backyard 'breeders'.

There are only white and blue shells.
Brown eggs have brown coating on white shells.
Green eggs have brown coating on blue shells.
The brown coating can be very light or very dark (derived from more than a few genes).
Then the bloom can add another aspect to the egg color.
Pink/purplish eggs are from the bloom on a brown egg.

 

[Ted Brown]

Pure Araucana, Ameraucana, and Cream Legbars have blue egg shells.
EE's are a cross using one of the blue eggers.....

Thanks, this whole topic can be confusing. For example the description of the Ameraucana in the Reviews say under Egg Colour "blue/green'. I will accept your explanation as gospel.

Other confusions:

• Is "EE" an actual breed? From what you say above they are not but rather a cross of breeds one of which must be "Pure Araucana, Ameraucana, and Cream Legbars"?
• Can the blue egg gene come from either the male or the female?

 

[aart]

Thanks, this whole topic can be confusing.

It sure is!
Was one of my biggest disappointments as a chickeneering novice to learn of the misnaming and difficulty in finding pure bred blue layers.
Perpetuated down the line by the hatcheries, farm stores, keepers, and 'breeders'.

Is "EE" an actual breed?

No, it's a cross between a blue laying breed and a brown laying breed.
The darker the brown coating genes are the darker the green, thus 'Olive Eggers'

Can the blue egg gene come from either the male or the female?

Yes.

 

[Ted Brown]

Update:

Today I received 11 eggs from the 11 layers that I have, first time. My youngest group of four are now are about six months old (hatched very early October) and we got the first egg from them on Feb 15th. The next two started within a few weeks after and then today the last one laid it's first. Yippee!

In these days of COVID I must admit that it makes me feel very content to carry a basket of eggs back to the house every morning.

 

[aart]

Today I received 11 eggs from the 11 layers that I have, first time.

WooHoo!!!

 

[Folly's place]

Fantastic!
Mary

 

[Ted Brown]

Lestor, hatched October 2nd 2019

 

[aart]

What breed?...can't really see his colors.