Egg shell colors

[ChickenPollo]

Hey. I was wondering whether the eggshell colors depend on what the chickens feed on, genetics, or what the chicken breed is. This is because I have a hen which I want to determine the breed for. It looks just like a Penedescana (similar to a brown leghorn but with grey legs) but in the Penedescana description it says they lay brown eggs, but my hen lays white eggs! Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[Cowgirl71]

Egg shell color is determined by genetics, not feed.

Your hen may be a crossbreed, but white eggs are the most recessive color, so if she lays white eggs then that means both of her parents had the genetics for laying white eggs, i.e. both were white egg breed(s).

If you were in North America, without pictures I would guess either American Gamefowl or a mix breed of some sort. But I don't know what types of chickens are popular in your area. It's likely one of those.

 

[ChickenPollo]

Egg shell color is determined by genetics, not feed.

Your hen may be a crossbreed, but white eggs are the most recessive color, so if she lays white eggs then that means both of her parents had the genetics for laying white eggs, i.e. both were white egg breed(s).

If you were in North America, without pictures I would guess either American Gamefowl or a mix breed of some sort. But I don't know what types of chickens are popular in your area. It's likely one of those.

thanks a lot. I'm in Spain right now. So can a breed lay both types of eggs depending on their genetics, or if a Penedescana lays white eggs, does it mean it's a cross brred? Thanks.

 

[Cowgirl71]

Egg shell color is determined by genetics, not feed.

Your hen may be a crossbreed, but white eggs are the most recessive color, so if she lays white eggs then that means both of her parents had the genetics for laying white eggs, i.e. both were white egg breed(s).

If you were in North America, without pictures I would guess either American Gamefowl or a mix breed of some sort. But I don't know what types of chickens are popular in your area. It's likely one of those.

thanks a lot. I'm in Spain right now. So can a breed lay both types of eggs depending on their genetics, or if a Penedescana lays white eggs, does it mean it's a cross brred? Thanks.

A true Penedesenca would not lay white eggs. In fact, if you cross a regular brown egg layer with a white egg layer, you'll get light brown eggs. That's the way the genetics work, brown is dominant over white. So she's not a Penedesenca cross if she lays white eggs.

The vast majority of chicken breeds have a standard egg color that they're supposed to lay. Every great once in a while a pullet may lay eggs of the wrong color for her breed, and a breeder will cull that pullet from the breeder flock. But this is very, very rare in the older well established breeds.

Are you able to post a picture of her? You can try posting a few pics of her in the "What breed or gender is this?" section.

 

[ChickenPollo]

A true Penedesenca would not lay white eggs. In fact, if you cross a regular brown egg layer with a white egg layer, you'll get light brown eggs. That's the way the genetics work, brown is dominant over white. So she's not a Penedesenca cross if she lays white eggs.

The vast majority of chicken breeds have a standard egg color that they're supposed to lay. Every great once in a while a pullet may lay eggs of the wrong color for her breed, and a breeder will cull that pullet from the breeder flock. But this is very, very rare in the older well established breeds.

Are you able to post a picture of her? You can try posting a few pics of her in the "What breed or gender is this?" section.

Great, thanks. That helps a lot. I already posted pictures on that thread and they were able to suggest possible breeds but not determine them 100%.