Gender identification

[PanosGR]

Her daughter (if she is a daughter) will have a relatively high production, yes. Maybe not as high, but high. Your ISA brown hen is getting up there in ISA brown years, unfortunately due to that high production, they tend to die young, production issues being the main thing (I at least, experience). Look out for things like egg binding

Thank you for the insights! It's good to know that her potential offspring may have high production, even if not quite as high as her mother. I appreciate the advice on the lifespan of ISA Browns and the potential production issues. I'll definitely keep an eye out for things like egg binding and do my best to ensure her well-being.

 

[NatJ]

This actually makes sense. My bet is light brown eggs like you but it would be really interesting if she can lay both light brown and white eggs which I find very rare but it happens. how many chances do you give for this to happen though?

A given hen will lay eggs of just one basic color, either white or light brown or medium brown (or whatever.) So I expect either light brown eggs all the time, or white eggs all the time, not switching back and forth between them.

The shade of brown can change a bit, so a chicken who lays "light brown" eggs will have some be a little darker or a little lighter than others.

And a hen who lays any shade of brown eggs can, on rare occasions, lay an entirely white egg (as if her body forgot to put the brown "paint" on the outside of the egg.)

 

[PanosGR]

A given hen will lay eggs of just one basic color, either white or light brown or medium brown (or whatever.) So I expect either light brown eggs all the time, or white eggs all the time, not switching back and forth between them.

The shade of brown can change a bit, so a chicken who lays "light brown" eggs will have some be a little darker or a little lighter than others.

And a hen who lays any shade of brown eggs can, on rare occasions, lay an entirely white egg (as if her body forgot to put the brown "paint" on the outside of the egg.)

Thank you for the clarification! It's interesting to learn that hens typically lay eggs of just one basic color, be it white, light brown, or medium brown. I'll keep an eye out for consistent egg color from my hen, with slight variations in shade. It's quite fascinating how on rare occasions, a hen can surprise us with an entirely white egg, as if her 'paint job' momentarily took a break!

What do you think about the egg production of my future hen? I like getting multiple answers for a specific topic

 

[NatJ]

Thank you for the clarification! It's interesting to learn that hens typically lay eggs of just one basic color, be it white, light brown, or medium brown. I'll keep an eye out for consistent egg color from my hen, with slight variations in shade. It's quite fascinating how on rare occasions, a hen can surprise us with an entirely white egg, as if her 'paint job' momentarily took a break!

And some hens lay blue eggs or green eggs. (A green egg is a blue egg, with a coating of brown on the outside.) Blue eggs or not-blue eggs are controlled by just one gene, and if your chickens do not have that gene, you will never get blue or green eggs from their offspring. But if you do get a hen who lays blue or green eggs, or a rooster who carries the gene, you can easily breed more hens that will lay those colors of eggs.

What do you think about the egg production of my future hen? I like getting multiple answers for a specific topic

I agree with the others: assuming "she" really is a female, she will probably be a good layer, but probably not quite as good as her mother the ISA Brown.

 

[PanosGR]

And some hens lay blue eggs or green eggs. (A green egg is a blue egg, with a coating of brown on the outside.) Blue eggs or not-blue eggs are controlled by just one gene, and if your chickens do not have that gene, you will never get blue or green eggs from their offspring. But if you do get a hen who lays blue or green eggs, or a rooster who carries the gene, you can easily breed more hens that will lay those colors of eggs.

I didn't know this was real. I remember when I saw this on the internet and I though it was a lie. I am kinda surprised blue and green eggs are real

I agree with the others: assuming "she" really is a female, she will probably be a good layer, but probably not quite as good as her mother the ISA Brown.

If she manage to lay more than 200 eggs per year, this is enough for me!

 

[NatJ]

I didn't know this was real. I remember when I saw this on the internet and I though it was a lie. I am kinda surprised blue and green eggs are real

Yes, they are real.

Aside from the fact that I personally have owned some, here is more information to help establish that they are real:

Hatcheries in the USA sell chickens (sometimes called "Easter Eggers") that lay blue or green eggs. (I am in the USA, so I know more about hatcheries here than in other countries.)

Several pure breeds of chickens also lay blue eggs: Araucana, Ameraucana, and Cream Legbar. Some people are working on more color varieties (feather colors) of those breeds. I think some people are working on developing other breeds that also lay blue or green eggs.

There are multiple threads on these forums discussing the genetics of blue and green eggs. Many, many people on these forums talk about chickens who lay blue and green eggs, just the same as they talk about their chickens that lay white or brown eggs.

People have come up with a special term, "olive egger," for chickens that lay "olive" (dark green) eggs. Genetically, those are blue eggs with a dark coating of brown. The first olive eggers were produced by crossing blue-layers with breeds that lay dark brown eggs (like Welsummers and Barnevelders and Marans), but by now some breeders are making progress toward true-breeding chickens that lay dark green eggs.

 

[fluffycrow]

I too, have some green layers . One can get very deep into the genetics of it. Fun breeding project for some

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

What about the pointy tail feathers? Have you ever seen a pullet or hen having them?

All of the time. Pullets who are first developing their adult feathers in will grow feathers that may appear like sickles, but of course a female can not have those－they only appear like sickles, but they are actually immature feathers that will eventually get replaced/covered.

 

[PanosGR]

All of the time. Pullets who are first developing their adult feathers in will grow feathers that may appear like sickles, but of course a female can not have those－they only appear like sickles, but they are actually immature feathers that will eventually get replaced/covered.

So this means at this age, the tail feathers aren't a reliable indicator of the bird's gender. This gives it an additional 50% chance of being a pullet. However, if you consider the size of the comb and wattles, especially in comparison to the father's, it's highly likely to be a female.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

So this means at this age, the tail feathers aren't a reliable indicator of the bird's gender. This gives it an additional 50% chance of being a pullet. However, if you consider the size of the comb and wattles, especially in comparison to the father's, it's highly likely to be a female.

Exactly. Easter Eggers are especially prone to getting sickle-like tail feathers.