Getting the flock out of here - a diary of a crazy chicken man

[scottcaddy]

Quote: Or just plane dumb luck (what the h*ll happened with her?)

Scott

 

[Phage]

Cream legbars have a single comb and lay nice blue eggs - see avatar

 

[ozexpat]

Cream legbars have a single comb and lay nice blue eggs - see avatar

lol

I was waiting for your input.

Most blue egg layers we see come from a mutant gene that originated in South America (there is another one from China but we dont see derivatives of that breed here), the Aracauna being the breeding stock that the Ameraucana was developed from. These have pea combs.

The Cream Legbar is a mix of English Araucana (with tail feathers), brown leghorn and barred rock. The mostly leghorn and rock ancestory overpowers the pea comb and they have single combs.

The shell is made up almost entirely of calcium carbonate, which is a white mineral. White eggs are white, through and through. But, during the last four to six hours in the shell gland, a brown egg-laying hen adds pigment to the mix. This is why the insides of brown eggs are white – the egg starts out white, and gradually becomes more colorful. In the last 90 minutes, the rate of shell formation slows, and the cuticle, a viscous, protein-rich fluid (also called the bloom) is added. This is also when the hen secretes most of the pigments into the shell.

Blue pigment is a different chemical than the brown. It’s scientific name is biliverdin, and it is derived from hemoglobin (a component of blood.) It is metabolically costly for the hens to create. A recent study of Blue Footed Boobies show that the blue color will become even more pronounced with an increase in carotenoids in the birds’ diet - a Phage type experiment is calling. Biliverdin is added to the calcium carbonate earlier in the shell-making process, and so the eggs appear blue all the way through.

Chickens that lay greenish, gray, or dusky blue eggs produce both biliverdin and brown egg pigments. The brown overlays the blue. People who wantolive eggs cross a blue egg layer with a Marans or Wellsummer.

 

[Penny Hen]

Cream legbars have a single comb and lay nice blue eggs - see avatar

Yes they do and Punnett bred about 2,000+ birds to get them that way with the auto-sexing too.

 

[Sweetpea3829]

The genetics of all of this are fascinating, lol.

With the exception of my BR hen, all the rest of my hens have pea combs. I never noticed what color their ears are...but I don't think any of them have blue ears.

I honestly wasn't really expecting green eggs...that was a bit of a surprise. But, the neighbor that gave them to us has his chickens willy nilly on the property and he has a whole bunch of different breeds. So likely something was crossed somewhere, lol.

 

[rolito tabujara]

The pigs are back to normal. I stopped the medications already.

The hatch has really solidified some of my breeds. One more good foreign egg hatch should complete that phase of the plan.

The guys are finishing off the goat house this week then its all fence work until its finished.

Sir Oz
Give Lactozyme or any probiotics to the pig you treated with antibiotic so their guts good bacteria will be enhance. More hatchings!

 

[rolito tabujara]

only 480 pages to catch up.

better get a move on!! lol

welcome to the trials and tribulations of a man with crazy ideas with a wife that lets him try to make those dreams a reality



...............................................what a shame our climate wont support bees

Sir
All things that we enjoy today comes from crazy ideas. But making a difference in a life of your fellowmen for good is not a crazy idea, rather a blessed dream!

 

[Sweetpea3829]

Question...if the hen lays a green egg, she wouldn't then be the one to lay a blue egg, would she?

Didn't get a third green egg today...but I did get a blue one, lol! Unfortunately, she cracked it a bit.

 

[perchie.girl]

Question...if the hen lays a green egg, she wouldn't then be the one to lay a blue egg, would she?

Didn't get a third green egg today...but I did get a blue one, lol! Unfortunately, she cracked it a bit.

Its possible the same hen laid it.... The way it works is a blue shell is created, then as it passes through the last phase it is coated with Brown. Brown eggs vary according to how much color is deposited and how long it sits there before being laid. You may have a different hen producing bluer eggs too.

But all your hens are just starting to produce eggs after winter right? So I would say you have a bluer egg layer.

Also note egg shell texture and shape is also different between hens

deb

 

[Sweetpea3829]

Its possible the same hen laid it.... The way it works is a blue shell is created, then as it passes through the last phase it is coated with Brown. Brown eggs vary according to how much color is deposited and how long it sits there before being laid. You may have a different hen producing bluer eggs too.

But all your hens are just starting to produce eggs after winter right? So I would say you have a bluer egg layer.

Also note egg shell texture and shape is also different between hens

deb

Yes, these would all be first time egg producers. These hens were hatched in early June, and did not lay at all during the fall.

LOL, I hope that the egg does belong to a different hen than the green egg layer. That would make two hens producing...and two more to go.

At least I'll know for sure when the BR hen starts laying!