Green Eggs vs Blue Eggs for A Premium Egg Business

[JacinLarkwell]

There are multiple genes responsible for the brown egg genes, but the F1s get them all in heterozygous form

Okay, I meant I like olive egger hens because some of her chicks will have a blue gene and some will not

 

[nicalandia]

Okay, I meant I like olive egger hens because some of her chicks will have a blue gene and some will not

50% - 50% chance if bred to brown shell rooster.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

50% - 50% chance if bred to brown shell rooster.

And if she's bred to anything else she won't pass any blue genes to any if her offspring?

 

[nicalandia]

And if she's bred to anything else she won't pass any blue genes to any if her offspring?

Same 50% - 50% chance of inheriting the blue egg shell

 

[BigBlueHen53]

This is the first documented Easter Egger hen with Easte Eggs(1948), I always thought that the blue ones may have been dyed too.

I May just be showing my ignorance, but this hen looks more like a RIR than an EE to me. ?

 

[DarJones]

Early development of Easter Eggers was based on crosses with South American Araucanas. The breeding objective was to combine the blue egg trait with normal tail feathers (to eliminate negatives from 'rumpless') and to eliminate the tufts of feathers on the side of the head (because it causes embryo death). Early EE's did not have muffs (chromosome 15 iirc). The best I was able to find out, muffs showed up in the 1960's and were universally adopted as a breed standard. There are still plenty of EE's that don't have muffs.

The porphyrin biopath (brown eggs) exists in all chickens which means the default egg color is brown. Specific breeds carry genes that interrupt the porphyrin biopath which results in white eggs. Combine white eggs with the oocyanin gene and the eggs will be blue. Add in the zinc white gene and it suppresses porphyrin to the point eggs have a slight sandy tint even when the brown egg genes are active. Note for breeders of olive eggs, you don't want zinc white in your flock.

 

[nicalandia]

I was able to get my hands on these old hens...

 

[Coops Dad]

I have an F1 olive egger (Marans rooster over an Ameraucana hen who laid nearly perfectly sky-blue eggs) and an F2 olive egger (same rooster over one of his daughters). The F1 lays absolutely beautiful sage green eggs, and the F2 lays darker olive eggs. When my wife gives away eggs, the little old ladies from church always sneak peeks I to the cartons to see if they got one of "those" eggs.

I voted green.

 

[nicalandia]

 

[3KillerBs]

View attachment 3363198

I get an occasional spotted egg in my flock, though I sold the girl who laid them consistently because she didn't suit my other goals.