I'm Simple Minded, Please Explain

[Peppercorngal]

I have decided to increase my flock based on egg color, not breed. I want to create a diverse flock with lots of different color eggs. I found this chart online. Please explain is the first column the Hen or the Rooster? Does it matter? I'm sure it does! And what is the f1 mean?

Please enlighten me, thanks!

 

[Cyprus]

First column is the rooster.

F1 means first generation.

 

[Peppercorngal]

First column is the rooster.

F1 means first generation.

Thank you, I had assumed that the first column was the Hen!!!

 

[sylviethecochin]

Thank you, I had assumed that the first column was the Hen!!!

It's always rooster first.

As for whether it matters: For blue, it doesn't matter which parent carries the gene, but a couple of the brown genes are sexlinked (or so I understand), so to have more brown/darker green laying pullets you'd want to use brown-egg roosters.

 

[Peppercorngal]

It's always rooster first.

As for whether it matters: For blue, it doesn't matter which parent carries the gene, but a couple of the brown genes are sexlinked (or so I understand), so to have more brown/darker green laying pullets you'd want to use brown-egg roosters.

Ok, so If my Jersey Giant rooster fertilized my Easter Eggers I could get olive eggers? I have a 3 week old chick right now from that combination!

 

[sylviethecochin]

Ok, so If my Jersey Giant rooster fertilized my Easter Eggers I could get olive eggers? I have a 3 week old chick right now from that combination!

Assuming your EE only carries one blue gene, half of the chicks would inherit blue genes. Half of those would be male (of course) so you should have 1/4 of the offspring laying green eggs. Whether they would be olive or not? I don't think JG chickens lay dark enough eggs to darken the eggshells from green to olive.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

That chart is terrible for a beginner. You need punnet squares.
https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/gms2-breeding-for-blue-eggs/

Blue is a simple dominant gene. I always explain it like a pair of light switches to light bulbs. Every gene has two pairs kind of like having two light switches.

For a dominant gene if you turn a switch on, the room is lit. If you turn them both on the room is still lit and there's not much of a difference. So with blue eggs if one gene is "on" they lay blue, and if both are "on" it's maybe a little darker blue but not very noticeable.

Each parent passes on one of their genes at random. So a chicken with two switches on will ALWAYS pass one blue gene down, and a chicken with no switches on will NEVER pass one blue gene down, and a chicken with one switch on will pass it down half the time.

The blue color goes into the shell. Brown color is a different gene and is a coating. So to get green eggs you have a blue shell with a brown coating. The darker the brown the more olive colored the eggs are.

So mixing the blue with white comes out blue, mixing it with brown comes out green and mixing it with dark brown comes out olive.

 

[Peppercorngal]

Assuming your EE only carries one blue gene, half of the chicks would inherit blue genes. Half of those would be male (of course) so you should have 1/4 of the offspring laying green eggs. Whether they would be olive or not? I don't think JG chickens lay dark enough eggs to darken the eggshells from green to olive.

See, I'm not getting it . . . my EE carries one blue gene? How many blue genes does one chicken have? And you are correct, the JG's don't have very dark eggs, they may be green like eggs, not olive. Thanks for responding, I am an idiot when it comes to this genetic thing!

 

[Peppercorngal]

That chart is terrible for a beginner. You need punnet squares.
https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/gms2-breeding-for-blue-eggs/

Blue is a simple dominant gene. I always explain it like a pair of light switches to light bulbs. Every gene has two pairs kind of like having two light switches.

For a dominant gene if you turn a switch on, the room is lit. If you turn them both on the room is still lit and there's not much of a difference. So with blue eggs if one gene is "on" they lay blue, and if both are "on" it's maybe a little darker blue but not very noticeable.

Each parent passes on one of their genes at random. So a chicken with two switches on will ALWAYS pass one blue gene down, and a chicken with no switches on will NEVER pass one blue gene down, and a chicken with one switch on will pass it down half the time.

The blue color goes into the shell. Brown color is a different gene and is a coating. So to get green eggs you have a blue shell with a brown coating. The darker the brown the more olive colored the eggs are.

So mixing the blue with white comes out blue, mixing it with brown comes out green and mixing it with dark brown comes out olive.

Thanks, I'm trying to understand. Knowing if a blue gene "switch" is on is determined how? By the blue egg? I don't get the dominant thing either. Why would my totally white rooster be black dominant (which I was told, and that he would ALWAYS create black chicks)? This seems to be the case, but I just don't get it!!!

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

The best way in my option to make a colorful egg basket is to get chickens that lay varying shades of brown, blue, green, cream, & white. Get a rooster that carries both copies of the blue egg gene like a true Ameraucana, true Araucana, or Legbar.
If you hatch the chicks from the above crossing you will get pullets who will lay varying shades of blue, green, and maybe even olive eggs.

If you use an Easter Egger there is a chance that he will have both copies of the blue egg gene, 1 copy of the blue egg gene, or no copies of the blue egg gene. And if the Easter Egger rooster only carries 1 blue egg gene instead of 2 and you only have brown & white layers then...
Now assuming you hatch all pullets from the above cross, statistically 50% of the pullets will inherit the 1 copy of the blue egg gene from the rooster and will lay blue or green eggs and the other 50% will lay brown or white eggs.