Is the colour of egg a hen hatches from the same as the eggs they will lay?

[Cheshire Chick]

Hi all,

I recently hatched 3 chicks from eggs. The first time I've done this and all has gone very well. Incredibly fortunately, all 3 are pullets and one of them has started laying. I suspect the one that is laying is my Indian Game as she is much more mature looking than the other two - however, the egg is a pale brown colour and she hatched from out of a white egg. The colour of her 'ears' is white so I was expecting her to lay white eggs. Is the egg from which a chick hatches not necessarily related to the colour of egg they will lay?

Thanks

 

[chickens really]

If they are Pure bred Chickens they should lay the same egg colour...Crosses can lay anything...

 

[R2elk]

Hi all,

I recently hatched 3 chicks from eggs. The first time I've done this and all has gone very well. Incredibly fortunately, all 3 are pullets and one of them has started laying. I suspect the one that is laying is my Indian Game as she is much more mature looking than the other two - however, the egg is a pale brown colour and she hatched from out of a white egg. The colour of her 'ears' is white so I was expecting her to lay white eggs. Is the egg from which a chick hatches not necessarily related to the colour of egg they will lay?

Thanks

The egg color that a chicken lays is due to the egg color genetics of the parents and not the color of egg she hatched from.

For example Sapphires are an F1 hybrid from White Leghorn hens and Cream Legbar roosters. The White Leghorn hens have two white egg genes and lay white eggs and the Cream Legbar rooster (if pure) has two blue egg genes. The Sapphires all hatched from white eggs but because they each have one white egg gene and one blue egg gene (blue is dominant over white) they will lay blue eggs.

In your case, if your suspected layer is the one that is actually laying the brown eggs and she hatched from a white egg, that would indicate that the father is carrying at least one of the many possible brown egg genes.

 

[lazy gardener]

I had Rose Comb Brown Leghorns in my flock several generations ago. They lay white eggs. Their daughters and grand daughters still sport varying amounts of white in their ear lobes. They received half of their genetics from my avatar roo who apparently carries blue egg, plus a recessive for brown genetics. So, those birds in first generation had ear lobes that were quite white, and they laid either a blue to varying shade of blue/green or a tan colored egg.

 

[chickens really]

I have a Brahma/ EE Rooster....Orpington Hen who lays Brown eggs...The pullet they created is an Olive egg layer...Her name is Olive.....

 

[Cheshire Chick]

Thanks all for the helpful replies. She is definitely the layer as I just collected a lovely warm pale brown egg from her! The next problem is stopping her trying to escape the garden...She's quite a character! Thanks again