just checking my blue-green egg layer knowledge--anything i'm missing?

[haTHOR]

trying to pick b-g egg layers from a flock of "auracanas" (i know, i know...haven't seen them yet, but they are likely EEs).

if they are truly just EEs, i want to pick as best i can the ones likely to produce b-g eggs. hands-off kind of owner says, yeah, some of them are laying blue eggs but i'm not sure which ones. so i need to look at the hens with a discriminating eye...

i know to look for the pea comb...what else?

 

[haTHOR]

i recently read that slate legs aren't a good indicator as i had previously thought. thoughts on this?

 

[Illia]

I really don't know what to say on this, as EE's are often quite unpredictable. I think the best thing to do is as for each or the percentage of the hen's egg color. My only EE hen has slate legs and she lays a brown egg, but I also hear ear color tells some too. (her ears are an odd pink color with a slight blue hint) and she also does not have a pea comb, so that may be another thing telling me she won't give me colored eggs.

I think your best bet is to ask for a look on his stock. The eggs in particular. Some people breed EE's for the blue-green in specific, and some people have a lot of brown layers.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Neither ear nor leg colour have ANY bearing on egg colour. Peacomb usually does.

The depth of colour of the egg wanes as the hen completes a laying cycle. When she restarts after a broody spell or molt or ..., the eggs will be darker. So getting a new flock and watching the depth of colour that each hen lays may not tell you the true stor--could be at the end of a cycle or just beginning one.

Blue vs green is largely in the eye of the beholder. I have NEVER seen a blue egg that has no green in its hue--go to Home Depot or a paint store and look at paint chips--most of the blues have some amount of either green or red in them. There are very few that are pure blue.

Now the olive eggs are different in that they have a layer of brown pigment deposited over the blue eggshell. Some folks like the colour. I personally find it very unappealing.

Anyways, once you have your hens and they are laying, select which to keep based upon the hues you like. But give them a full season to determine whether the depth of colour is to your satisfaction.