Leghorn Roo x Easter Eggers Hen

[bogalusahomestead]

Hey everyone. I was wondering what I would get crossing my leghorn rooster with my Easter egger hens. They are red, he is all white. He's huge! The Easter eggers are still too young to lay but when they do, what color eggs would the offspring lay?

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are a lot of "it depends" on the feather color of the offspring. There are two ways to make an all-white bird. If the leghorn is pure for Dominant White with a black base then you can expect to get almost all white chicks, possibly with red or black leakage. Leakage is where a few random feathers may be an unexpected color. If he is Recessive White then there is no telling what color you would get. Anything could be hiding under that Recessive White. @NatJ is pretty good at this stuff and may know what a Leghorn typically is as far as Dominant or Recessive White. I think Dominant but I've been wrong before.

The leghorn will have genetics for white eggs. Your EE's could lay about any color of egg. They are not a breed, we can't even agree on a good definition of EE that everyone is happy with. Whatever color the EE's lay will determine what color their daughters lay. People like to think that is always blue or green but it is not.

 

[NatJ]

Hey everyone. I was wondering what I would get crossing my leghorn rooster with my Easter egger hens. They are red, he is all white. He's huge! The Easter eggers are still too young to lay but when they do, what color eggs would the offspring lay?

Assuming the rooster really is a Leghorn as you say, he will have the genes for white eggs. For his offspring:

If the Easter Eggers lay blue eggs, then at least half of their daughters should lay blue eggs as well. There might be some daughters that lay white, or they might all lay blue, depending on the exact genetics the Easter Eggers have.

If the Easter Eggers lay green eggs, then they may produce some daughters that lay green eggs as well as some that lay blue. At least half of their daughters should lay one of those options (green or blue.) There might be some daughters that lay white or brown, or they might all lay blue/green, depending on the exact genetics the Easter Eggers have.

If the Easter Eggers lay white eggs, all daughters will lay white.
If the Easter Eggers lay brown eggs, all daughters will lay brown or white. (I am using "brown" for all shades of brown, tan, cream, "pink," etc. Anything that is not stark white, and is not one of the blue/green shades.)

my leghorn rooster.... he is all white. He's huge!

Most White Leghorns have single combs. Your rooster has a rose comb. Rose Comb White Leghorns do exist, but they are not very common.

White Leghorns are usually small chickens. You say your rooster is huge. That is not normal for the breed.

I suspect your rooster may be a White Wyandotte, or a mix of Wyandotte and Leghorn, or something of the sort. If he is, that changes the egg color predictions a bit. Every place I predicted white eggs, expect brown instead. Every place I predicted blue eggs, expect green instead. The predictions for brown and green do not need any changes.

There are a lot of "it depends" on the feather color of the offspring. There are two ways to make an all-white bird. If the leghorn is pure for Dominant White with a black base then you can expect to get almost all white chicks, possibly with red or black leakage. Leakage is where a few random feathers may be an unexpected color. If he is Recessive White then there is no telling what color you would get. Anything could be hiding under that Recessive White. @NatJ is pretty good at this stuff and may know what a Leghorn typically is as far as Dominant or Recessive White. I think Dominant but I've been wrong before.

White Leghorns are usually Dominant White, so chicks would probably all be white, possibly with bits of other-color leakage (as you predicted.)

But if the rooster is not actually a White Leghorn, then I don't know what to predict (could be Dominant White, or recessive white, or both.)