making easter eggers...

[pattgal]

What happens when you cross an easter egger rooster with a red hen, leghorn or anything else
Can I assume I will get a green egger as a result?

 

[Terri O]

Nope--it is not that easy. I believe if you have a hen that lays BLUE eggs and you cross it with a brown egg laying type roo you will get green. But there is a whole science of it and I am sure someone will come on and give you the whole spiel or at least diredt you to where you can find out how to do it. Good luck! TErri O

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm not real good at egg color genetics but from what I understand there are several different genes that affect the final egg color. I'm not sure which are dominant. A lot of Easter Eggers have mixed genetics too, so that makes it even harder.

I've heard that all egg shells are basically blue or white to start with, then some hens add a brown coloring on top of that basic egg shell color to give a final color. There are a lot of differences in that brown, from a pale creamy color to the chocolate brown of a good Maran. So if you start with a blue base color and add:

No brown - you get a blue egg
Light brown - you get a green egg
Dark brown - you get an olive green color

If you start with a white base color and add:

No brown - you get a white egg
Light brown - you get a light brown egg
Dark brown - you get a dark brown egg.

I've paid attention to the inside egg shell color after removing that membrane. My green eggs are really blue underneath. My brown eggs are white inside, but the actual shade of white seems to vary a lot. Some of that white underneath I'd really call cream colored or light brown. My darker brown eggs are almost a pure white underneath though, not creamy colored at all.

Not much help, I know, but especially with possible mixed genetics on the EE rooster, I'm not sure there is a clear answer. I think you can only try it and that you will probably get some blue or green eggs. Maybe if the rooster is pure for blue eggs you can get a guarantee of either blue or green eggs.

 

[pattgal]

Quote:
So when you say using a blue egg as a base color you mean the rooster
and when you say add a brown egg you mean the hen
did I get that right?

I have an easter egger roo and easter egger hens, leghorn hen, red hens, and cuckoo marans hens. So I could get a full range of colored eggs in there

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm saying the rooster might or might not contribute a blue egg gene. Since he possibly has split genetics, he might contribute the blue egg genes to some matings and not to others.

Easter Eggers are not a breed with pure genetics. They are merely a chicken that may have the blue egg gene. And since these genes are paired up, he may have one blue egg gene and one white egg gene. He may have two blues or he may have two whites. With an Easter Egger, you never know for sure what they will contribute.

You could get a full range of colors from that rooster and those hens. But then, they could all be white or brown. You just do not know. I'd personally give it a try though.

 

[pattgal]

yeah...I realized it was basically a mutt. I didn't know about the split genes though. it makes sense
So I won't be able to sell them as true easter eggers until after they start laying essentially. I have a couple that are from December's hatch

the EE X Leghorn is black and white rumpless (is bigger then the rest so I'm thinking its a rooster)
the first EE X EE is black but both of the parents are black
the second EE X EE hen is all white rumpless
one EE X Red hen turned out completely red
the third EE X Red hen is white with a red chest

I'm curious too see what they lay, providing that they are indeed hens

 

[schellie69]

With EE's it hard to know what genes they carry. I have been wanting to get some Ameracuana's not for breeding but to breed to another rooster to get olive egg layers I need to work on that. I think you would have to wait until they lay to know what your rooster genes might be. Now I have 3 EE hens that lay blue eggs, I am breeding them to my rooster who came from a brown egg now their offspring should lay green eggs. but the neat thing is my rooster is a Cochin which means he has feathered leg now will the babies have muffs and feathered legs or not that is what I want to find out. I would say go for it and see what happens.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some people might sell them as EE's but I would not unless both parents were EE's. Any that you hatch out of green eggs can be considered EE's though.

That split gene is why an EE might lay blue, green, pink or some shade of brown or even a white egg.

I got some green eggs from another local member of this forum and hatched out four pullets. Only one laid green eggs, although two of the others had the pea comb and muffs. Their eggs were pinkish. The possible fathers were not EE's.

This one lays green eggs.

This one does not. From appearance, I would have expected the opposite.

 

[pattgal]

I need an incubator