Olive egg question

[ClearCreekGirl]

I've got a hen that lays olive eggs, part Marans I think because of the feathers on her legs. I was wondering what color eggs her offspring would lay if she was crossed with a rooster from a white egg breed? (I almost typed "if the rooster lays white eggs, lol)
I know to have an olive egg, she has to have blue and brown egg genes. Would she pass on both colors to her offspring, or just one? Could some of the offspring lay one color, and some another color, or does she always pass on the same gene? How would the white egg rooster affect it? I'm so confused...Thanks for any help!

 

[tn_artist]

I've got a hen that lays olive eggs, part Marans I think because of the feathers on her legs. I was wondering what color eggs her offspring would lay if she was crossed with a rooster from a white egg breed? (I almost typed "if the rooster lays white eggs, lol)
I know to have an olive egg, she has to have blue and brown egg genes. Would she pass on both colors to her offspring, or just one? Could some of the offspring lay one color, and some another color, or does she always pass on the same gene? How would the white egg rooster affect it? I'm so confused...Thanks for any help!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Ok, some good reading here for you on egg color and genetics. Make sure you have a basic understanding of Mendelian inheritance and Punnet Squares before you dive in. (I promise those concepts are much easier than they sound and reading a couple wiki articles should tell you all you need to know.)

https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/genetics-mini-series/
https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2012/07/01/gms1-genetics-of-egg-color/
https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/gms2-breeding-for-blue-eggs/
https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2012/07/15/gms3-breeding-for-other-egg-colors/

The short short version is the chicks could lay any number of colors ranging from straight white, straight blue or straight brown to a muddled mix of any of the above. The only way to know for sure is by finding out what genes the hen carries.

For example, all genes are in pairs. If the hen has two copies of the blue egg gene she'll always pass one down. Since blue is dominant, the offspring will always have some sort of blue/green eggs. But she could only carry one copy, in which case the offspring have a 50-50 shot of laying blue/green or white/brown. No way to find that out easily without test breeding or genetic testing.

 

[ClearCreekGirl]

Ok, some good reading here for you on egg color and genetics. Make sure you have a basic understanding of Mendelian inheritance and Punnet Squares before you dive in. (I promise those concepts are much easier than they sound and reading a couple wiki articles should tell you all you need to know.)

https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/genetics-mini-series/
https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2012/07/01/gms1-genetics-of-egg-color/
https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/gms2-breeding-for-blue-eggs/
https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2012/07/15/gms3-breeding-for-other-egg-colors/

The short short version is the chicks could lay any number of colors ranging from straight white, straight blue or straight brown to a muddled mix of any of the above. The only way to know for sure is by finding out what genes the hen carries.

For example, all genes are in pairs. If the hen has two copies of the blue egg gene she'll always pass one down. Since blue is dominant, the offspring will always have some sort of blue/green eggs. But she could only carry one copy, in which case the offspring have a 50-50 shot of laying blue/green or white/brown. No way to find that out easily without test breeding or genetic testing.

Chocolate mouse, thanks so much! I love learning new things, especially about chickens, so I can't wait to read these! Thanks again!