Pink egg genetics?

[Akane]

Inside of my brown egg shells are not white.

 

[jeslewmazer]

I have always read that true Ameraucana eggs are always blue and Easter Eggers eggs come in shades of blue, green, tinted including pink. There is such a controversy over these breeds. With experience with other breeds the inside of an egg can range in color. Tipically a lighter shade than the outside of the shell. And some brown eggs having a white inside. Strange....I know. It seams to happen with mixes. But that is not saying much because my pure are game and hatchery Speckled Sussex. Hope this broadens you experience.

 

[SteveH]

I have to go finish the Christmas shopping soon { Merry Christmas everybody ! } but am taking time to share my finding .

The brown egg was off-white under the membrane , very nearly tan as if I was seeing the outside through the shell in certain light . The broken edge appeared white .

The white egg was also off-white under the membrane , but only slightly different than the white membane .

I tried looking from different angles , blocking the outside to stop light light from being seen through the shell , etc . All had slightly different effects but they basicly made very little difference . I laid the two halves on a white paper plate to dry overnight and as I straightened up a saw a surprise . From the angle I was in and the angle of the ceiling light [ a screw-in floresent diffused through a fixture ] BOTH shell interiors appeared to be pink except for the white membrane . I moved just a little and the effect was gone , I had to move around to find just the right spot again . This morning with more sunlight , the pinkish effect was less visible and came from a completely different angle .

I have no idea what all this means , but I'm thinking the experts are correct in that all eggs are either white or blue and pink appearence on the interior has something to due with the reflected light [ which is of course the cause of all colors but ....... ] .

 

[McSpin]

Quote:
That is not what I'm seeing. At no angle, or any different lighting does it look anything except bright pink. Side by side with a white egg, they look nothing alike. I also have several other brown-egg layers and they do not show this - just the ameraucanas and the BLRWs. The interior of the shell is a whitish color. I'm not suggesting all brown eggs have this color. I'm demonstrating that at least some do. The pink egg appears to have nothing on the outside - no pigment of any kind. The interior and exterior color are near identical. The photo shows a slight difference because the outside is dry and the inside is wet. The only thing that is whitish colored is the membrane on the inside.

 

[McSpin]

Maybe these photos will help see the color a bit clearer.

The first is a group of ameraucana eggs out of the same line. There is a blue, olive and pink one.

I took these exact eggs and broke them. I then peeled off the inner membrane and photographed part of the inside and part of the outside of each egg. The light source was natural sunlight. They were placed on a sheet of white paper and I put in a white egg for comparison.

I hope this shows that the pink egg is clearly pink inside, not white or whitish. The olive egg is clearly a different color inside vs the blue egg. This group of 12 hens throws these 3 color types and no other shade. They all fall into these distinct categories. Every egg in the photo has an inside color that is near identical.

 

[amazondoc]

I love the pics, guys. Now we need a good pic of an assortment of brown eggs for comparison!

 

[McSpin]

I have 4 other brown-egg layers. None of them look anything like this, except the ones out of the BLRWs. They are in one of the above photos. The inside of the BLRW eggs is a different shade, but not white or whitish. My Delawares, Marans and Welsummers all have distinctly dark outside shells and a whitish looking inside. Unfortunately, they are not laying at the moment so I can't show photos of those types, but I'm sure others could.

 

[ChooksChick]

This is very interesting. I have a Buttercup that lays a pinkish egg, which is nearly iridescent it's so shiny on the outside, while the other lays a plain white egg. Hers are that pinkish color through, but it's far paler than the pink you demonstrate here.

I suspect there is some other quality of tint at play and would guess it's a deposit made during the same phase as the blue color. I wonder if an Ag or Vet student has any insight to add?

 

[SteveH]

Steve , you , some others reading this tread , and I are all probably among that portion of the population that need proof of what we are told . Please do not take offence at my words , but I do not see what I would call a bright pink egg . If I were seeing the actual egg I might agree with you , but they appear pinkish to me , inside and out . The " brown " egg appears to me more flesh toned in the interior on the pics ; the edge of the broken eggs appear white to me both in the pics and a closer look of actual eggs rather than pics . I have no explanation of why the interiors are not white .

I have no blue eggs . Out of respect for the time and money that the originators spent developing the Ameraucana and getting it approoved , if I succed in gettig a flock started and get a hen laying anything other than a blue egg or slightly blue/green egg I will refer to that hen as a cull off my Ameraucana stock [ not an Ameraucana ] and continue to breed the Ameraucanas to the SOP established . I intend to work improving some things I like but is off the SOP of the Ameraucana seperately ; and name it whatever I like as long as the name is not already used to describe another chicken . IMO the Ameraucana breed should lay a blue egg and nothing other than a blue egg , have dark shanks , pea combs , beard and muffs , etc. ; and those characteristic are essential to me for use in a crossbreeding program .

Besides wondering why the interior of those eggs are obviously not white , I also wonder why all the broken edges appear white in the pics ??????? For now , I do not feel the need to challenge those who claim that eggs can only be blue or white with various tints . Nor do I feel any desire to challenge those who claim that's not the case . I do think a carton of eggs like you have with a rainbow of colors looks neat . I wouldn't pay extra for them but I think other people might LOL . I encourage you to continue your research on them and if you can get a plum color to add I'm sure everybody will want to see a pic !

 

[McSpin]

I know what you mean about proof. I'm definitely in the category of not trusting what I read. I always want to see it for myself.

Please do not take offence at my words , but I do not see what I would call a bright pink egg .

The purpose of my post was not to exclaim how pink the eggs are, just to point out that the inside of the shell is every bit as pink as the outside, which from what I've read, should not be the case. The photos are really not the best. The bright sunlight really washed out parts of the egg color and put other parts into shadow.

the edge of the broken eggs appear white to me both in the pics and a closer look of actual eggs rather than pics .

I'm very certain of this - they are not white. However, I can't get it to photograph correctly. The light must reflect in such a way that it appears that way. Even the blue egg's edge looks white and many people can verify they are not on their blue eggs. As near as I can tell, the color on every egg in the picture goes all the way through the shell.

Out of respect for the time and money that the originators spent developing the Ameraucana and getting it approoved , if I succed in gettig a flock started and get a hen laying anything other than a blue egg or slightly blue/green egg I will refer to that hen as a cull off my Ameraucana stock [ not an Ameraucana ] and continue to breed the Ameraucanas to the SOP established .

Trust me, I won't be selling them as ameraucanas. I was as shocked as anyone to see this. I bought them from an Ameraucan Breeders Club member who has a good reputation for their stock and one who shows them. The birds looks to be excellent in type and have for the 3 generations I've had them. This sudden morphing into an easter eggers caught me by surprise.

I encourage you to continue your research on them and if you can get a plum color to add I'm sure everybody will want to see a pic !

I think you misinterpret my intentions here. The point of this post has nothing to do with the colors, just the fact that it appears that the shell color is not white or blue like it's supposed to be. I really have no desire to develop or research other color possibilities. I just want to find out if this is unusual to the point where no one has seen this before or if there is some other explanation as to why the interior of the shell is the same color as the outside.​