Please Everyone- Earlobe Color Has Nothing To Do With Egg Color

[marjiemayday]

draye, you got it right. My silver wyandotte w/white lobes eggs were white, golden wyandotte w/red-brown lobes eggs were brown and, and california grey w/pink-tan lobes eggs were pink-tan. Americaunas can't be pinned down. Thanks

 

[jenifern]

I agree. Ear lobe colour really has nothing to do with it. I had a rather lengthy and silly debate with someone buying eggs from me who insisted that the blue egg in her egg carton must have been from an ameraucana, she had them when she grew up and that was the kind that laid blue eggs. She couldn't believe that it was actually from a marans wyandotte cross. It just couldn't be

 

[enola]

A maransXwyandotte hen will not lay a blue egg. Both of those breeds lay a brown egg.

 

[jenifern]

well this is her(right). Her Mom was a Marans and her Dad was a BLRW. She's the only one I have that lays a blue egg.

 

[tadkerson]

I agree. Ear lobe colour really has nothing to do with it. I had a rather lengthy and silly debate with someone buying eggs from me who insisted that the blue egg in her egg carton must have been from an ameraucana, she had them when she grew up and that was the kind that laid blue eggs. She couldn't believe that it was actually from a marans wyandotte cross. It just couldn't be

A marans wyandotte cross should not produce a hen that would lay blue eggs. Both breeds should not carry the oocyan (blue egg shell) gene. If one of the breeds did carry the oocyan gene, then the eggs should be green and not blue. I agree with the egg buyer. The parental birds would have to carry a highly improbable set of egg color genes to produce offspring that lay a blue egg.

Read this: http://www.maranschickenclubusa.com/files/eggreview.pdf

Ear lobe color is associated with egg color because man has bred birds to produce the association. There is no genetic link between egg color and ear lobe color.

What variety was the marans hen? Did you actually do the cross because the hen does not have any secondary color patterns (lacing or false spangling): she should show some lacing if the father was laced.

I am not picking a fight just curious at how this could have happened.



Tim

 

[MK194]

While it is not the CAUSE, it is correlated.

Egg color is definitely based upon breed. For examples Leghorns lay white eggs. However, egg color is usually correlated to ear lobe color. Generally, white earlobes coincide with white eggs, blue with blue, red with brown/pink, etc. However, exceptions such as Araucanas (red earlobes, blue eggs) exist.

So no it's not the cause. But an extremely heavy correlation has been found.

I'm an Animal and Poultry Sciences and Dairy Science double major at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. I've read this in several text books and journal articles, and have heard if from different professors through out my undergraduate career.

Thanks all!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

While it is not the CAUSE, it is correlated.

Egg color is definitely based upon breed. For examples Leghorns lay white eggs. However, egg color is usually correlated to ear lobe color. Generally, white earlobes coincide with white eggs, blue with blue, red with brown/pink, etc. However, exceptions such as Araucanas (red earlobes, blue eggs) exist.

So no it's not the cause. But an extremely heavy correlation has been found.

I'm an Animal and Poultry Sciences and Dairy Science double major at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. I've read this in several text books and journal articles, and have heard if from different professors through out my undergraduate career.

Thanks all!

Egg colour is based upon breed; earlobe colour is based upon breed. However, correlating the two together is inaccurate. Yes, it is COMMON for white laying breeds to have white earlobes and brown laying breeds to lay brown eggs, but that is coincidence. There are exceptions to both. I don't know of any blue earlobed breed that lays blue eggs. The only common breed that has blue earlobes is the silkie, and they do not lay blue eggs; they lay "tinted" (pale brown/ivory) eggs.

 

[ournwsimplelife]

Egg colour is based upon breed; earlobe colour is based upon breed.  However, correlating the two together is inaccurate.  Yes, it is COMMON for white laying breeds to have white earlobes and brown laying breeds to lay brown eggs, but that is coincidence.  There are exceptions to both.  I don't know of any blue earlobed breed that lays blue eggs.  The only common breed that has blue earlobes is the silkie, and they do not lay blue eggs; they lay "tinted" (pale brown/ivory) eggs.

my friends cream Legbar has blue ears and lays the same color blue eggs. my legbar is too young yet to tell.

 

[enola]

(Crested) Cream Legbars have white ear lobes.

 

[Manningjw]

Generally speaking, most pure bred brown egg layers have been bred to have red ear lobes. White egg layers have been selectively bred to have white ear lobes. There are exceptions to the rule with a handful of pure breeds and mutts never follow the rule because the egg shell color and ear lobes are not linked to my knowledge.