- Apr 14, 2009
- 77
- 1
- 39
Yesterday I moved one of my mutt Bantam hens into a smaller temporary home with a rooster until I could get their permanent home ready. Today when I went out to look for eggs, there was a greenish colored egg in the pen with her and her new rooster. Before I'd moved her she'd been in a pen with one other white egg layer, but there was only one day in which I found two white eggs in that pen. Right now I can only think of two theories as to how the green egg came about, and both sort of have something to do with genetics.
1) The hen just started laying, and is an Easter Egger. The problem with this is that I've seen both of her parents and the hen definitely did not lay colored eggs, and the father is a Ginger Red OEGB. Is it possible that maybe the mother had the genes for colored eggs, or that the father did? This is the only hen left from that pair, so there's no way to really know that for sure as of now. She is right around 6 months.
Or, and I don't even think this is possible, could this be a random occurence?
2) The rooster I put the hen with is a crowing hen. Now, I bought this rooster at an auction, so I don't know his lineage. When he crows it is a rather pathetic sound as well.
But, I've had him for 2 or 3 weeks, and there's never been a green egg before. He also immediately started with the wing thing the second I put the hen with him.
He has spurs, but so do crowing hens. I know crowing hens are rare, but I really just don't know what's going on!
This is the hen. Ignore the bald spot on her breast, I believe she was pecked at:
Here's the rooster and hen:
And finally, the eggs. The one on the left is a Silver Duckwing OEGB egg. The middle one is the egg in question, and the one on the right is a store bought egg.
On a piece of paper:
On the kitchen table:
Any help that anyone can give is very, very appreciated!!
1) The hen just started laying, and is an Easter Egger. The problem with this is that I've seen both of her parents and the hen definitely did not lay colored eggs, and the father is a Ginger Red OEGB. Is it possible that maybe the mother had the genes for colored eggs, or that the father did? This is the only hen left from that pair, so there's no way to really know that for sure as of now. She is right around 6 months.
Or, and I don't even think this is possible, could this be a random occurence?
2) The rooster I put the hen with is a crowing hen. Now, I bought this rooster at an auction, so I don't know his lineage. When he crows it is a rather pathetic sound as well.
But, I've had him for 2 or 3 weeks, and there's never been a green egg before. He also immediately started with the wing thing the second I put the hen with him.
He has spurs, but so do crowing hens. I know crowing hens are rare, but I really just don't know what's going on!
This is the hen. Ignore the bald spot on her breast, I believe she was pecked at:
Here's the rooster and hen:
And finally, the eggs. The one on the left is a Silver Duckwing OEGB egg. The middle one is the egg in question, and the one on the right is a store bought egg.
On a piece of paper:
On the kitchen table:
Any help that anyone can give is very, very appreciated!!
Last edited:
