The color of the egg

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Does the color of the egg a chick comes out of dictate the color of the eggs the hen will lay? For example, an Amerucana hen that hatched out of a blue egg will lay blue eggs, while an Amerucana hen that hatched from a green egg will lay only green eggs? Or is it totally random what comes out?

 

[hencackle]

Does the color of the egg a chick comes out of dictate the color of the eggs the hen will lay?

Not necessarily, the rooster's genetics come into play as well. If that pullet hatched from a blue egg, yet inherited a brown eggshell gene from the rooster, she will lay a green egg.​

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

So theoretically, a blue shell hatched hen and a blue shell hatched rooster will only produce blue shelled eggs that (if hens) will only produce blue shells. Correct?

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Hijack! I just noticed that you're in TN too. I"m in Murfreesboro. Where's Blountville?

 

[hencackle]

Blountville is in northeast TN, near Bristol, Johnson City & Kingsport--the TriCity area. I grew up in Nashville/Mt. Juliet, not too far from you. I'm partial to the mountains, always have been, so I LOVE east TN. (and southeast VA, western NC)

Regarding eggshell color: assuming that both the hen and rooster inherited 2 copies of the blue eggshell gene, yes, only blue eggs are possible.

If you bought "Ameraucana" or "Araucana" chicks from a feedstore, it is very, very likely you got an Easter Egger. I have a little EE hen named Willow that came from the feedstore. I was so excited when I saw her going into the nest box, I actually sat on a lawn chair beside the coop and waited for that blue or green egg.

Her genetics played a joke on me, she laid a pinkish-brown egg.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I don't have the chickies yet. I'm waiting for spring. Anxiously!!

I will likely order them from MyPetChicken or Meyer Hatchery. Both will let you order small numbers and I can't do more than about 8. There's someone on here that sells true Arucanas and Amerucanas, but she only sells straight run and I need hens.

I'm partial to mountains myownself, having grown up around them. But I like Murfreesboro and Nashville. I've been here about 10 years now and have no desire to move.

Sorry about Willow's tricky genes. Does she always lay the same color egg or does it vary from egg to egg with EEs? I sure would love green eggs and blue eggs!

CG