The EE braggers thread!!!

[SunnyDawn]

Brown egg color is passed on by genetics (not one gene but 12 genes alone for just brown eggs) it just is not found throughout the shell of the egg but is deposited on the egg after it is formed. Brown genes are not dominate but recessive genes found in both parents make for interesting results when breeding EEs or ameraucanas. All eggs are really white in a sense. Shells are composed mostly of calcium carbonate, which is white. Blue color happens during egg formation and is caused by the pigment oocyanin, which is a byproduct of bile formation and the color is present throughout the eggshell because this pigment is present during egg formation. Brown color coating on a blue egg will give you green. The super dark brown of a Marans' egg is "sprayed" on by glands as it is laid.

Genetics is a very time consuming field of study but also fascinating. I taught science and know quite a bit more than the "average Joe" but my knowledge barely scratches the surface (maybe just nudges it a little

). I can say though, that genetics are responsible for every variation found in all living things!

 

[flower]

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Where you live sounds like the foothills of the Ozarks . Yes it is in my yard along with many, many others. The name of it is Copatonic and it is fragrant as are severl others that I have.

I did not realize that one of your hens turned out to be a rooster. So if a hen goes broody you can keep you flock going.

 

[flower]

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Sunny you know the eggs that Orps and Dominiques lay right, so to me against my welsummer eggs they look pink. I had a bantam briefly who was advertised as a blue egg layer/EE but she laid a pale beige egg. She also had a pea comb and was very sweet but I dog scared her into a very tight spot and she died. Well I do have a question about white colored eggs. Crossing a white egg layer with a welsummer, which would be dominate. Also since blue colored is genetic and dominate would the offspring just lay a more pale blue egg as you might have hinted in trying to adjust the olive egg color ?

 

[SunnyDawn]

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Sunny you know the eggs that Orps and Dominiques lay right, so to me against my welsummer eggs they look pink. I had a bantam briefly who was advertised as a blue egg layer/EE but she laid a pale beige egg. She also had a pea comb and was very sweet but I dog scared her into a very tight spot and she died. Well I do have a question about white colored eggs. Crossing a white egg layer with a welsummer, which would be dominate. Also since blue colored is genetic and dominate would the offspring just lay a more pale blue egg as you might have hinted in trying to adjust the olive egg color ?

So sorry to hear your hen was frightened to death!

So you already know that EEs can lay any color of egg.
Lightening wellies eggs! Never heard of such a thing!

Hmm... Some mass producers of eggs say that leghorns lay not just a white egg, meaning not just an egg devoid of color, but that they lay an egg that is colored white, making the egg even whiter than it would be naturally from calcium carbonate but I could not find any articles on genetics that backed this up. Anybody else know of any studies done on the "whiteness" of production layers/leghorns and how much they could lighten a brown egg? Since the brown color is laid on after the egg is formed the genetics here are really affecting the glands in the brown egg layer and it has nothing to do with the shell itself. Since white layers are often used to lighten a greenish egg to blue white does dilute brown. I just have no idea how much it would lighten it and if you used a leghorn vs, say, an ancona would it lighten it even more? Usually with welsummers folks are trying to do the exact opposite.

I would be thrilled if my wellies laid an even darker egg than they do.

So yes, the answer to your second question is white layers will dilute the brown in green eggs and it is done often. A white egg layer will be used to try to lighten up the green eggs from an EE or an ameraucana that is not laying a blue enough egg. Since blue is dominate over white the blue color should remain and the brown should be diluted some. That is why many ameraucana breeders feel that the super pale blue (almost white) egg is the desired shade. At that point they have bred out almost all of the brown pigment in their birds. But as I stated before since the breed will always carry the recessive gene for "non-blue" eggs, undesired colors could crop up further down the road. That's why I say it is an uphill battle. It's much easier to just decide to love your green egg layers.

 

[flower]

Sunny, I am not intentionally trying to lighten a wellsummer or any other eggs. The question was hypothetical but I do happen to have had a welsummer crossed with a brabanter so I curious to see what the offsprings will look like and if hens what color the eggs will be. I bet the size will be large as my wellie girls do make large eggs. I did want white eggs in my basket but not a rooster from the white layer breeds but that is how it worked since the roosters were so pretty. They are gone now and I would rather have a blue or brown rooster.
How many birds and breeds do you have ?

 

[crash0330]

Hi, I was looking to expand my EE flock anybody in southern california has any EE for sale?

 

[puredelite]

SunnyDawn, I like other's are greatly impressed and highly appreciative of you knowledge of genetics pertaining to egg colors and other topics as well. I never knew until recently to use a white egg laying breed to get back to blue eggs from green egg layers. Most of the white egg breeds that I am familiar with have a single type comb so it seems that by using them in a breeding program would just present another problem of losing the pea comb. Maybe would be better to use a breed with a rose comb or butter-cup comb (Just guessing) Fortunately I have over the years bred my EE's to produce only blue eggs. As an experiment this year I have an Ameraucana hen that is producing a very nice darker shade of blue eggs and will be using my EE roo on her to try and darken the shade of blue in my EE's next generation. Thank you much for all of your input on this thread!

 

[Duramaxgirl]

Hello EE people! I have a question thats propably been asked 100 times... but what breed cross is the best for egg laying and egg size? I have 2 purebred Ameraucanas and I love them! But... I only get a few beautiful blue eggs a week from them and they are almost always pewee or small on my egg scale. So I want a chicken that lays bigger eggs at about everyday or everyother day... thanks!

 

[phasianidae]

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Do you mean something to cross to you Ameraucanas to make EEs? My EEs lay very large eggs 6 days a week in the summer.

 

[TNBarnQueen]

I was so happy to find this thread!! I love my EEs. One lays a light blue and one a mint green but it seems as she ages it is getting bluer. I have a beautiful Welsummer/EE roo. I was told that with this mix I would get olive eggers..is this true?? Would love to have some of those. I have 2 chicks about 4 weeks old from them right now. Hoping for hens!

I have 8 in the bator from them to hatch out on the 26th. I also have a chick from this roo and my Blue Andalusians. Wondering what I will get there.

Will post pics when I can get some. Just had both knees reconstructed in Dec...but fell on them Wed so I am grounded cause I wasn't suppose to be out alone..hehe But it is kinda nice to have an escort!

I love working with genetics so will be on here learning all I can!! I am a bit of a mad scientist I guess..but it is soooo much fun seeing what you can get.