The EE braggers thread!!!

[DeannaOR]

Technically any bird that has the blue egg gene is an EE (except for true Ameraucanas and Araucanas of course).

So the roo has two copies of the brown egg gene and the EE hen has two copies of the blue...the offspring gets one of each? Is blue dominant?

 

[Wishing4Wings]

So the roo has two copies of the brown egg gene and the EE hen has two copies of the blue...the offspring gets one of each? Is blue dominant?

There are more genes involved in egg color. The blue egg gene is dominant over the white egg gene which colors the shell itself. Brown is more of a coating over white or blue shells that will make brown/tan and green/olive eggs. Some chickens have the brown gene, some don't. Looking at the inside of the shell, you can see the original color before the brown is added toward the end of the process. Don't know if brown has a counterpart gene, or just the absence of brown.

So by your example of a double brown roo and double blue hen, I think each chick will have brown over blue shells resulting in green eggs. Not an expert by any means, but I've been curious about this also and have read a ton!

 

[DeannaOR]

There are more genes involved in egg color. The blue egg gene is dominant over the white egg gene which colors the shell itself. Brown is more of a coating over white or blue shells that will make brown/tan and green/olive eggs. Some chickens have the brown gene, some don't. Looking at the inside of the shell, you can see the original color before the brown is added toward the end of the process. Don't know if brown has a counterpart gene, or just the absence of brown.

So by your example of a double brown roo and double blue hen, I think each chick will have brown over blue shells resulting in green eggs. Not an expert by any means, but I've been curious about this also and have read a ton!

Thank you..I'm very curious too. I have a couple mixed chicks from my Lemon Cuckoo Orpington roo over a Buttercup hen, and a couple of the same roo over an EE hen. I'm not sure about the EE's parentage. I also have some Olive egger cockerels and pullets....trying to think ahead lol. This seems a bit like Chess...planning moves way in advance. I suck at Chess!
I only hatched the mixes out because I knew he was breeding those two hens and their eggs were easy to tell from the rest and I wanted to check his fertility. Now I have a couple mixes and I am curious about the color eggs they will lay.

More reading to do I guess.

 

[GhostRider65]

Ok this question is kind of off the wall but at about how many weeks does an EE start laying and when do chickens normally wait til the next year to start laying? (Meaning what month do they usually stop or wait before laying eggs?)

I had babies born May 15th, this year and 1 of them is laying already as of today, my EE last year took about 17 weeks.....

 

[GhostRider65]

Found them! 

My roo Candy Cane please excuse his molt


Here's a white cockerel (he is about the same age in this pic as the other 2 are now)

Chicklet......... what breeds are your roo, as in do you know what his mom and dad are? I have a good friend who has a rooster that looks almost like CC , even the super long spurs... except he has a definate barred gene as well, but colors are so similar.....LOL he was told it was a GLW........which it most determinately is not...... I guessed a EE cross, because I have seen quite a few EE roo's with this coloring

so if I can find a picture of him from our last visit , I will post it to see what you all think...........he looks almost exactly like this rooster.........

 

[aoxa]

There are more genes involved in egg color. The blue egg gene is dominant over the white egg gene which colors the shell itself. Brown is more of a coating over white or blue shells that will make brown/tan and green/olive eggs. Some chickens have the brown gene, some don't. Looking at the inside of the shell, you can see the original color before the brown is added toward the end of the process. Don't know if brown has a counterpart gene, or just the absence of brown.

So by your example of a double brown roo and double blue hen, I think each chick will have brown over blue shells resulting in green eggs.  Not an expert by any means, but I've been curious about this also and have read a ton!

That's exactly my thoughts as well. Blue + brown usually results in green or brown eggs. I haven't had any experience with these mixes resulting in blue eggs.

However, all of my EEs lay a very nice blue egg. Even better blue than my pure Ameraucana bantams. Who knows what they have in their parentage.

 

[littlechicklet]

Chicklet......... what breeds are your roo, as in do you know what his mom and dad are? I have a good friend who has a rooster that looks almost like CC , even the super long spurs... except he has a definate barred gene as well, but colors are so similar.....LOL he was told it was a GLW........which it most determinately is not...... I guessed a EE cross, because I have seen quite a few EE roo's with this coloring
so if I can find a picture of him from our last visit , I will post it to see what you all think...........he looks almost exactly like this rooster.........

Sorry but I do not have any idea. The guy we got him from said they came Murray McMurray hatchery. We have him 5 years or more. He is a sweetheart. The young cockerel from him has his personality so far.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Thank you..I'm very curious too. I have a couple mixed chicks from my Lemon Cuckoo Orpington roo over a Buttercup hen, and a couple of the same roo over an EE hen. I'm not sure about the EE's parentage. I also have some Olive egger cockerels and pullets....trying to think ahead lol. This seems a bit like Chess...planning moves way in advance. I suck at Chess!
I only hatched the mixes out because I knew he was breeding those two hens and their eggs were easy to tell from the rest and I wanted to check his fertility. Now I have a couple mixes and I am curious about the color eggs they will lay.

More reading to do I guess.

If you are choosing which birds to keep for breeding, look for the ones with pea combs, as they are more likely to carry the blue egg gene (though not 100%). For EEs/Ameraucanas, the genes for pea comb and blue egg lie really close together on the chromosome, and are usually inherited together.

The earlobes can help determine if they have the brown egg gene (also not 100%). In many of the common breeds, red earlobes mean brown eggs and white earlobes lay white eggs. My EE has white lobes and she doesn't have any brown coating on her blueish eggs. My neighbor's EEs are the same color as my girl, but have red earlobes and lay green eggs.

Hope you can post pics when your pullets lay!

 

[cmitchell]

HERE IS MY EE ROO...AHAB.

 

[aoxa]

HERE IS MY EE ROO...AHAB.

WOW. He has some massive breasts on him!

Nice looking boy