Truth or Myth: rooster can affect egg color

[jordan4911]

So, I've always thought and been told that eggs color is completely based on breed. White chickens lay white eggs, brown chickens different shades of brown eggs, so on and so forth...
Not long ago I saw a post about an egg and the op said the color was from their such and such a rooster covering such and such a hen. Truth or myth?
I'm starting to think I'm crazy cuz I have a copper maran rooster in with white leghorn hens and my white hens are constantly in the nesting boxes but I'm only getting one white egg. The other eggs are a very light cream. I do have some wyandottes and RIRs as well but my wyandotte are still giving me pulley eggs and my others give me much darker eggs. Am I crazy or is one of my chickens messing with my head?

 

[XxMingirlxX]

The colour of the plumage in no way affects egg colour.

Egg colour, like all genes, is dependant on both parents. If a rooster has a gene for a dark brown egg and the hen laid white eggs, their chicks would lay an egg colour in between

However, having a rooster in with laying hens does not affect their egg colour.

 

[sourland]

So, I've always thought and been told that eggs color is completely based on breed. White chickens lay white eggs, brown chickens different shades of brown eggs, so on and so forth...
Not long ago I saw a post about an egg and the op said the color was from their such and such a rooster covering such and such a hen.

I believe that they were referring to eggs from any female offspring of such a mating. A rooster can not 'change' the color of a hen's eggs by mating her.

 

[FlyWheel]

The colour of the plumage in no way affects egg colour.

Egg colour, like all genes, is dependant on both parents. If a rooster has a gene for a dark brown egg and the hen laid white eggs, their chicks would lay an egg colour in between

However, having a rooster in with laying hens does not affect their egg colour.

Allow me to add, it WILL affect the color of the egg that will be layed by the hen that hatches though.

 

[jordan4911]

I realize that any pullet hatched from a mixed breed will lay her own "special" egg color. But a straight white leghorn hen (which is what I have) should lay white eggs. And to make me think I'm even crazier I now KNOW she is not laying white eggs. I locked 4 hens up today to see who all was laying to start culling out the non-layers. Two wyandotte pullets (just wanted to see if they were laying yet or not), RIR hen and a white leghorn hen. I got 4 brown eggs! Bottom left egg is the one the leghorn was on this morning, that I thought she booted another hen off of.

 

[rebrascora]

If your leghorn laid a tinted egg instead of a white one, then the logical explanation is that she is not a pure leghorn.

 

[sourland]

If your leghorn laid a tinted egg instead of a white one, then the logical explanation is that she is not a pure leghorn.

Most likely your 'leghorn' is a white rock. Without seeing a picture, I am willing to bet that her earlobes are red rather than white.

 

[jordan4911]

Went out and checked. Penny (white hen-brown eggs) has red earlobes. Pud (white hen) has white earlobes. My other 4 "leghorns" also have red earlobes. So much for believing the guy at the store