what color eggs do mix chickens lay?

[MysteryChik]

Granny (wheaten OEG) lays off whitish eggs, but she has some offspring whose fathers are PBR and trying to figure out what color their eggs should be? we have some pure PBR hens who lay obviously brown eggs. (three of those) then we have 2 OEG/PBR mixes (obviously have the barred look) and then we have two others, that we arent sure what they're mixed with. Their mama is Granny but not sure about daddy bc they don't look like mama. They free range at times and we found a secret hiding spot for eggs. Granny isnt free ranging, for she has a 8 babies she taking care of right now.. there were six eggs, five of which were different shades of brown, and then one whitish color egg. trying to figure out which hens are laying there. we know 2/3 of our PBR pure are laying in the nesting boxes.. we see them there daily. how do you tell what color egg each is laying without physically seeing them lay?

 

[Ridgerunner]

With that mix, they will lay some shade of brown or off-white but there is no telling what the actual shade will be. There are a lot of different genes that affect the shade of brown on an egg. Some are dominant, some are recessive, while some only have an effect if another certain gene is present. One gene is sex linked, a rooster can give it to his daughters but a hen cannot give it to her daughters. There is even a gene that can sort of bleach out the brown so you get a white or almost white egg although the genetics are there for a dark brown egg. Most brown coloring is laid on last on the surface of the egg, if you break open and egg and remove the membrane, then look at the inside of a brown egg you will often see white. But there is another gene that can tint the entire thickness of the shell. It can get complicated.

Normally you will get an egg somewhere between the shade that the mother laid and the father hatched from, but sometimes you can get a real surprise. It just depends on what genes are present and how they mix together.