Best lines to cross for Blue eggs and Green Eggs

[vanalpaca]

Want show quality stock and very healthy for cold climates.
Prefer large breeds not bantams.

First question: What breed roo do I cross with what breed hen to get best color in blue EGGS.

Second Question: Same but for eggs in GREEN.

Where do I find the folks with GREAT lines of exhibition breeds.

I am new to chickens and want to start off right with good quality as I don't know what to look for in a chicken!

Currently raising my first 18 in the brooder from Mt Healthy Hatchery from TSC. I can wait and research up to a year to figure out my breeding stock. A friend is good at hatching in her brooder but doesn't have show quality Americaunas, but show silkies.

I'm confused still about feather color names, will keep reading here! Wheaton? Lavendar? French Blue Marans and Americaunas is what I am seeing in the blue eggers.
Do I start with someone elses green eggers for hatching eggs and then what would I put over them for the roo/hen and who here has a good exhibition type bird line (I understand the EE's aren't showable??)

Confused newbie!

 

[Cattitude]

I have some Silkie-X-Ameraucanas that lay lovely mint green eggs, in the medium to large range. You would need to breed an Araucana or Ameraucana rooster with hens that lay tinted or cream colored eggs, e.g. Dorking, Faverolles, Lakenvelder, Silkie. The darker egg layer types give various shades of olive green, and the really dark brown egg layers (Marans, Welsummer) mixed with blue egg layers give some spectacular dark eggs.

For true blue eggs, you really have only one choice if you want to mix breeds and have blue genetics on both sides: Araucana-X-Ameraucana

Since the blue egg gene is dominant, you could mix Araucana or Ameraucana with a white egg layer and get blue eggs from the progeny.

Anyone with more knowledge of genetics, chime in!

 

[cpegram]

well first off to get the blue or green you are going to have to start off with a pure bred Ameraucana or araucana.....the rooster carries the blue egg gene from what i am told....the green egg is just a blue and brown egg mixed......You can get what is called easter eggers they lay blue eggs and olive eggers that lay the green eggs...easter eggers can lay blue, green, olive, pink, tan.....hope this helps i am sure someone else will step in

 

[stevin]

i have a EE that came from a Ameraucana rooster & Buff Orpington hen that gives me JUMBO green eggs just about everyday.

 

[schellie69]

There are no show quality birds that lay green eggs the only blue egg layers are Ameraucana or araucana To have SQ you will have to pick one of these breeds and get birds from breeders only. You can not get these birds from a hatchery-Hatchery sales Easter eggers. Now to get a green egg all you have to do is cross a blue egg bird to a brown egg laying bird the darker brown the egg layer is the darker the green egg will be. but again these are not SQ these would be EE's or olive egg layers. Good luck and hope this helps.

 

[dsqard]

To get blue eggs you will have to find a breeder of Ameraucana's or Araucana's. I believe they are the only two breeds in the states that have blue eggs. I know that Pips and Peeps (BYC member and President of the Ameraucanas Breeders Club) sells pure Ameraucana chicks and I know there are others on BYC that do as well. If you go to this thread there is a lot of information on the breed and a lot of pictures. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=260313 For green eggs, you cross a blue egg laying chicken and a brown egg laying chicken to get green. Pure Ameraucanas can also lay green. You can also do more research on the Araucana breed. EE's can be shown but not as a "pure bred" since they are a cross breed. Hope this helps

 

[vanalpaca]

So even though the green egg layers wouldn't necessarily be 'showable' poultry, I could use SQ Americaunas crossed with a SQ French Blue Maran?

With all the breeds available and having to do a cross, I'd want my chicks to be of good size and good health.

How do you 'MAKE' an EE chicken? I'm thinking cross similar size breeds with the blue and brown eggs but I see differing crosses in the hatching eggs auction here....

Thanks.

 

[Illia]

To make an Easter Egger, basically cross any purebred, recognized breed and color of blue egg layer to a brown, green, dark brown, white, or other breed of blue egg layer.

Marans x Ameraucana (no I in the name) makes "Olive Eggers" - hybrids that lay dark olive colored eggs.

The green of most Easter Eggers is from blue egg x brown egg.

Blue eggs though are found in most cases from true, purebred Ameraucanas and Araucanas. Both very hardy, friendly breeds.


Basically as said by others.

 

[schellie69]

Quote:
There are many different EE crosses that is what makes them EE's You could cross any brown egg layer the darker a brown egg they layer the darker green you get when crossed with a blue egg layer.

 

[wsdareme]

French Blue Marans lay brown eggs, not blue. All Marans lay dark brown eggs, with French Black Copper Marans laying the darkest.

As several posters have said, the only blue-eggers in the US are Araucanas and Ameraucanas.