Breeding true breeding Moss Eggers

[RobG7aChattTN]

Those look a lot like the eggs from the “Olive Eggers” that I made many years ago using Cream Legbar and Black-Copper Marans. The F1 cross makes a fantastic dark olive green egg. If you wanted to make a breed that consistently laid Olive Green eggs the easiest way would be to start with a line of very dark Black-Copper Marans and introduce the blue egg gene. The F1s would be great but once you go to F2 you’d lose a lot of those dark egg genes. All you’d have to do is keep backcrossing to Marans and only hatch the darkest green eggs and after several generations you’d get back to having all those dark brown egg genes. Then you’d need to inbreed you’d potential olive-egg birds to try and get the blue egg gene homozygous in a few birds. You could either test breed those birds or get them genetically tested (cheaper than you’d think and available in the US) to find birds that were homozygous for the blue egg gene. Then of course only use those birds in your breeding flock.

 

[Tstraub]

I just stumbled on this thread and will love to follow along. Those are some great looking eggs I wish I knew enough to help. Sometimes I wonder how many breeders are really putting in the time to get their lines stabilized and actually breeding true versus how many just throw a bunch of birds in a cage then as soon as they get an interesting color they call it some new name and try to find a market

I’m glad to see you putting in the research with a goal in mind. All of the local “breeders” that I know of around here seem to just have a mixed flock of hens with whatever rooster they happened to get by accident when them were buying pullets. They feed them the cheapest food they can find. Then when they see what true breeders charge for hatching eggs and think their eggs are worth a similar price as long as they don’t clean or refrigerate them they magically turn into quality hatching eggs.

 

[TexasBlues]

Well like they say ‘don’t count your chicks til they hatch’
The chick was a beautiful charcoal gray color, but out of all of those mixed colored eggs I ended losing this one. When they were just a few weeks old, I lost him and 4 marans chicks in this last group.
I’m guessing they got through the chain link fence by the alley and got taken by predators. I never saw any signs of them that’s why I’ve ended up with only 3 Marans pullets out of 9 chicks. After that I locked them up in a big 10x 10 playpen until they couldn’t fit through the chain link. I was definitely disappointed in losing that chick from the moss egg.

 

[TexasBlues]

Those look a lot like the eggs from the “Olive Eggers” that I made many years ago using Cream Legbar and Black-Copper Marans. The F1 cross makes a fantastic dark olive green egg. If you wanted to make a breed that consistently laid Olive Green eggs the easiest way would be to start with a line of very dark Black-Copper Marans and introduce the blue egg gene. The F1s would be great but once you go to F2 you’d lose a lot of those dark egg genes. All you’d have to do is keep backcrossing to Marans and only hatch the darkest green eggs and after several generations you’d get back to having all those dark brown egg genes. Then you’d need to inbreed you’d potential olive-egg birds to try and get the blue egg gene homozygous in a few birds. You could either test breed those birds or get them genetically tested (cheaper than you’d think and available in the US) to find birds that were homozygous for the blue egg gene. Then of course only use those birds in your breeding flock.
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You’re right about backcrossing to Marans will get those deep olives and golden type eggs. There would be ~50% of culls along the way though for the pullets not carrying the blue gene. It would be a challenge to stabilize it.

 

[Tstraub]

I have read that there is some gene linking between pea combs and blue egg gene but it’s not a 100% link and it requires you to set things up first and I don’t have enough knowledge to say exactly how but if you google for blue egg pea comb link you’ll find some information

You could save a lot of feed and housing by not keeping straight combed chicks. They could be sold off cheap to someone wanting straight run barnyard mixes or maybe someone looking for day old chicks to feed snakes.

 

[wrathsfarm]

I have read that there is some gene linking between pea combs and blue egg gene but it’s not a 100% link and it requires you to set things up first and I don’t have enough knowledge to say exactly how but if you google for blue egg pea comb link you’ll find some information

You could save a lot of feed and housing by not keeping straight combed chicks. They could be sold off cheap to someone wanting straight run barnyard mixes or maybe someone looking for day old chicks to feed snakes.

Are you saying, If crossing Marans straight to EE Pea produces straight comb they won't lay Olives?
Curious here as all chicks that's hatched from that cross have been straight comb.

 

[TexasBlues]

I would think that the f1 would all be pea comb and then the backcross to marans would have ~50% single combs.
F2 olive eggers would be more like 25% single comb

 

[TexasBlues]

Are you saying, If crossing Marans straight to EE Pea produces straight comb they won't lay Olives?
Curious here as all chicks that's hatched from that cross have been straight comb.

The f1 from your EE pea comb x straight comb marans have single combs?

 

[wrathsfarm]

The f1 from your EE pea comb x straight comb marans have single combs?

Yes. All 3....The 3 males from last year's hatch did also.

Horrible comb pic...hang on.

 

[Tstraub]

I think the EE has to have one copy of the blue gene and one copy of the pea comb gene. Then something like 90%of pea comb offspring will also have the blue gene. Is not a perfect link and it requires specific genes for the breeders. I see lots of conflicting info probably because of all the qualifiers that need to happen. But if done correctly it could save time and money on grow outs.

The good part is all mistakes are still edible