Egg colour genetics and legbar crosses

[ReoChicks]

Hi guys! I have a stunning group of legbars that we love and a beautiful legbar rooster. We are addicts so we were never going to get away with just legbars, we have almost a dozen other breeds of hens and i excuse it all with my quest for different coloured eggs.
My legbar x brahma pullets are laying now and they are laying a very bland cream coloured egg. I thought blue was dominant?! My legbars have all always layed blue eggs, the blue egg genetic is definitely there. Shouldnt first generation legbar xs lay a coloured egg?!
I have crossed him over the girls again this season and have hatched out a few other crosses, marans, leghorn, wynadotte, duccle, plymouth rock and isabrown, im desperately hoping they will lay coloured eggs!
Photo is brahma x legbar girl (the terribly boring layers)

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Yeah, at least one of your legbars is impure for the blue egg shell gene.

 

[ReoChicks]

Hi guys! I have a stunning group of legbars that we love and a beautiful legbar rooster. We are addicts so we were never going to get away with just legbars, we have almost a dozen other breeds of hens and i excuse it all with my quest for different coloured eggs.
My legbar x brahma pullets are laying now and they are laying a very bland cream coloured egg. I thought blue was dominant?! My legbars have all always layed blue eggs, the blue egg genetic is definitely there. Shouldnt first generation legbar xs lay a coloured egg?!
I have crossed him over the girls again this season and have hatched out a few other crosses, marans, leghorn, wynadotte, duccle, plymouth rock and isabrown, im desperately hoping they will lay coloured eggs!
Photo is brahma x legbar girl (the terribly boring layers)View attachment 3668351

That sucks! Both my brahma x girls lay boring eggs and every legbar girl ive ever had laid blue, how unlucky!

 

[SourRoses]

That sucks! Both my brahma x girls lay boring eggs and every legbar girl ive ever had laid blue, how unlucky!

It takes 2 copies of the blue egg gene to be sure the offspring will get 1 copy. Otherwise, it's a 50/50 chance. Heterozygous (1 copy) also makes for a lighter blue than homozygous (2 copies). So, if you pick the deepest blue eggs to set, you have a better chance. Although they could all be hetero, it happens with Legbars and other blue layers when the breeding selection is not careful. You can also have them DNA tested to see who has 1 or 2 copies, including any males you want to use.

 

[Jojosine]

After waiting for several months, I'm so excited to find little, green eggs! All Harvey's daughters are laying green eggs. He is a pure blood Cream Legbar and mated with Light Sussex and Daisybelles to produce these lovely brown and black green egg laying hybrids.
(egg on left is just for comparison)