Keeping color in Easter egger eggs

[Nimueh Alene]

how do you keep strong color in your Easter Egger eggs do you need an Americana rooster or can you continue just breeding Easter Eggers together or will that cause the color to fade right now I'm getting beautiful blue and green eggs

 

[sourland]

Utilizing a true Ameraucana from a very blue egg producing line would help for sure.

 

[lazy gardener]

I actually prefer the deeper aqua color produced by many EE. Understanding how the color is inherited and how various colors are produced will help you to breed forward to keep your nice colors. Blue egg color is dominant. White is not. An egg is either white or blue, other colors occur when the hen overlays a layer of brown. (the amount of brown pigment she produces will vary according to her breed and the length of time she has been in her laying cycle.) This is the absolute basic of egg color. However, there are other variables. My EE roo carries the blue egg gene. But, I'm finding that my egg basket over successive generations only carries the blue egg gene 50% of the time. The hens are a mix of home bred EE, and brown egg layers. So, I'm guessing he carries a recessive for brown. Any genetics experts, feel free to chime in here.

 

[debid]

Hatcheries have been "just breeding EEs together" for decades. They select for egg color and production. You could do the same. It's a rare hatchery EE that misses the blue shell boat. As LG experienced, crossing in other brown or white layers would greatly increase the incidence of brown and white layers in your offspring. This is why hatcheries don't simply cross Ameraucanas with other good layers to make their EEs. The genetic variability of EEs is great enough that you should not need to do so.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'd kind of like to know how to get those bright colors. Actually I do know, keep the brown contribution to a minimum. Years ago I had a hen that laid a bright green egg, beautiful. But I lost her in a dog attack before I could hatch any of her eggs. I get some nice bright blue eggs now but most of them have so much brown in them that they are dull for my tastes. Some people love them that dull color and strive for it but I prefer the bright colors.

LG got the genetics right. I'll expand a bit. There are two parts to egg shell color. One is that at one gene pair you have genes that determine if the base egg shell color will be blue or white. Blue is dominant so if just one of those two genes are blue the shell color will be base blue. Brown or green eggs is just brown laid on top of the base color. There are a lot of different genes that contribute to the shade of brown, that's why you get such a wide range of brown or green eggs. And why some green eggs are brighter and some are duller. This might help illustrate it.

Base blue + no brown = blue
Base blue + brown = green
Base white + no brown = white
Base white + brown = brown

That's the simplistic version. We can go into more detail and make it more complicated if you wish. That should serve your purposes.

For the base color we are talking about one gene pair. The nomenclature for this gene is that capital O stands for the blue egg shell gene and small o stands for white. These genes are passed down randomly to offspring so you have all kinds of possible combinations. Both parents contribute genes to this.

If either parent is pure for the blue egg gene, has OO at that gene pair on the DNA, the pullets will lay a blue or green egg. If both parents are split for those genes at that gene pair, they both have Oo, you have several possible combinations for the offspring. About 1/4 will be OO and about 1/2 will be Oo so 3/4 will lay blue or green eggs. But 1/4 will be oo and lay white or brown eggs. If you hatch enough chicks those odds hold pretty well but if you only hatch a few you can get some really different results.

If one parent is Oo and the other is oo about half the pullets will lay blue or green eggs and half will lay white or brown eggs.

To get bright eggs you want to minimize the brown. A true Ameraucana rooster or hen will be pure blue, no brown. A chicken from a white egg breed will not contribute any brown but more of the eggs may be white or brown instead of blue or green.

I'm guessing your EE's are hatchery birds. You don't know what color genetics are in those birds. You might be able to use an EE rooster from them and continue to get those bright colors. Roosters don't lay eggs, you just don't know what egg shell color genetics he may be contributing. You may be lucky and he isn't contributing much brown. In your situation I'd probably go that route but only hatch the brightest eggs.

Good luck. Wish I could be more helpful but you just don't know what will happen with EE's until the pullets start laying eggs.

 

[lazy gardener]

Thanks, I figured you'd come along and flesh out the details.

 

[MINDANAO DAVE]

I'd kind of like to know how to get those bright colors. Actually I do know, keep the brown contribution to a minimum. Years ago I had a hen that laid a bright green egg, beautiful. But I lost her in a dog attack before I could hatch any of her eggs. I get some nice bright blue eggs now but most of them have so much brown in them that they are dull for my tastes. Some people love them that dull color and strive for it but I prefer the bright colors.

LG got the genetics right. I'll expand a bit. There are two parts to egg shell color. One is that at one gene pair you have genes that determine if the base egg shell color will be blue or white. Blue is dominant so if just one of those two genes are blue the shell color will be base blue. Brown or green eggs is just brown laid on top of the base color. There are a lot of different genes that contribute to the shade of brown, that's why you get such a wide range of brown or green eggs. And why some green eggs are brighter and some are duller. This might help illustrate it.

Base blue + no brown = blue
Base blue + brown = green
Base white + no brown = white
Base white + brown = brown

That's the simplistic version. We can go into more detail and make it more complicated if you wish. That should serve your purposes.

For the base color we are talking about one gene pair. The nomenclature for this gene is that capital O stands for the blue egg shell gene and small o stands for white. These genes are passed down randomly to offspring so you have all kinds of possible combinations. Both parents contribute genes to this.

If either parent is pure for the blue egg gene, has OO at that gene pair on the DNA, the pullets will lay a blue or green egg. If both parents are split for those genes at that gene pair, they both have Oo, you have several possible combinations for the offspring. About 1/4 will be OO and about 1/2 will be Oo so 3/4 will lay blue or green eggs. But 1/4 will be oo and lay white or brown eggs. If you hatch enough chicks those odds hold pretty well but if you only hatch a few you can get some really different results.

If one parent is Oo and the other is oo about half the pullets will lay blue or green eggs and half will lay white or brown eggs.

To get bright eggs you want to minimize the brown. A true Ameraucana rooster or hen will be pure blue, no brown. A chicken from a white egg breed will not contribute any brown but more of the eggs may be white or brown instead of blue or green.

I'm guessing your EE's are hatchery birds. You don't know what color genetics are in those birds. You might be able to use an EE rooster from them and continue to get those bright colors. Roosters don't lay eggs, you just don't know what egg shell color genetics he may be contributing. You may be lucky and he isn't contributing much brown. In your situation I'd probably go that route but only hatch the brightest eggs.

Good luck. Wish I could be more helpful but you just don't know what will happen with EE's until the pullets start laying eggs.

Could you help me please. I am buying a Easter Egger Rooster and it is not proven. Both parents are Easter. Will the offspring as in my rooster be a Egger and carry the colored genes.?

 

[debid]

Could you help me please. I am buying a Easter Egger Rooster and it is not proven. Both parents are Easter. Will the offspring as in my rooster be a Egger and carry the colored genes.?

Were his parents hatchery EEs or crosses? Hatchery EEs are typically pure for the blue shell gene (although they usually lay green because they haven't had the brown coatings bred out). But, a DIY EE from a cross between an Ameraucana and something else (not blue shell) results in heterozygous offspring. Those only have a 50% chance to pass the trait.