Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

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I have a question regarding ear colour. The problem with Easter eggers is they don't always breed true. Three out of the twelve lay cream coloured eggs. I worry about the rooster I use for chicks, it could be very possible that he doesn't carry the genes for blue eggs, only white eggs. I wonder can I tell by the ear colour? One has mostly red ears with only a tiny hint of white colour on his ears. Another rooster has very white ears, almost white buttons like a leghorn. The other is in between and has a blue tint to the white on his ears the way silkies have. Their legs all seem to be the same colour. Is there a way to tell if a rooster carriers the blue egg genes from ear colour?
:easter32: :easter32: :easter34: :easter32: :easter32:

No, earlobe a eggshell colour are unrelated. If your Easter Eggers are descended from a pea-combed, blue egg breed like Ameraucana or Auracana, then it's pretty easy--with those breeds, basically the genes that make blue eggs are tied to the pea comb genes, so almost every chick with a pea comb will pass on the coloured egg gene. However, if there is another pea or rose combed breed in the mix, like Brahma or Wyandotte, it's a crapshoot...AND, if a single combed breed like Legbar was used to 'make' the Easter Eggers, you're completely dickered as to knowing who will sire what egg colour--the single combed blue layers carry the genes for blue eggs in completely different places than the Ameraucanas.

What www said!!
Theres no link between ear colour and egg colour.
Best is a test breeding. If you breed him to a white layer and he carries blue you should get at least 1 girl that lays blue.

windwalkingwolf wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 29, 2018 2:46 pm

No, earlobe a eggshell colour are unrelated. If your Easter Eggers are descended from a pea-combed, blue egg breed like Ameraucana or Auracana, then it's pretty easy--with those breeds, basically the genes that make blue eggs are tied to the pea comb genes, so almost every chick with a pea comb will pass on the coloured egg gene. However, if there is another pea or rose combed breed in the mix, like Brahma or Wyandotte, it's a crapshoot...AND, if a single combed breed like Legbar was used to 'make' the Easter Eggers, you're completely dickered as to knowing who will sire what egg colour--the single combed blue layers carry the genes for blue eggs in completely different places than the Ameraucanas.

Thank you WWWolf and Kathy. They are single comb bantams, they look like OEGs that lay green and blue eggs. Time is not on my side for the leghorn cross experiment. What if I keep a rooster and it only has the white egg genes... but I only hatch blue and green eggs, will 50% of the daughters lay green eggs?

Yes. Half will have genes for blue eggs and half will not. In theory :D I say "in theory" because we all know how 50/50 works, at least when it comes to the ratio of pullets to cockerels lol!
A white egg rooster over green laying hens will produce pullets that lay lovely shades of powder blue and blue-green, and pullets that lay cream or light brown.

exactly....in theory.....