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What can cause loss of egg color in pure Ameraucanas?
Mike Gilbert:
Depends on your objective. Do you just want a generation that lays bluish eggs, or do you want a pure line? They are two different things. If the latter, the only way to be sure is to do what I said in my previous post.
grisaboy:
--- Quote from: sterling ---
That is probably what happened, the rooster was used on his daughers concentrating the genes.
So, there shouldn\'t be a problem breeding pullets from that rooster who do lay a blue egg to an unrelated rooster?
--- End quote ---
You have to assume that all of the pullets from that rooster carry the recessive gene for non-blue eggs. It might not show up in the next generation but it will eventually.
You would have to test mate them to a non-blue egg breed to be sure which ones are pure for blue eggs. Only about one third of the blue egg laying pullets from that rooster would be pure for blue eggs.
If they are the best in your flock, you can still keep them. Mark them with a white legband or something so you can tell who they are. Breed them back to their father and you can probably find out which ones are carrying the non-blue egg genes. Any that hatch all blue egg layers are probably pure. You have to continue the process for the next generations too since those pullets also could be spilt.
As soon as you have enough females that have proven to be pure for blue eggs, you should get rid of all of the ones that carry the non-blue egg genes.
Curtis
John:
--- Quote ---Is it necessary to cull tinted white/light brown layers to eliminate the problem? or can one cross them with a cockerel that is out of a blue egg from another line and get birds that produce blue eggs?
--- End quote ---
Yes and yes, but the second option shouldn\'t be considered if you implement the first one.
Cull any that lay eggs without a hint of blue.
I\'ve seen some blue eggs that almost look white. The strains that produced them may carry white (o), so the eggs may not be as blue as the ones from a hen carrying two copies of the blue (O) egg gene. If the strain produces some true white, tinted white or brown eggs from time to time it would be a good time for an outcross with another strain.
Even though Ameraucanas should lay blue eggs the standard and more importantly the ABC has never defined what shade of blue a blue egg should be. We know it shouldn\'t be green, but for many they desire a shade that is darker than a pure blue (O/O) egg without brown modifiers. The blue eggs that are most appealing to the eye and photograph well have a bit of tint or very light brown surface coating that blends with the blue to make the normally very light pastel blue egg look closer to the Robin\'s egg blue some dream of.
Blue Egg Acres:
Ok, so. . . what can we expect out of the males that are sibling to the brown/white egg laying pullets all of which are from the blue eggs?
Mike Gilbert:
Barb, there is no way to know without test mating. He could have inherited the O gene from both parents (homozygous), from one of them (heterozygous), or from neither. Anything other than homozygous can lead to brown or white eggs down the road.
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