The Official Forum of the Ameraucana Breeders Club > Ameraucana Marketplace
egg color
Mike Gilbert:
I have read that there may be a dozen or more genes that produce brown shell color. Within that spectrum there are probably dominants and recessives. I do know that I occasionally get a darker brown egg laying pullet out of my Silver Wyandotte bantams, a strain that usually lays just a slightly tinted egg (very light tan). There are a few large fowl breeds that lay white eggs and also have red earlobes, but not many. White in the earlobe is a disqualification for ameraucanas, and it can be difficult to eliminate once introduced. I think the ideal outcross would be with another breed with slate legs, red lobes, and lays white eggs. The Crevecoeur would be one example, and they have muffs to boot! Unfortunately, I think they only come in solid black.
Guest:
I have mostly worked with white leghorns. It has been my experience that the white leghorns carry other factors that make their eggs white. What leghorns may carry a recessive sex linked gene that inhibits brown egg color. I have no evidence that this is the case. All I know is that something is happening that helps eliminate or reduce the brown egg color. It may be a combination of the blue egg gene and modifiers that cause the reduction in the brown color. As I stated, my evidence is only antecdotal, I could do some test crossing and gather some data but I do not have the time now
As Mike stated there are as many as 13 different proposed genes that would work together to produce the varing shades of brown. The addition of the brown pigment ooporphyrin to an egg can be a problem because of all the genes involved.
I have been working on egg color for the past four years and have not addressed the question of ear lobe color. I do know that ear lobe color is polygenic.
Bantam,
I was thinking about working on a lemon blue variety and a gold spangled or silver spangled variety. That way I could work on brown-red, black and blue along with the lemon blue. I think a spangled variety would be great. I will be getting some brabanters, andalusian blue, Iowa blue and catalana large fowl this spring. I will work with them to produce the new varieties. I believe the brabanters carry the ig or cream gene and I would like to see how the cream gene would effect the hackle color in the lemon blues.
I would like to thank everybody for their input.
If there is any interest, I will post pictures of birds as they progess.
Rooster
Guest:
Whew! I looked up those Crevecoeurs and that have a mighty big poofy crest! :o
Mike do Araucanas have better egg color in general than Ameraucanas? Would breeding to them be in order if so?
I\'m sick of green eggs and ham Sam. :(
Mike Gilbert:
The crest can be eliminated in just two generations. Very simple to do. I would start with a Creve. male over black Ameraucana females, then breed the F-1 generation together.
Using this process, about 25 percent of the F-2 generation will have no crest. Once it\'s gone, it\'s gone forever, because it is a dominant, not a recessive. From there on it\'s just a matter of selection for improved egg color.
Guest:
Well I can handle the crest thing but how will this help me if I have green egg layers to start out with?
Does the white egg gene improve the green egg gene and result in blue eggs??
Do the Crevs have a pea comb?
And what are your (or anybody elses) thoughts on breeding Ameraucana X Araucanas to improve egg color if they indeed have better egg color?
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version