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Egg Color

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Guest:
As someone who breeds both Marans and Ameraucanas, I\'d like to wade in on this topic. My focus for my Marans is egg color. I am not concerned about type at this stage, as egg color is all for me with Marans. Once we get egg color right (and given where the French are I think it will take a long time), then I feel we can focus on type. Of course, those who are working to get Marans accepted into the Standard disagree with this, but each of us makes our own choices there.

Now, when it comes to my Ameraucanas, for me the focus is breeding to the Standard. Egg color is all very well and good, but I do show my birds and as such work to get them/keep them as close to the Standard as I can. Egg color can come later for them, as far as I am concerned.

Two different breeds, two different focuses, at least for me...

Guest:
so for the extreme if you have the perfect type  ameraucana that lays a choclate egg what do you have??   If you havea chocolate egg layers with muffs and a beard what do you have?????

John:

--- Quote ---Egg color can come later for them
--- End quote ---

That is the same reasoning that most Ameraucana breeders use.  I\'ve noticed over the years that the people that are \"breeders\" or at least understand breeding also understand that that is the best approach.  Some folks want perfection right now and can\'t understand why every Ameraucana doesn\'t lay the proper shade of blue egg.  
This is still a relatively new breed.  Some varieties aren\'t yet developed enough to produce consistent show quality birds let alone show quality blue eggs.  Many varieties were accepted into the Standards before they existed.  We are now trying to develop those varieties…one generation at a time.  
Some of the oldest varieties, like bantam wheaten, produce offspring that lay blue eggs quite consistently.  Selecting for egg color is not a priority in some varieties that have many other traits that some of us feel need to be developed first.
It seems that the primary genes for egg color are not the problem, but rather some color modifying genes that need to be bred out.  If that means we crossbreed to bring in the correct modifying genes (or absence of them) we could be back are square one.  If we can make an outcross to another variety though to get the proper genes we won\'t have as far to go to get back to where we were.  Another option may be to just keep selecting for the best colored eggs.  That will only work if the birds are not \"pure\" for the modifying genes that we don\'t want.
 

grisaboy:
I have a really nice exhibition quality black pullet that took reserve breed at a fairly big show last fall.  She just started laying, and lays a tinted egg.  Not blue at all, not even green.  It is heart wrenching to cull a bird like that, but it doesn\'t seem right to use her in a breeding pen.  I still have her and will probably use her in my lavendar breeding program where type is more important than egg color right now.

Curtis

Guest:
Thank you John for putting that into perspective.  Sometimes, my thoughts just don\'t translate to the written word very well.

I have two, beautiful blue hens that have already taken champion AOSB, and Reserve champion in the two shows that I have placed them in since I received them.  They are beautiful to the eye, and very, very, typey.....but they lay olive green eggs.....OH WELL!

That won\'t stop me from breeding them.

Angela

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