The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: CameronS on December 29, 2009, 11:55:42 am

Title: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: CameronS on December 29, 2009, 11:55:42 am
What breeds of hen lay blue/green eggs?
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: marigold on December 29, 2009, 12:12:15 pm
Cream legbars, Aracaunas, are 2 that I know about. I have 3 cream legbars who lay lovely green blue eggs. I would like to get some darker blue eggs though. It is the cockerel that carries the colour gene. So I shall be looking for a cream legbar cockerel soon with good colour provenance.
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: JoeMac on December 29, 2009, 01:15:41 pm
Hi ,Columbines also lay these tinted eggs but about 10-20% lay standard eggs .

  Hope this helps

   Joe
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: sanman on December 29, 2009, 02:08:36 pm
Hi ,Columbines also lay these tinted eggs but about 10-20% lay standard eggs .

  Hope this helps

   Joe

Columbines are just legbar hybrids!
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: CameronS on December 29, 2009, 03:32:21 pm
Is there any breeds that lay sort of purple eggs?
I'm looking for something a bit different instead of my whites and browns
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: wojciech on December 29, 2009, 04:04:39 pm
If you cross Araucanas with commercial ight brown egg layers or Marans for dark brown you will get a light or dark khaki colour - I've seen eggs on Ebay from Marans that are dark khaki because the Araucana blue gene has been bred in and I've heard of people who've bred Araucanas with commercial hybrids getting these intermediate colour. The right colour for Araucanas is a light to mid blue but they've gone greenish due to interbreeding with other varieties. I've had a pi9nkish shade from my Araucanas on a few occasions but this is a rarity. I think that if you want an unusual colour you'll have to breed for it.
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: marigold on December 29, 2009, 10:48:28 pm
Croad langshans have a pink purple bloom on their eggs. It depends on the strain how purple it is.
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: harry on December 30, 2009, 10:53:31 am
Arnt we daft, to choose and egg layer by the colour of the shell the bit we chuck away, as theres absolutly no difference inside between white, brown or any other shell. Having said that i got some fertile maron eggs to hatch, very dark chocolate brown eggs. i thought they look nice..... DAFT.
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: marigold on December 30, 2009, 11:26:33 am
Arnt we daft, to choose and egg layer by the colour of the shell the bit we chuck away, as theres absolutly no difference inside between white, brown or any other shell. Having said that i got some fertile maron eggs to hatch, very dark chocolate brown eggs. i thought they look nice..... DAFT.
Its the artist in all of us that the colour of the egg appeals to. William Morris said
"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”
Eggs that are beautiful and tasty are just about ideal. I  love giving boxes of multi coloured eggs to friends. They are often delighted and interested in the various hens which laid them. I think it also alerts people to what the commercial farming and food production systems is killing off.
Sorry, its a bit of a soap box but for me the colour of eggs is kind of a symbol of the joy of smallholding. My husband would quite agree with you though. He is much more interested in quality of eating and efficiency of production including value for money. We make a good team
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: CameronS on December 30, 2009, 01:29:30 pm
Thanks for all the replies, i'm still undecided as to which breed i am going to try and incubate  :D
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: GreatDaneLover on February 14, 2010, 08:06:57 pm
Hi Cameron my Collumbine lays blue eggs  :chook:
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: doganjo on February 14, 2010, 08:10:33 pm
http://www.poultry.allotment.org.uk/Chicken_a/egg_shell_color/index.php

This explains the genetics

Here's a list.
http://www.poultry.allotment.org.uk/Chicken_a/egg_shell_color/egg_shell_color.php

The there's this
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_can_you_feed_a_chicken_so_it_will_lay_an_egg_with_a_purple_shell
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: CameronS on February 14, 2010, 08:18:51 pm
as it turned out i didn't incubate any Blue/Green eggs, to expensive for a first time with an incubator, i ended up with 6 Cuckoo Maran, and one miscellaneous (a pot luck from our basket), blue eggs are still on the cards though, thanks for the links  :chook:
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: harry on February 15, 2010, 10:34:30 am
does anyone know which birds lay chocalate cream eggs
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: whitby_sam on February 15, 2010, 10:53:46 am
Isn't is the Cadbury Bantam?
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: sagehen on February 15, 2010, 11:02:34 am
 ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: Helencus on February 15, 2010, 12:30:03 pm
no I think that it's a Bournville boiler hen.. ;D
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: doganjo on February 15, 2010, 04:20:13 pm
 ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: Elissian on February 15, 2010, 07:28:31 pm
Marigold i agree with you about the egg colours, I alway mix the colours in the boxes as people love that. It's an interesting fact that the British prefere a brown egg whereas Americans like white eggs, apparently they think they are healthier.
Title: Re: Blue/Green egg layers
Post by: wojciech on April 07, 2010, 12:49:41 am
I've got Araucanas and having got some white pullets have found them laying pinkish buff eggs. I'll see if they go back to the normal blue as my others have. If anyone is interested, I can sell some hatching eggs in lavender, black, white and black and red Araucana. I'm in East Lincolnshire and you're welcome to collect.