Everyone LOVES a rainbow egg basket with bright blues, vibrant spring greens and unusual aqua toned eggs. But how do you get them? Especially when hatchery birds lay such muted colors or worse – plain old peach! Here I’ll share the breeding recipe I use to create bright layer Easter Eggers for a glowing egg basket:
Breeding Bright Layer Easter Eggers
The name “Bright Layer” was made up by the Silver Homestead to label our Easter Egger breeding project where we select for the most vibrant blue, green, sea foam and aqua laying Easter Eggers. I did not want any more weak, whitish-blue or meh green eggs in my egg basket! Nor did I want the disappointment of yet another “peach” (brown) laying Easter Egger. I wanted the impossibly bright blues and greens!
The Easter Egger Image that Inspired this Breeding Project
In 2020 I came across this image shared online. The poster said they purchased chicks from a local woman who had been hatching from her brightest blue and green Easter Egger eggs for years, and that the birds who laid the eggs shown were F7 Easter Eggers. I was smitten with the true springy green egg that was unlike anything my hens had yet laid. The blindingly blue egg was impressive, too. I also saw other incredible eggs from Easter Egger breeders who had been selectively breeding for unique mixes. I set about trying to figure out how I could breed such bright laying Easter Eggers myself.
Bright Layer Easter Eggers: The Secret Recipe that Worked
In spring of 2020 my first shipment of Whiting True Blue chicks from Murray McMurray were maturing fast. I had ordered more males than I needed so I had extra boys I could experiment with. None of the Whiting True Blue pullets were laying but the young WTB males were already mounting other adults. I had the idea to hatch the eggs my Americana and Prairie Bluebell Egger hens were laying to see what I would get.
Bright Layer Easter Egger Chick Colors
The chicks who hatched out were DARLING and came in a wide range of down colors, thanks to the huge variations in feather colors already existing among Whiting True Blues, Prairie Bluebell Eggers, and hatchery Americanas:
And then the Bright Layer Breeding Project Got Put on Hold
Maybe you’ve had this happen, too? Things get busy, trends change, speckled olive eggers become all the rage and your breeding plans shift. There are only so many breeding pens after all!
By the fall of 2023 my egg basket was looking very olivey and really dark. My last beloved Prairie Bluebell Egger hen was 4.5 years old but still laying. A lone green Bright Layer had been happily keeping her company for years in our big white coop with the speckled olive egger flock. I suddenly decided that I missed the vibrant pastel shades so much, I was going to re-start the Bright Laying breeding project for Spring 2024!
How to Breed Brighter Laying Easter Eggers
If I was going to re-start one of my easiest breeding projects, what could be more fun than encouraging others to join me? This “recipe” is simple and very beginner friendly. You only need one homozygous blue egg gene rooster plus a few Easter Egger hens. It’s a lovely place to begin if you’ve never kept a rooster and an absolute favorite project among the 4-H children. You could even begin a hatching egg side hustle for seasonal income!
Start with Hatchery Chicks
This breeding project is very simple and begins with hatchery Americanas. I like to ensure I have guaranteed blue egg laying females so my chick order from Hoover’s Hatchery also included Prairie Bluebell Eggers. The chicks arrived here December 1, 2023.
Use a purebred Whiting True Blue Rooster
To breed our 2024 Bright Layer Easter Eggers, I’m going to use a Whiting True Blue rooster. This purebred is homozygous for the dominant blue egg gene, which means they carry two copies of the gene. It is not possible for them to create peach or brown egg laying offspring.
If you’d like to breed using a different rooster, sign up below for the free breeding PDF and email mini-course where I walk you through additional rooster options in detail!
And Now We Wait!
After you cross the Whiting True Blue rooster with your hatchery Americana/Easter Egger hens and hatch chicks from the best eggs, we wait to see what they lay! I find Easter Eggers to be the most rewarding to raise. I love seeing the unique chick down colors explode into highly individual feather patterning. No two seem to feather out in the same way! After watching their showy plumage develop, the wait for eggs seems shorter.
When do Bright Layer Easter Eggers come into lay?
Many Easter Egger hybrids, like these Bright Layers, tend to come into lay quickly around 20-24 weeks old. It makes me over-the-moon happy to find that first little colored pullet egg in the nest box! It was a little blue egg laid by my first ever Americana hen that got me hooked on colored egg layers and breeding. You are going to love the shelled surprises your Bright Layers begin to leave for you!
Are you a visual person who learns better through step-by-step directions with images? Our Bright Layer PDF Breeding Guide is available in our Shop or is included for free if you sign up below for our Bright Layer Easter Egger breeding email mini-course! The mini-course is a 5 day email delivery intended to help the newest beginner start their chicken breeding business off right! (Suitable for use with children and teens in 4-H and FFA, too!)
You Might Also Enjoy Reading:
Hatcheries with the BEST Colored Egg Layer Chicks
All About Prairie Bluebell Eggers (friendly blue egg layers!)
Easter Egger Egg Shell Color Genetics
How to Get PINK Easter Egger Eggs
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