[millymolymandy]

Hi , I would like some hens that lay large blue eggs and was looking on ebay at hatching eggs, I saw some silver dorking hens which looked beautiful but I thought Dorkings were bred more for meat than eggs, would they lay many eggs :? and there where some cream legbars that lay blue /green eggs I wasn't sure which would be better, can anyone help?

[Snowy Howells]

Dorkings are more of a table bird and they lay white eggs. The cream legbar is a reliable layer of blue eggs - lovely birds. You might also want to consider a cream legbar hybrid - they have various names: columbine, skyline, jasmine being the most common. They have an 80% chance of laying a blue egg, but they tend to lay for longer than the pure breed legbar. If you do go for a legbar,make sure it is cream. Other colours lay white eggs.  

[babe]

cream legbars for blue eggs or a pale aracauna. the darker the auracauna the more chance eggies will be green.

not that i know as pipsqueak my black aracauna has decided that she's too posh to push so refuses to lay anything

[Sarah Mitchell]

Hello I have cream legbars and they are brilliant... slightly jumpy until they get used to you (can leap a fair way into the air if suprised and one of my hens is a  * for going visiting to my other pens) but they lay fab duck egg blue eggs.  I get at least an egg a day off my pair most of the year.

Araucanas do lay more of a greeny blue egg from what i've seen

x x

[millymolymandy]

Cheers, that is helpful, I have seen the blue egg laying Silver Dorking a few times when searching for hatching eggs and admired them, but have been dubious about the amount of eggs they will lay, the cream legbars are lovely too I thought they might be the best option.I will be getting the incubator out soon then I think they are auto sexing too, is that right?

[Sarah Mitchell]

Hi

Yes the cream legbars are autosexing - there's loads of advice on the interweb about identifying the girls from the boys (many with pics)... although I still seem to get it wrong sometimes!!

The girls have a very clear dark stripe down their head and back.  The boys are lighter and don't have the clear stripe.

There are also articles on what they should look like - some ebayers sell them without crests and I believe they should be crested (they are prettier with crests too).

[millymolymandy]

Thanks, I can't wait to get started, my last years girls are laying like mad at the moment so I might pop a few of theirs in too

[Bodger]

Any blue egg laying Dorkings that you see will have dubious ancestory.
The Dorking and the OEG are the oldest breeds here in the UK and compared with their ancient history, the blue egg laying trait is a comparatively new introduction.

[mumsy]

My Araucana lays exactly the same colour as my cream (crested ) legbar, blue! No hint of green at all :cry: & has laid 19 days in a row so far!!!  I have a red dorking, her eggs are a creamy/pinky shade of white :shock:

[millymolymandy]

Thanks all for your advice, we are away for a while, so I will have to wait until I come back.  I am having to curb my enthusiasm for the moment, it's killing me