Difference in Easter Egger vs Olive Egger

[GypsyRoo]

What exactly is the difference between an Easter Egger and Olive Egger when it comes to breeding and genetics?

Both need a blue egg and I see you cross a lighter brown egg for an Easter egger but that still gives green right? So I'm confused what the difference is.

Where does pink eggs come into the easter egger genetics?

Can someone give me some easter egger color/breed cross combination examples to help me better understand this please?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Olive eggers lay a dark olive color. Basically, all alive eggers are Easter eggers, but not all Easter eggers are olive eggers.

Kinda like all elephants are grey, but not all grey things are elephants

 

[GypsyRoo]

Olive eggers lay a dark olive color. Basically, all alive eggers are Easter eggers, but not all Easter eggers are olive eggers.

Kinda like all elephants are grey, but not all grey things are elephants

So after a blue and light brown are crossed to get an easter egger, what do people cross them with next to get other colors?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Green for the most variety in chicks.

 

[ShaunJ421]

Olive Eggers are a cross between a blue egg layer, like an Araucana or Ameraucana for example. And a dark brown egg layer, like a Black Copper Maran, or most Marans in general.

 

[Eliaria]

Realistically, nothing. All olive eggers are Easter eggers. Easter eggers can lay any color from blue, green, cream, white, and browns (but the main goal are various shades of green from soft sage, to mint, to olive). Olive eggers are a sub category of EE’S bred to lay green, specifically, olive shades of eggs. However, even olive eggers can end up laying blues and browns as well since its all a gamble of which genes come thru. In the end they’re all being mixed with the same few breeds to try and achieve
desired colors

 

[SandyRiverChick]

To answer your question about breed examples, you're right that it takes a blue egg layer. So blue plus a dark brown egg layer = what breeds people use to get a chick who will lay green eggs. Ameraucana + Marans; Araucana + Welsummer. Legbar + Barnevelder; and swap those around, etc. If you look at Olive Eggers on the major hateries websites it usually says in the description what breeds they crossed to make it. The OE's that I get from Privett are Creme Legbar + Cuckoo Maran. To me the difference in OE and EE is that EE always has Ameraucana + dark layer. Meaning you don't make a EE with another blue layer like a Creme bar. I'm not a breeder however, just noticed this over many years of getting OE and EE chicks.

 

[NagemTX]

Really there is no difference untill someone starts working on a standard and they start breading true. EE is a catch all for the chickens that can lay any color egg. EEs are not expected to all lay the same color but a verity of colors. They don't have a standard so can be a mix of any blue egg laying chicken and another verity that doesn't lay blue eggs, or with in the same variety. It's just that traditionally they look like Ameraucana because Ameraucana was created through them. It's more complicated than that and the history is very interesting.

 

[ZiaEggcelente]

To answer your question about breed examples, you're right that it takes a blue egg layer. So blue plus a dark brown egg layer = what breeds people use to get a chick who will lay green eggs. Ameraucana + Marans; Araucana + Welsummer. Legbar + Barnevelder; and swap those around, etc. If you look at Olive Eggers on the major hateries websites it usually says in the description what breeds they crossed to make it. The OE's that I get from Privett are Creme Legbar + Cuckoo Maran. To me the difference in OE and EE is that EE always has Ameraucana + dark layer. Meaning you don't make a EE with another blue layer like a Creme bar. I'm not a breeder however, just noticed this over many years of getting OE and EE chicks.

Ok this is helpful. I’m getting EE from Privett but not sure what their dark layer is

 

[ZiaEggcelente]

To answer your question about breed examples, you're right that it takes a blue egg layer. So blue plus a dark brown egg layer = what breeds people use to get a chick who will lay green eggs. Ameraucana + Marans; Araucana + Welsummer. Legbar + Barnevelder; and swap those around, etc. If you look at Olive Eggers on the major hateries websites it usually says in the description what breeds they crossed to make it. The OE's that I get from Privett are Creme Legbar + Cuckoo Maran. To me the difference in OE and EE is that EE always has Ameraucana + dark layer. Meaning you don't make a EE with another blue layer like a Creme bar. I'm not a breeder however, just noticed this over many years of getting OE and EE chicks.

Do you see a big difference in egg color in OE vs EE?