The Olive-Egger thread!

[ronott1]

Is there a reason everyone uses Maran roo with ameraucana hens? I was gonna use Ameraucana roo with maran hens? Is there an advantage of the maran roo?

People are more comfortable making OEs if the eggs are blue that they hatch. Sometimes an AM will not have the blue gene. It is not very common that a Marans will not have brown genes.

Either one does work as long as the chicks get a blue egg shell gene and dark brown coating genes.

 

[Curnow]

Rooster question...

I have a young roo bred from my own stock.  His mother is an Olive Egger (light olive egg color), father was my Cuckoo Marans rooster.  So technically he is an Olive Egger rooster?  He us cuckoo with a mix of colors with a nice pea comb.  If I want more Olive Eggers, do I breed him to a blue egger, light olive egger, or Marans hen?  I have all of those choices.

Also, what do you think about a light olive egger hen crossed with Spitzhauben rooster.  I have another young roo of this cross.  Is there any way to know what genes he may pass along?  I'm guessing the white egg of the Spitzhauben will lighten the light olive egg?  Would he be considered an Olive Egger...or just a fancy looking Easter Egger??

I also have some young girls of this mix.  They are just under 3 months old, so probably won't know egg color for a while.

I'm very curious about the Spithauben crosses.  They have made stunning birds! 

These were taken about a month ago. The cuckoo roo has much more color and comb now. The Spitzhauben mix (Wylie) has developed a beautiful large duplex comb and is getting more mature feathering...I think he's just stunning!!

 

[otakalhasas]

These were taken about a month ago. The cuckoo roo has much more color and comb now. The Spitzhauben mix (Wylie) has developed a beautiful large duplex comb and is getting more mature feathering...I think he's just stunning!!

These were taken about a month ago. The cuckoo roo has much more color and comb now. The Spitzhauben mix (Wylie) has developed a beautiful large duplex comb and is getting more mature feathering...I think he's just stunning!!

Stunning is an understatement! He is GLORIOUS!!!!!

 

[Catandherchicks]

Stunning is an understatement!  He is GLORIOUS!!!!!

I agree. Wylie could be called Blackbeard! The contrast is so striking.

 

[morbius18]

Is there a reason everyone uses Maran roo with ameraucana hens? I was gonna use Ameraucana roo with maran hens? Is there an advantage of the maran roo?

The reason I use the marans rooster is for ease of hatching. All blue egg layers are with him. I can hatch all the blues. The other way around, I would have to mark which brown eggs are from the crossing, as I have other brown laying marans that I'm not creating olive eggers with. It depends on what your main flock is. It's sometimes difficult to tell if the rooster is a true ameraucana or an easter egger.

I've had pure colored easter eggers that laid white or brown eggs too. Their phenotype said ameraucana, but their genotype wasn't.

 

[Red Banks]

Quote: This is helpful. I am going to put three BCM roos over the entire flock of Marans, Cream Legbars and Ameraucana hens. I hadn't thought about how easy that would make everything in the Olive Egger department.

 

[cdonze43]

The reason I use the marans rooster is for ease of hatching. All blue egg layers are with him. I can hatch all the blues. The other way around, I would have to mark which brown eggs are from the crossing, as I have other brown laying marans that I'm not creating olive eggers with. It depends on what your main flock is. It's sometimes difficult to tell if the rooster is a true ameraucana or an easter egger.

I've had pure colored easter eggers that laid white or brown eggs too. Their phenotype said ameraucana, but their genotype wasn't.

Ok. Im the opposite, i have a flock of breeders Lavender Ameraucana, and 3 copper maran hens.
Thanks for the insight...wanted to make sure my plan wasnt going to backfire.

 

[morbius18]

Ok. Im the opposite, i have a flock of breeders Lavender Ameraucana, and 3 copper maran hens.
Thanks for the insight...wanted to make sure my plan wasnt going to backfire.

if you are wanting the really dark green eggs, there are articles on the marans club website that speculate the dark color is sex linked and that males should have a double dosage, similar to barring and double barring. If that is true. using the marans hens and not the rooster might not give you the darkest olives.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...DGLPNdMhO-xmdbA5w&sig2=XTC8_iXXompGx3cOOAFQyA

 

[Chicken5555]

Hello everyone! I am working on a little project and I need y'all's help. Can you please take a picture of an egg from your chicken after the egg has been cracked open? The project is intended to demonstrate how eggs have a base color and a coating, so please include the inside color and the outside color of your egg. It can be on a plate, in a bowl, on some news paper, in the grass or even in the frying pan when you're getting ready for breakfast. Use your imagination. Thank you for your contributions! Lavender

EDIT: Please remove the inner membrane so the true color of the shell can be seen on the inside.

 

[aart]

Hello everyone! I am working on a little project and I need y'all's help. Can you please take a picture of an egg from your chicken after the egg has been cracked open? The project is intended to demonstrate how eggs have a base color and a coating, so please include the inside color and the outside color of your egg. It can be on a plate, in a bowl, on some news paper, in the grass or even in the frying pan when you're getting ready for breakfast. Use your imagination. Thank you for your contributions! Lavender

This is not a great pic, hard to get the colors....and it was a 'weak' blue and thus a 'weak' olive.
You need to ask that the inner membranes (which is always white) be removed from shell for photos.
It's easier to remove membrane immediately after breaking open eggs.
You can see here on the fragment that part of the membrane is removed an part is not.