5% chance of olive egger laying brown eggs… is this true?

[RockNRollCHIX]

I have 6 26-week old hens.
Barred rock stared laying light brown eggs at 21 weeks. She consistent and they are averaging 48g. Including a 63g double yolker.

Black Australorp started about 6 days ago. Dark brown, about the same size.

The olive Egger just started 2 days ago. The biggest so far 52g but they’re BROWN.
I looked at the website where we bought them and this was the description:
“Here is a combination that will give you a beautiful bird who is friendly and lays olive eggs! These Olive Eggers are a cross between Cream Legbar roosters and Welsummer hens. They lay a beautiful sage colored olive egg over 95% of the time.
I like to have Olive Eggers in with my other colored egg laying birds. I love the dark green eggs, which are usually very large and delicious!
Note: Olive Eggers are not purebreds. While the majority of them will lay an Olive colored egg, about 5% will lay an egg that can be tan, brown or blue-ish.“

Is that description accurate? I got one of the 5%?

We also have a Lavender & Buff Orps. Their combs are getting bigger and brighter but just recently and an EASTER Egger who doesn’t even look close to being ready yet.

 

[nuthatched]

Yep, I'd even say 5% is a much smaller figure than it actually is. It's probably closer to 15%.

 

[jbj25]

I know Hoovers does that cross. I have two of them. Mine do lay olive eggs with brown speckles. But, yes, there is a chance you could have one that lays a brown egg.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

A few years ago I got three Olive Eggers and only one of them laid olive eggs. Worst than that though, that one who did ended up being my biggest trouble maker in the flock from plucking beards, broody at least once a month, to mating other hens to the point they were loosing feathers. I liked the olive eggs I did get, and a couple of the hens were pretty, but after that experience, I don't know if they're worth trying again.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Yes it's true some OEs will lay brown eggs. The 5% is a made up number. It doesn't math right to be correct. I'd suspect it's closer to 12.5% or 25%.
What they do is say 5% because there's no way to prove the % otherwise. 5% covers their butt when you get a brown egg layer and the 95% chance makes it look like the % is so high that you're willing to chance that and make a purchase.

 

[MissMelMc68]

I know Hoovers does that cross. I have two of them. Mine do lay olive eggs with brown speckles. But, yes, there is a chance you could have one that lays a brown egg.

I have two olives, one lays a very dark chocolate egg and the other one lays a med brown with speckles and they are from the same mother hen! Both lay gorgeous eggs!

 

[MissMelMc68]

 

[Yardmom]

How pure the breeding stock is, is how likely the eggs are to be olive. Blue egg layer can carry 1 or 2 blue egg laying genes. There is no way to tell looking at a bird if it is carrying both blue egg genes. A pure CCL should carry two blue genes, but if it has anything mixed in the ancestry it might only have 1. If she only carries one blue gene 1/2 of her offspring are likely to lay brown eggs instead of Olive when mated with a dark brown egg layer. You also have the off chance the genes don't behave the way humans predict.

 

[LuciferRoo]

I have 6 26-week old hens.
Barred rock stared laying light brown eggs at 21 weeks. She consistent and they are averaging 48g. Including a 63g double yolker.

Black Australorp started about 6 days ago. Dark brown, about the same size.

The olive Egger just started 2 days ago. The biggest so far 52g but they’re BROWN.
I looked at the website where we bought them and this was the description:
“Here is a combination that will give you a beautiful bird who is friendly and lays olive eggs! These Olive Eggers are a cross between Cream Legbar roosters and Welsummer hens. They lay a beautiful sage colored olive egg over 95% of the time.
I like to have Olive Eggers in with my other colored egg laying birds. I love the dark green eggs, which are usually very large and delicious!
Note: Olive Eggers are not purebreds. While the majority of them will lay an Olive colored egg, about 5% will lay an egg that can be tan, brown or blue-ish.“

Is that description accurate? I got one of the 5%?

We also have a Lavender & Buff Orps. Their combs are getting bigger and brighter but just recently and an EASTER Egger who doesn’t even look close to being ready yet.

A year ago I bought 4 Mars-Bars and I think only 2 were laying olive eggs. I have lost 2 of these hens and the remaining 2 lay very dark brown eggs.