Breeding a brown egg laying OE to get olive egg laying OE

[Cierrascoop]

I have a beautiful OE that lays a pretty brown spotted egg, occasionally with a pretty almost purple bloom. If I hatch out some of her eggs would there be any chance that her offspring would lay olive eggs? Would I have to breed her to a blue egg laying roo or would there be any possibility that they could lay olive eggs if bred to my Australorp roo from previous generations?
Trying to figure out how to get some pretty olive eggs for my basket

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Is she not OE but rather a pure bred Welsummer, Maran's or Barnevelder? Do you have a pic? The answer is no to both if she's not a purebred and no to Australorp if she is. It not my experience just my guess, but my friend has OE's from Roo's that are either Ameraucana or Cream Legbar.

 

[Cierrascoop]

Is she not OE but rather a pure bred Welsummer, Maran's or Barnevelder? Do you have a pic? The answer is no to both if she's not a purebred and no to Australorp if she is. It not my experience just my guess, but my friend has OE's from Roo's that are either Ameraucana or Cream Legbar.

I do have a photo. I got her from my sister in law, who got a batch of them. I'm not sure if they were from TSC or if they ordered them. Her sister was black with gold. She is a brown with a grey/blue coloring as well. And adorable grey tufts. I'll find a photo.

 

[Cierrascoop]

Also, her sister lays olive green eggs. I'm assuming she just ended up being that small percentage that can end up laying brown when buying olive eggers lol

 

[NatJ]

I have a beautiful OE that lays a pretty brown spotted egg...would there be any chance that her offspring would lay olive eggs? Would I have to breed her to a blue egg laying roo or would there be any possibility that they could lay olive eggs if bred to my Australorp roo from previous generations?

If your hen lays brown eggs, and you breed her to a brown-egg rooster, all chicks should lay brown eggs. They will not have the blue egg gene from either parent, so they will not lay eggs that are blue, green, or olive.

If you breed the brown-egg hen to a blue-egg or green-egg rooster, some or all of her daughters can lay green eggs. Some of those might be dark enough to be called olive, and some might be a lighter shade, depending on exactly what eggshell color genes are present in the parents.

Trying to figure out how to get some pretty olive eggs for my basket

Genetically, eggs come with a base color of white or blue.
Then they can have a brown coating on the outside (turns them brown or green). They can have an extra-dark brown coating (turns them dark brown or olive)

But the blue egg gene is dominant. If a hen inherits it from her mother or from her father or from both of them, she must show that by laying blue (or green or olive) eggs. If she does not have that gene, her eggs are white or brown. And if she does not have that gene, she cannot pass it to her chicks either.

The brown layer on the outside of the eggs is affected by many genes, each of which can make it a bit darker or a bit lighter. Predicting shades can be difficult, although in general it's close to an average of what the parents had.

 

[Cierrascoop]

If your hen lays brown eggs, and you breed her to a brown-egg rooster, all chicks should lay brown eggs. They will not have the blue egg gene from either parent, so they will not lay eggs that are blue, green, or olive.

If you breed the brown-egg hen to a blue-egg or green-egg rooster, some or all of her daughters can lay green eggs. Some of those might be dark enough to be called olive, and some might be a lighter shade, depending on exactly what eggshell color genes are present in the parents.


Genetically, eggs come with a base color of white or blue.
Then they can have a brown coating on the outside (turns them brown or green). They can have an extra-dark brown coating (turns them dark brown or olive)

But the blue egg gene is dominant. If a hen inherits it from her mother or from her father or from both of them, she must show that by laying blue (or green or olive) eggs. If she does not have that gene, her eggs are white or brown. And if she does not have that gene, she cannot pass it to her chicks either.

The brown layer on the outside of the eggs is affected by many genes, each of which can make it a bit darker or a bit lighter. Predicting shades can be difficult, although in general it's close to an average of what the parents had.

This is all super great information and very informative, thank you! It definitely helps a lot.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I have a blue copper maran that laid an egg with a purple bloom, just one time though,

I also have a OE hen that was mixed with a BCM below her egg is the dark gray egg.

 

[Cierrascoop]

I have a blue copper maran that laid an egg with a purple bloom, just one time though,View attachment 3319962
I also have a OE hen that was mixed with a BCM below her egg is the dark gray egg.
View attachment 3319964

Your egg baskets are what I'm aiming for! Beautiful. I would like to also get a bcm or two eventually. Right now I have a lovely array of white, cream and brown. I'd like to add some color and add a few additions to our flock. That purple bloom is pretty identical to my OE's. It's just every now and then. They're normally a pretty brown with spots.

 

[Cierrascoop]

Your egg baskets are what I'm aiming for! Beautiful. I would like to also get a bcm or two eventually. Right now I have a lovely array of white, cream and brown. I'd like to add some color and add a few additions to our flock. That purple bloom is pretty identical to my OE's. It's just every now and then. They're normally a pretty brown with spots.

Here are some. The left belongs to my black Australorp hen. The right my OE.