Marans and Back-crossed OE Breeding Project.

[TexasBlues]

No, but I’d love to cross my BC olives back to a Marans rooster to make a 2nd back cross. That was the plan until my rooster died.


Those birds look great. Are they all back crossed olive eggers or first gen?

The rooster is an olive egger. 1/2 BCM and 1/2 whiting true blue.
About 5 of those chicks in the roosting picture are backcrosses. The other 20 or so are from Easter egger hens. Unfortunately it looks like all but 1 or 2 of the backcrosses are pullets, the rest are cockerels.
Here’s one of the backcross cockerels next to an Easter egger cockerel

 

[Mwhit]

The rooster is an olive egger. 1/2 BCM and 1/2 whiting true blue.
About 5 of those chicks in the roosting picture are backcrosses. The other 20 or so are from Easter egger hens. Unfortunately it looks like all but 1 or 2 of the backcrosses are pullets, the rest are cockerels.
Here’s one of the backcross cockerels next to an Easter egger cockerel
View attachment 4281003

Nice! Do you plan on crossing your olive rooster to any marans? Or breeding back to your olive egger pullets?

 

[TexasBlues]

View attachment 4267291My other back-crossed olive laid her first egg today. Really excited to have one with speckling like this. She’s also the only BC olive with a pea comb.

It’s tough to keep track of them because they all look so similar haha.

I believe I’m just waiting on one more BC olive, my noir marans x late rooster Ferdinand, and one more Craigslist bird to lay their first eggs.

So what’s the lineage of this pullet? I love the egg color and speckling.

 

[wrathsfarm]

So what’s the lineage of this pullet? I love the egg color and speckling.

I agree

 

[Mwhit]

So what’s the lineage of this pullet? I love the egg color and speckling.

It’s a cross of a marans rooster and F1 olive egger pullet.

The marans rooster came from a #4 or #5 shade red like the one I just posted, and the olive egger was a tractor supply pullet.

I have 2 that hatched from this cross. One lays the cool speckled eggs and the other lays a really nice dark green.

-edited for clarification

 

[TexasBlues]

That’s a marans crossed with an F1 olive egger.

The marans rooster came from a #4 or #5 shade red like the one I just posted, and the olive egger was a tractor supply pullet.

I have 2 that hatched from this cross. One lays the cool speckled eggs and the other lays a really nice dark green.

Ok good, that’s what would hope to get back crossing an olive egger to a Marans.

I did breed my f1 olive egger rooster back to the pure marans… and also to some pink, green, olive, and blue eggers. I should get a nice variety of greens/olives, and browns from all these birds come spring time.

The marans hen that I used in the backcross has lots of speckles too. These are more of a test to see what I get, I plan on hatching more and selling some of the chicks and eggs this spring.

My market here seems to want dark marans eggs, I don’t have a marans rooster so the f1 olive egger rooster will have to do. I started my flock a few years ago and have been closed to bringing any new birds due to bio security reasons so I try to do the best with what I have.

 

[Mwhit]

Ok good, that’s what would hope to get back crossing an olive egger to a Marans.

I did breed my f1 olive egger rooster back to the pure marans… and also to some pink, green, olive, and blue eggers. I should get a nice variety of greens/olives, and browns from all these birds come spring time.

The marans hen that I used in the backcross has lots of speckles too. These are more of a test to see what I get, I plan on hatching more and selling some of the chicks and eggs this spring.

My market here seems to want dark marans eggs, I don’t have a marans rooster so the f1 olive egger rooster will have to do. I started my flock a few years ago and have been closed to bringing any new birds due to bio security reasons so I try to do the best with what I have.

Cool! I’d love to see what colors they end up laying.

I think everyone wants the really dark marans eggs (myself included). I haven’t seen anyone trying to sell back-crossed olives in my area, so eventually I want to get a good line going for that.

 

[wrathsfarm]

My Olive Egger is a cross of BCM x EE (mint eggs). That OE (Christy) was then backcrossed and her 3 daughters gave me these, I ended up selling those 3 daughters last fall.

Since then I had Christy penned up with Poppy (recessive white Silver Marans, hiding blue) and hatched this little Blue OE.

Now Christy is back in with Kong (BCM) at the moment to start back over and I'm looking to keep a few to start playing with the egg colors. I can darken with BCM Sire, hatch Blues with Poppy or lighten the eggs and Zombie the chicks using Ayam Cemani.

 

[Mwhit]

My Olive Egger is a cross of BCM x EE (mint eggs). That OE (Christy) was then backcrossed and her 3 daughters gave me these, I ended up selling those 3 daughters last fall. View attachment 4281026

Since then I had Christy penned up with Poppy (recessive white Silver Marans, hiding blue) and hatched this little Blue OE.View attachment 4281033
Now Christy is back in with Kong (BCM) at the moment to start back over and I'm looking to keep a few to start playing with the egg colors. I can darken with BCM Sire, hatch Blues with Poppy or lighten the eggs and Zombie the chicks using Ayam Cemani.

That’s really interesting-it looks like Christy’s eggs inherited most of the minty color from the EE.

Christy x Kong pullets would be way cool. I’d imagine you’d get a real nice dark green out of that? I forgot you had the Ayam Cemanis from your broody too. Too many possibilities haha

 

[wrathsfarm]

That’s really interesting-it looks like Christy’s eggs inherited most of the minty color from the EE.

That egg was more late season fade. Her true color is more Olive but she lays a variety of shades depending on her mood.

These are all Christys.

Christy x Kong pullets would be way cool. I’d imagine you’d get a real nice dark green out of that? I forgot you had the Ayam Cemanis from your broody too. Too many possibilities haha

I like my options this year, I wish I would of kept the 3 pullets I sold. Essentially starting over again having to get 2nd Gen eggs.