Olive Egger laying Brown Eggs?

[copperhill]

Hi there, my Olive Eggers just started laying but they are laying dark brown eggs instead of olive ones. Is this normal? Will they get darker and greener as they get older? Thanks for any help, these are my first two Olive Eggers. I have four BCM and their eggs are closer to those.

 

[ChattyChickens4Life]

This may be because when breeding your chickens, one of the parents was an Isbar which doesn't guarantee an olive egg. Breeders sometimes try and darken the olive color, but this can sometimes result in a brown egg. It may not be a true olive egger. Good luck!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Can you post photos of the birds and the eggs?

 

[Spartan22]

Yep it can happen, my only olive egger lays darker khaki egg. Nope it will not change color to greenish it will actually gets slightly lighter as they lay toward the end of egg clutches.

 

[tanner17567]

I found this out the hard way too! Except I still don’t understand it, genetically, only because everything I’ve read says Blue + Dark = Green.

I bred mine myself, EE hen that lays blue (egg pictured) with BCM roo and hatched out a girl that looks like a BCM hen with a pea comb (pictured) I’m so confused! Her egg is also pictured last.

 

[The Moonshiner]

To lay olive eggs they need to have a blue egg gene and dark brown egg genes.
EEs aren't the best choice because EEs are mixed breeds and many only carry one gene for blue eggs.
Ameraucana and legbars carry two genes for blue eggs so with them you know a blue egg gene is getting passed on. With EEs they may be carrying a blue egg gene and a brown egg gene. The offspring may just as likely not get a blue egg gene as they are to get one.
Same thing happens when breeding olive eggers to olive eggers. Some chicks just don't get the blue egg gene needed.

 

[chickens really]

To lay olive eggs they need to have a blue egg gene and dark brown egg genes.
EEs aren't the best choice because EEs are mixed breeds and many only carry one gene for blue eggs.
Ameraucana and legbars carry two genes for blue eggs so with them you know a blue egg gene is getting passed on. With EEs they may be carrying a blue egg gene and a brown egg gene. The offspring may just as likely not get a blue egg gene as they are to get one.
Same thing happens when breeding olive eggers to olive eggers. Some chicks just don't get the blue egg gene needed.

I get olive eggs from my Breeding of my Birds..Might not be to your standards..Olive eggs all the same...

 

[The Moonshiner]

That's my point.
Everyone can have a different opinion of what constitutes an olive egg.
I crossed legbars with BCM and although I got darker green eggs next to an olive they still looked awful light.
If you're happy with calling yours olive eggs that's all that matters I guess.
Concern is when so many get to labeling green eggs like EEs lay olive eggs then turn around and start selling them. Others that expect olive eggs to actually be close to olive color will be saddly disappointed.

 

[tanner17567]

Thank you so much! I have hatched OEs before, and they laid beautiful olive eggs, but it was a different pairing. Thanks for clarifying the one blue gene vs two blue genes thing. That’s about what I was thinking with the EE, and you’ve confirmed my suspicions.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I get olive eggs from my Breeding of my Birds..Might not be to your standards..Olive eggs all the same...

No One said you wouldnt...only that genetically speaking there is a chance of not getting the expected results with certain combinations