Olive Egger Rooster - useful or useless??

[grasjm36]

I don't really know where to post this....

I have one BEAUTIFUL olive egger roo and I'm not sure if I can breed him with any hen for a fun olive egg laying chicken, or will they be just brown egg laying chickens. I do understand that to get an olive egger you must cross a copper marans roo with a ee hen, but is there another way?

Thanks!

 

[CMV]

Genetics is not my strong suit, but EEs are a mutt chicken that can have different birds in the mix to achieve the same result. (A couple of my EEs have OEGB in them based on their size, posture and build. I am so sure of it that I would stake money on it.)

One of the things I have heard about EE roos is that in order to establish whether they are carrying the colored egg gene you look at their combs. An EE roo with a rose comb has a markedly better chance of carrying the blue gene than a bird with any other type of comb. The blue egg gene sits near the rose comb gene on the genome, so they are usually found together. Not always, but usually.

What kind of comb does your guy have?

 

[grasjm36]

A rose comb.

 

[CMV]

Looks like you have a keeper.

 

[themenagerie]

Isn't it a pea comb?

 

[CMV]

I get them confused. Yes, it's a pea comb. Thinking of Wyandottes while posting about EEs. Sorry.