Olive Eggers

[Pleasant_valley_farm]

Can you breed Olive Egger Hens with Olive Egger roosters? Or do you have to cross breed to get that true Olive Color?

 

[sourland]

Bred to an Olive Egger rooster, some of the pullets might lay brown eggs. I would use a 'blue egg' rooster to assure blue/green/olive colored eggs.

 

[OurMountainFarm]

Can you breed Olive Egger Hens with Olive Egger roosters? Or do you have to cross breed to get that true Olive Color?

Thank you for asking! I have 4 pullets and 1 Roo and was wondering what would be the result.

 

[mistycolleen]

this is a very interesting thread as i have been looking to add olive eggers to my flock for months. i was curious too who carrries what genes. i have a auracauna rooster, and looking to add copper marans as well and was hoping their cross would put out an olive laying hen. so if im understanding SOURLAND correctly, blue gene rooster with brown laying hen? or could it also be reversed with bown gene rooster and blue laying hen? im shocked at what some hatcheries ask for per chick when it comes to olive eggers.

 

[Hensndoes]

I believe You can cross either way. If it were a blue egg rooster how can you be sure he carries the blue egg gene? They are mixes after all. You would have to raise the clutch to POL and figure that out I guess. One of my Easter eggers lays light tan not blue. My other lays light green which makes me think she carries some brown and wouldn't be so reliable to pass the blue gene on. I am using my maran rooster over cream legbar. Chicks are sexlinked then as cockerels would have barring like the hen.

I am new at this someone will correct me if I'm wrong I'm sure.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

I believe @sourland recommended using a blue egg rooster over brown egg hens is because if you have Dominique hens and Black Copper Marans hens you will get different shades of green because the hens lay different shades of brown. If you use a brown egg rooster over blue egg hens then if you want different shades of green you will have to swap out the brown egg rooster for a rooster that carries a different shade of brown. By using a blue egg rooster you can have a flock of brown egg hens that lay varying shades of brown and their daughters will lay varying shades of green.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Can you breed Olive Egger Hens with Olive Egger roosters? Or do you have to cross breed to get that true Olive Color?

I was wondering the same thing. I think if you bred Olive Egger to Olive Egger and then bred ONLY the pullets that laid green/Olive eggs back to their father you might be able to get them to breed true after a couple generations.

 

[sourland]

I believe You can cross either way. If it were a blue egg rooster how can you be sure he carries the blue egg gene? They are mixes after all.

I am new at this someone will correct me if I'm wrong I'm sure.

How can you be sure he carries the blue egg gene ? Use a purebred Ameraucana, Araucana, Legbar - not an EE.

The reason OE X OE might give pullets that lay brown eggs is that both parents probably have both blue/green and brown egg layer genes.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

I don’t believe that there is a green egg gene in chickens.

 

[sourland]

Varying expressions of blue with modifiers may appear almost green.