The Olive-Egger thread!

[onthespot]

This thread is for posting photos of the birds you are using to produce olive eggers, the eggs you are getting, your theories on what results different crosses will produce or have already produced, photos of your birds, your eggs, buy/sell/give/trade/barter/beg eggs and birds from each other.

I think as chickens get more and more mainstream there will be an increased demand for a pleasing variety of egg colors in the basket every day from the small flock holder in backyard chicken land, and olive just looks so GOOD next to brown.

 

[JesusSavedMe]

What is a olive egger?

 

[chicken stalker]

Chickens that lay eggs like this

 

[redhen]

nice! how do you get the olive color? mixing certain breeds?

 

[chicken stalker]

Mine are from Easter Eggers, which are what most hateries sell as Ameraucana/Aruacana. Basically they are mutts of Ameraucana/Aruacana. If a blue egg layer is crossed with a brown layer then you will get green.

 

[onthespot]

what she said. The darker the brown egg tendencies, the darker the oilve egg color will be. Maransguy has the best looking olive eggs I have ever seen! Some day, mannnn.... some day...

 

[chicken stalker]

Here's a link to Maransguy byc page...awesome eggs
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=4600-Olive_Eggers

 

[tfpets]

Found you!!!!! Nice thought to put the Olive egger thread on its own, and what a lovely hostess for it!!

Patty - can you show us your barred EE hen....I think a flock of those would be lovely!! Then a pic of your recent triumph, the NN Maran chick! Oops, OT but come on!!

But really - Which layers do you have that are the best crosses that produce the Olive eggs so far? I am just starting on the crosses, having only the pure breeds yet....I need to get with the program! I only have plain old eggs!

Tina

 

[onthespot]

This is my only olive egger so far. I can't take credit for her. I bought her out of a flock that I went to go see someone selling mostly marans. She was exposed to about 20 marans roos when I got her and had not started to lay, but started about a week after I got her home. I incubated every single egg she laid for about two weeks, which was around ten of them. I wound up with three black pullets and several barred cockerels. I culled it down to three barred cockerels to keep for now. Two are barred with pea combs but no beard. Since the pea comb is associated with the blue egg gene, I am keeping one extra for insurance. The other is barred and bearded, but no pea comb. I can use him on the black pullets that have pea combs but no beards. I will have to hatch out quite a lot of chicks i think this year to get all the traits I need in one bird. I am really excited about this project, as one of the most frustrating things about Ameaucanas is that they are about impossible to sex for monts on end. With the barring gene fully estblished I ought to be able to sex the birds at birt, saving me the effortc space and expense of raising a bunch of roo chicks that I don't want or need.

 

[tfpets]

So I wonder how common Barred Ameraucana are? She is a lovely bird! What color egg does she lay again? She is a real poster child! She should be on the front of the Forum!

Now your rooster babies are 1/2 Barred Ameraucana (Blue egg genes) and 1/2 Marans (Dark Brown Egg genes)....so you breed her rooster babies to what kind of pullets to get ???? for the best egg color?? See, thats why I am stuck with White Leghorn eggs still!

I will need a simple chart of something to make my favorite mixes work! I want the Delaware mixes that lay green spotted eggs. It takes a Delaware Hen and a Marans Rooster. The resulting Pullet is supposed to lay a green spotted egg? I have to try that!

I know you explained some of the splits to me, but my mind is like a sieve...it doesnt hold information very well...I've never even bred dogs or horses before....I'm embarrassed to say I accidentally let my cat have a litter of kittens last year - I had to keep three of them because I couldnt find homes for them! And I could talk with you about chickens and eggs on the phone all day, I love it!! Take care, Tina