The Olive-Egger thread!

[Ladybirdnnex]

These are my Welsummer × legbar roosters. They are about 4 months old here. All have a crest. I think they are gorgeous....

 

[AusHen]

I'm picking up my first "olive eggers" tomorrow. I'll be getting a hen which is a black copper marans over an Araucana and her daughters, blue copper marans over her so they will either be olive or brown layers (fingers crossed for olive)

 

[AusHen]

Well the "F1 olive egger" laid an egg today. I'ts not what I was expecting but at least it's not cream or white, I have enough of those

 

[JennyHeidewald]

Hi everyone, seems a little quiet here, though I see over 1000 posts! I went back a few pages and read, but don't quite have time for all of them right now.
Just wondering if someone with more experience breeding birds can give me some guidance or point me to towards more info on the subject of olive egger breeding. Anyone know a good book or site on chicken genetics?

I've just put my Penedesenca roo in with my olive eggers, starlight green eggers and my cream legbar (Edit to add: and one EE! I keep forgetting about her). I know the one cross will give olive egg, but what about the starlight green and olive eggers? Of the olive eggers, one looks like a FBCM x Easter (amerucana?) egger (black with copper ruff, and fluffy cheeks), another looks like a Cuckoo Marans X Cream Legbar (coloration like the cuckoo marans, but has crest like a CLB).
I am not sure what the starlight green eggers are a cross of, they are red, looks like a regular red chicken pretty much, a it of black, straight comb, lighter green eggs, steady layers.
Would the olive eggers do a darker green, or would it be like crossing to a marans, and the eggs will be whatever color they will be? (50% chance of brown, 25% chance of blue? I forget the exact phrasing I read in previous post, sorry!). Should I just take the olive eggers out? My Cream Legbar is not impressed with the Penedesenca.

I was also thinking of having a cross of an Amerucana(Supposedly, maybe an EE? )XHamburg (I think gold spangled) roo x any dark egg layers ( FBCM, Welsummers and a Penedesenca hen). Is it a 50/50 chance of what egg color gene he got? White or blue, blue would be dominant? Or green...My mom hatched him out, this was before I moved back to AZ and got into chickens. I think he came out of a green egg. Edit to add he has a pea comb ( I am reading a few of the first posts here.)

I can't hatch or keep any this year, was thinking of offering the fertile eggs as an experiment to someone with a broody or an incubator, in exchange for giving me updates on what they look like and when the pullets started laying, what color eggs.

Thanks!

 

[gmiller0789]

here is my olive egger at 3 weeks. She even has a black spot in the middle of her head wondering what mix she might be?

 

[JennyHeidewald]

here is my olive egger at 3 weeks. She even has a black spot in the middle of her head wondering what mix she might be?View attachment 2057810View attachment 2057811

Welsummer x EE? At least the coloration is Welsummer. But I don't see a crest (cream legbar), and no definate floofy cheeks (EE).

 

[gmiller0789]

Welsummer x EE? At least the coloration is Welsummer. But I don't see a crest (cream legbar), and no definate floofy cheeks (EE).

Do you think she's a pullet or too early to tell?

 

[aart]

Welsummer x EE? At least the coloration is Welsummer. But I don't see a crest (cream legbar), and no definate floofy cheeks (EE).

Good logic.
If CCL in lineage, the crest feathers won't show up for another few weeks.

Do you think she's a pullet or too early to tell?

If the head triangle and eyeliner 'works', good chance of pullet.
Where did you get it?

 

[gmiller0789]

Good logic.
If CCL in lineage, the crest feathers won't show up for another few weeks.

If the head triangle and eyeliner 'works', good chance of pullet.
Where did you get it?

A small organic farm store in Portland, Oregon. They get their chicks shipped in from Missouri. Thanks for the response!

 

[aart]

They get their chicks shipped in from Missouri.

If you know which hatchery they buy from, you might be able to find out what breeds they make OE's from.
Tho it's pretty popular now so who knows<shrugs>
Looks like chick has a single comb, color and size will tell the tale if it's a male at about 4-6 weeks.