The Olive-Egger thread!

[DMRippy]

I have 3 BR roosters that are driving me crazy. Donna they are from you, beautiful birds, but boy, do they act like young teens. I need to sell them they are mating all my OE's and Marans, well half way that, my OE boy doesn't like it much, and beats them up. But they are getting bigger than him and I'm getting a little worried. Have you butchered any of your BR males for dinner? Are they tasty?

No I have not. I try to move roos ASAP. The volume I hatch I would be broke if I kept roos. I know that Frank Reese breeds for TASTE and you guys are from my GSBR so should be YUMMY! Tastes like chicken too

 

[DMRippy]

Thanks for your reply! It is dark now, but in the morning, I will have to check the leg color on the second blue Marans. I am hopeful that you are correct in that both Blue Marans are girls.

I'm totally confused about the wheatens. I am reading your response on my IPad, and the photos are not laid out the same way as I put them on the other computer.
The photo with two birds (one headless in the feed dish), am I correct that you think the brownish bird on the left is a roo, and the one with the black wings is not a wheaten at all? I wonder what he is. This was a mixed hatch, but I swear that chick came out of an egg labeled WM.

All three of the other wheaten photos are of the narcolepsy bird. Maybe it is a slow feathering pullet, although I kind of hope it is a boy, because this falling asleep all the time doesn't seem healthy (and the boys are headed for the freezer, not a breeding program).

Thanks for your help!

On the wheatens.... the dark brown is a roo... just too dark to be a pullet. The one with his head in the feeder I could not see.... the black feathers are ODD. BUT in the other picture if that is the same bird it looks like a slow feathering wheaten roo too. The Other wheaten is a pullet... sorry she is not acting right.

I don't have wheaten Marans but I do have Wheaten Ams.

Cockerel


Pullet

 

[Hangtown Farms]

I am breeding a few of these crosses. The hens of the crosses will go back to the white empordanesa.
Hen is my little blue Ameraucana gal

 

[buckabucka]

Nice looking set of eggs, Hangtown farms! I've never actually seen an empordanesa. Not sure if they'd be suited to my climate.

DMRippy, thanks for the clarification. The chick with the dark wings is the same bird in both photos (I only hatched 3 wheatens). Glad to hear one might be a girl. I'll have to wait and see if she survives, but I don't think I'll want to hatch her offspring!

 

[Hangtown Farms]

maybe a tad cold but people do keep them in Iowa and Wisconson

 

[sol2go]

maybe a tad cold but people do keep them in Iowa and Wisconson

I'm on the coast in SoCal and I have mixed results with two CCLxCrele Penedesenca OE roos, which are from the same hatch/parents.

One OE roo, with yellow legs like the CCL, has an enormous comb and wattles, never a problem. It is amazing that a comb that large could be so straight!

The other OE roo, with white legs like the CP, has a very nice but small/normal comb and wattles which turn purple/blue every time the fog rolls in or a cold breeze blows. The comb and wattles have stayed intact and usually return to a normal color a few days later.

They are in the same coop and free-range together all day...?

By the way, the OE pullets from this cross are such interesting personalities. They look so demur, but they are paying attention to everything, and very likely to teach the others a new trick (jumping up into trees, flying over the fence, taste testing something new). But they are smart, and are very aware of their surroundings - first to run for cover, will return to the fenced area because they don't want to be separated from the flock, etc.

 

[ronott1]

Quote: How old are yours? Did you get them from Juststruttin? I am still waiting on eggs from mine....And I hatched 7 pullets and no cockerels.

 

[Hangtown Farms]

I'm on the coast in SoCal and I have mixed results with two CCLxCrele Penedesenca OE roos, which are from the same hatch/parents.

One OE roo, with yellow legs like the CCL, has an enormous comb and wattles, never a problem. It is amazing that a comb that large could be so straight!

The other OE roo, with white legs like the CP, has a very nice but small/normal comb and wattles which turn purple/blue every time the fog rolls in or a cold breeze blows. The comb and wattles have stayed intact and usually return to a normal color a few days later.

They are in the same coop and free-range together all day...?

By the way, the OE pullets from this cross are such interesting personalities. They look so demur, but they are paying attention to everything, and very likely to teach the others a new trick (jumping up into trees, flying over the fence, taste testing something new). But they are smart, and are very aware of their surroundings - first to run for cover, will return to the fenced area because they don't want to be separated from the flock, etc.

Crele penedesenca have big combs as well. We get pretty cold here and my crele have not had any issues at all. Bright red combs even with snow and occasional nights in the teens. You may want to ventilate the coop real good.
The alertness your hens have is from the penedesenca

 

[seventreesfarm]

Barred Rock cockerels are pretty tasty. We've butchered ours right about crowing age and they cooked up nicely.

I have 3 little oliver roo chicks that are showing some blurred barring. They're from a cuckoo marans hen with my oliver roo. Both have pea combs, one looks blue and one is darker. It will be interesting to see how they grow out.

 

[Kaugomu]

I'm looking for Olive Egger chicks to purchase. I'd love someone local that I could drive over and pick up chicks (I'm in San Antonio TX and willing to drive up to 5 hours in any direction) but shipping is also fantastic. Any breeders on here please PM me.