The Olive-Egger thread!

ceancharles · Mar 20, 2015

ronott1 said:
You will likely have half brown egg layers and half green egg layers. some of the OE eggs will be a very dark green too.

I'm still reading through the 841 pages in this thread to get a decent handle on what they'll look look like and what they'll lay. All 3 have really pretty feathered legs too. I'll get better pics with the camera when I find it

LisaLouHoo · Mar 21, 2015

ceancharles said:
I'm still reading through the 841 pages in this thread to get a decent handle on what they'll look look like and what they'll lay. All 3 have really pretty feathered legs too. I'll get better pics with the camera when I find it

Each olive egger will look different since they are a mixed breed. The goal is the egg color, not what they will look like. You cross a really dark egg layer with a blue egg layer. The key to the olive color is the really dark chocolate colored egg, like a marans, wellsummer, etc. You can use ameraucana or cream legbar for the blue color. If you use an EE, then you have a 50/50 chance at getting a brown egg layer because they are also a mix.

abbygibson1212 · Mar 21, 2015

I was thinking in the future when I have more coops and space and a good incubator i might do wheaten and/or splash marans under a cream legbar rooster. Does anyone know if this would be a good cross for olive eggs?

dekel18042 · Mar 21, 2015

abbygibson1212 said:
I was thinking in the future when I have more coops and space and a good incubator i might do wheaten and/or splash marans under a cream legbar rooster. Does anyone know if this would be a good cross for olive eggs?

It should be. I have one of those but not laying yet. I expect the one that is crossed with black copper marans should lay a darker olive egg only because her mother's eggs are darker. But as long as you're crossing a dark egg layer with a blue egg layer, you should get olive eggs.

FridayYet · Mar 21, 2015

Only thing about using a CCL is that it "breaks" the association of the pea comb with the blue egg gene. Won't matter to the F1 egg color, but it may make selecting for chicks with the blue egg gene a little harder down the line. All depends on what your future plans are.

Whatever you choose, have fun and post pictures!

dekel18042 · Mar 21, 2015

FridayYet said:
Only thing about using a CCL is that it "breaks" the association of the pea comb with the blue egg gene. Won't matter to the F1 egg color, but it may make selecting for chicks with the blue egg gene a little harder down the line. All depends on what your future plans are.

Whatever you choose, have fun and post pictures!

That is so true, but sometimes we work with what we have. Had a really nice young Ameraucana rooster taken by a fox, which left me with only a cream legbar.

I have another rooster, Easter egger, straight combed but he did hatch from my best blue egg layer. Most of the girls in the line lay blue or green/blue eggs but on his father's side there are some pink egg layers so will have to test breed him to see what he carries.
In the meantime I'm working with what I have.

abbygibson1212 · Mar 21, 2015

@dekel18042 Well I would love to see her eggs when she starts laying!

ochochicas · Mar 21, 2015

FridayYet said:
Only thing about using a CCL is that it "breaks" the association of the pea comb with the blue egg gene. Won't matter to the F1 egg color, but it may make selecting for chicks with the blue egg gene a little harder down the line. All depends on what your future plans are.

Whatever you choose, have fun and post pictures!

Yes, this can be true, but I have an F2 olive egger with a pea comb that lays the most boring brown eggs you've ever seen. We still love her though! You can't depend on the comb (or ear lobes) to predict egg color anymore.