The Olive-Egger thread!

[Chefswifey]

I can't wait to get my babies hatched out, grown up, and laying eggs!! I'm working on first gen olive eggers using pure amarucana hens(from pips and peeps and a marans roo(not perfect)... really hoping to find a better roo with proper leg coloring and feathering... I'm hatching a tester series of eggs to see what happens though...

 

[nonsuch]

Olive Egger Roos available for free re-homing in Wisconsin. Both were purchased from Chicken Scratch Farm in Illinois as Chicks, and are crosses between Ameracaunas and Marans. They are 1 1/2 years of age. I would love to see them go to someone's Olive Egger or Backyard Flock. Quality homes a must or I'll keep them. They are for local pick up only. Please contact me if you're interested.

 

[gladahmae]

So, I'm quite certain this has been asked a lot of times, and I think I've got the genetics somewhat figured out, but I want to run this by some experts to make sure this will work.

I currently have a BCM, a Cuckoo Marans, and a splash blue marans (all pullets). I've got an EE (mutt from Craigslish, unknown origins although I *think* mama was a black Ameraucana or EE) cockerel with a pea comb. These should give me olive eggers, right? And the eggs from the cuckoo marans should yeild sexlinks (I understand that cuckoo eggs won't be a dark olive)?

And if I also put said cockerel over my barred rocks I should get green-laying sex-links?

Is using a straight-combed EE pretty much roulette with whether or not the blue gene is there, or does that not matter as much if the goal is green/olive eggs?

 

[redandalusian]

So, I'm quite certain this has been asked a lot of times, and I think I've got the genetics somewhat figured out, but I want to run this by some experts to make sure this will work.

I currently have a BCM, a Cuckoo Marans, and a splash blue marans (all pullets).  I've got an EE (mutt from Craigslish, unknown origins although I *think* mama was a black Ameraucana or EE) cockerel with a pea comb.  These should give me olive eggers, right?  And the eggs from the cuckoo marans should yeild sexlinks (I understand that cuckoo eggs won't be a dark olive)?

And if I also put said cockerel over my barred rocks I should get green-laying sex-links?

Is using a straight-combed EE pretty much roulette with whether or not the blue gene is there, or does that not matter as much if the goal is green/olive eggs?

It looks like you got it right. Except for when you use an Americana rooster over a dark egg laying hen only 3 percent of the babies will lay green or olive or green eggs so just select for peacombed babies.

 

[redandalusian]

So, I'm quite certain this has been asked a lot of times, and I think I've got the genetics somewhat figured out, but I want to run this by some experts to make sure this will work.

I currently have a BCM, a Cuckoo Marans, and a splash blue marans (all pullets).  I've got an EE (mutt from Craigslish, unknown origins although I *think* mama was a black Ameraucana or EE) cockerel with a pea comb.  These should give me olive eggers, right?  And the eggs from the cuckoo marans should yeild sexlinks (I understand that cuckoo eggs won't be a dark olive)?

And if I also put said cockerel over my barred rocks I should get green-laying sex-links?

Is using a straight-combed EE pretty much roulette with whether or not the blue gene is there, or does that not matter as much if the goal is green/olive eggs?

It looks like you got it right. Except for when you use an Americana rooster over a dark egg laying hen only 3 percent of the babies will lay green or olive or green eggs so just select for peacombed babies.

 

[redandalusian]

Sorry about the double post

 

[gladahmae]

It looks like you got it right. Except for when you use an Americana rooster over a dark egg laying hen only 3 percent of the babies will lay green or olive or green eggs so just select for peacombed babies.

really? 3%? Why is this the first I've read that? Uuugh.

So applying the 3% rule, I would cross my EE roo over my marans hens, and hopefully get a peacombed male from that as F1 and cross THAT over........what? My dark layers again, or green layers/other EEs?

 

[kahlua]

really? 3%? Why is this the first I've read that? Uuugh.

So applying the 3% rule, I would cross my EE roo over my marans hens, and hopefully get a peacombed male from that as F1 and cross THAT over........what? My dark layers again, or green layers/other EEs?

That's not exactly accurate. Only 3% of non-pea combed chicks will have the blue egg laying gene. This is due to linked genes on the chromosome. The genes for pea comb and blue-egg-laying are very close so they generally transfer to the gametes together. Think of it like blond hair and blue eyes in people, they *usually* go together.

Long story short, pea combed chicks are your best chance. Single combed chicks have only a 3% chance of carrying the blue gene - most likely they'll just lay brown eggs.

If pure ameraucanas are being used as the blue egg layer, all of the 1st generation chicks should have pea combs since the ameraucana parent shouldn't have any other genes for combs present. If you do get any with single combs, I wouldn't keep them. It's the F2 (second) generation that may have a high proportion of single combs, so you'd keep the pea combed chicks out of that group for the best chance of having olive eggers.

 

[TAMMACLEAN]

Quick question, if I put my Olive-Egger roo with a cochin will I get bantam olive eggers? Or should it be a cochin roo with an olive egger girl.

 

[gladahmae]

That's not exactly accurate. Only 3% of non-pea combed chicks will have the blue egg laying gene. This is due to linked genes on the chromosome. The genes for pea comb and blue-egg-laying are very close so they generally transfer to the gametes together. Think of it like blond hair and blue eyes in people, they *usually* go together.

Long story short, pea combed chicks are your best chance. Single combed chicks have only a 3% chance of carrying the blue gene - most likely they'll just lay brown eggs.

If pure ameraucanas are being used as the blue egg layer, all of the 1st generation chicks should have pea combs since the ameraucana parent shouldn't have any other genes for combs present. If you do get any with single combs, I wouldn't keep them. It's the F2 (second) generation that may have a high proportion of single combs, so you'd keep the pea combed chicks out of that group for the best chance of having olive eggers.

Ooooooh. Ok. This is an explanation that makes more sense to me.
So, since my roo will be and EE, and more than likely heterozygous for comb even though *he* has a peacomb, I may get a higher percentage of straight-combed chicks as a result.

Having fun making punnett squares in my brain figuring out how everything can pass down.

Seems like I'm planning on doing the inverse of what the traditional cross to make OEs (blue roo over dark layers instead of the more common dark roo over blue layers) but at this point I'd rather give what I've got a test run in early spring and then decide if I need to get my fingers on a marans roo and some blue layers.