The Olive-Egger thread!

[HeyBigRhondaq]

I bred what I thought were pure BBS Ameraucana hens to a BBS Copper Marans. I ended up with some chicks that appear to have a single comb. Is this even possible if my Ameraucana is true? And, if so, will this first cross guarantee olive eggs? Or, do I actually have BBS EEs and now need to only keep my pea-combed offspring? I'm erked! The girls LOOK like true Ameraucanas and were sold to me as such. I want an Olive Egger, darn it!

Also, am I to understand a partridge roo over blue hens will be sex-linked? Awesome! I can work on that too! My next project OE is going to be Barnevelder over Isbar...

 

[bamadude]

Choot em

 

[redrooster99]

If I mix my Marans roo with Easter Eggers won't they be Olive Eggers.

 

[chicken pickin]

If I mix my Marans roo with Easter Eggers won't they be Olive Eggers.

The offspring have a possibility of being Olive Eggers. Since Easter Eggers are mixed breeds, if you don't know the parentage of the EE you cant be sure what color egg genes they carry. If the EE only has one blue egg gene. it is likely that about 50% of the time they will pass a blue egg gene to the offspring and if the father is the Marans then those offspring will be Olive Eggers. The other offspring will potentially lay a shade of brown eggs.

 

[redrooster99]

The offspring have a possibility of being Olive Eggers. Since Easter Eggers are mixed breeds, if you don't know the parentage of the EE you cant be sure what color egg genes they carry. If the EE only has one blue egg gene. it is likely that about 50% of the time they will pass a blue egg gene to the offspring and if the father is the Marans then those offspring will be Olive Eggers. The other offspring will potentially lay a shade of brown eggs.

The brown egg layers will have single combs though right.

 

[chicken pickin]

The brown egg layers will have single combs though right.

No not always. I have had pea combed hens lay brown eggs. The blue gene is linked to the pea comb but it is not guaranteed in crosses.

 

[redrooster99]

No not always. I have had pea combed hens lay brown eggs. The blue gene is linked to the pea comb but it is not guaranteed in crosses.

Oh thanks. is there anyway I could tell if they will lay brown or olive from hatch.
As I would like to sell som OE chicks and easter eggers.

 

[ronott1]

Oh thanks.

is there anyway I could tell if they will lay brown or olive from hatch.
As I would like to sell som OE chicks and easter eggers.

Thee is a genetic test but I do not know of anyone doing it.

 

[redrooster99]

Thee is a genetic test but I do not know of anyone doing it.

Oh we'll if I sold them as OE and said some May lay brown eggs would that be wrong.

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

Oh we'll if I sold them as OE and said some May lay brown eggs would that be wrong.

I think it depends on your market. If you are selling to the hobby farmer who wants the olive color in the egg basket, they would not be happy with you even when you tell them the bird may lay brown. If selling to someone who is interested in genetics and breeding, they would understand the numbers involved and what they "might" get from those birds.

Because I'm nearer to urban areas (25-50 miles from my remote location) where laws allow no roosters, I chose single comb olive eggers and only sell the F1 (first generation) crosses. They "should" all lay olive eggs. I also have some that are sexlinked, so I can confidently sell baby chicks as pullets from those birds. These are Black Copper Marans over cream crested legbar. The others, also having single combs, show themselves as pullets anywhere from 3-6 weeks. These are Isbar over Marans.