The Olive-Egger thread!

[aart]

Hi. I am fairly new to chickens ..I now have:
2 light Brahma hens
2 ee hens lay a mint green egg
1 splash maran rooster
2 splash maran hens
1 blue maran hen
And 1 auracauna smooth face roo

What crosses can I or should I try to get?

I'd put that Marans roo over the EE hen......and the Araucana roo over the Marans hens.
Are you sure it's really a pure Araucana?

I have a quick question. In making olive eggers would it matter if you cross a bcm rooster with EE hens verses crossing bcm hens with a blue Americana rooster? Would the end results be the same?

The results wouldn't be the same because the EE has more genetic diversity and could produce pullets that laid any color.

Americana is probably an EE, if that's how it was spelled when you bought it.
If you have a true Ameraucana roo, putting him over the BCM hen should result in olivish eggs.

 

[dustiep2006]

True rumpless auracauna. .he was an extra roo from someone with a breeding pair

 

[dustiep2006]

One of my ee hens has more pf a pea comb..would she be better to breed to the splash marans roo?

 

[aart]

One of my ee hens has more pf a pea comb..would she be better to breed to the splash marans roo?

Yep....as the theory is that the pea comb is tied to the blue egg gene.

 

[dustiep2006]

Ok..thanks! .

 

[gyr99]

I spelled it wrong. My Ameraucana rooster is a pure breed from a rep. Breeder. However my hens are Easter eggers. My BCM"s are also pure breed. I belive that by using the BCM rooster over the EE hens at least I would have better egg production as my BCM hens only lay a few eggs per week. I would lay my bottom dollar on the fact that going the other way, egg production would be low.

 

[aart]

I spelled it wrong. My Ameraucana rooster is a pure breed from a rep. Breeder. However my hens are Easter eggers. My BCM"s are also pure breed. I belive that by using the BCM rooster over the EE hens at least I would have better egg production as my BCM hens only lay a few eggs per week. I would lay my bottom dollar on the fact that going the other way, egg production would be low.

Yep, if egg production is a priority, then best not hatch from a low producing hen.

 

[dekel18042]

I spelled it wrong. My Ameraucana rooster is a pure breed from a rep. Breeder. However my hens are Easter eggers. My BCM"s are also pure breed. I belive that by using the BCM rooster over the EE hens at least I would have better egg production as my BCM hens only lay a few eggs per week. I would lay my bottom dollar on the fact that going the other way, egg production would be low.

Just from using my own birds, various breeds, I made the discovery that the rooster has a BIG effect on his daughters both when they start laying and how many eggs they lay. My original rooster was from a line where the girls all started laying during their fourth month. My hens, various breeds, had all started laying around the six to seven month mark, none earlier, and some other pullets I had purchased didn't start to lay until 7- to after 8 months.
When mated to this rooster or his sons the girls all started laying between 4 months 5 days and the oldest one was 5.5 month and she started laying during the short dark days of winter. I thought she might wait until spring. My purchased pullets, kept in the same conditions all started laying much later.
My marans are my poorest layers but their eggs are beautiful. I have several olive egger daughters, still too young to lay. Dad is a cream legbar so not sure what he contributed, but it will be interesting to see when they start laying and how many eggs.
So I've learned to not discount the rooster and will always keep at least one from the good laying lines. Mostly they've become EE's which are now my best layers.
With what I have learned kept in mind, don't think I would use a marans rooster unless I wanted pure bred marans.
I would consider welsumers as my welsumers lay a very dark speckled egg and are much better layers than the marans. They did start later (It was winter.) but once they started, they have been excellent layers and I have some OE girls from them. The bonus there is it appears they can be sexed upon hatch.

 

[ronott1]

Just from using my own birds, various breeds, I made the discovery that the rooster has a BIG effect on his daughters both when they start laying and how many eggs they lay. My original rooster was from a line where the girls all started laying during their fourth month. My hens, various breeds, had all started laying around the six to seven month mark, none earlier, and some other pullets I had purchased didn't start to lay until 7- to after 8 months.
When mated to this rooster or his sons the girls all started laying between 4 months 5 days and the oldest one was 5.5 month and she started laying during the short dark days of winter. I thought she might wait until spring. My purchased pullets, kept in the same conditions all started laying much later.
My marans are my poorest layers but their eggs are beautiful. I have several olive egger daughters, still too young to lay. Dad is a cream legbar so not sure what he contributed, but it will be interesting to see when they start laying and how many eggs.
So I've learned to not discount the rooster and will always keep at least one from the good laying lines. Mostly they've become EE's which are now my best layers.
With what I have learned kept in mind, don't think I would use a marans rooster unless I wanted pure bred marans.
I would consider welsumers as my welsumers lay a very dark speckled egg and are much better layers than the marans. They did start later (It was winter.) but once they started, they have been excellent layers and I have some OE girls from them. The bonus there is it appears they can be sexed upon hatch.

Yes, the rooster is very important and provides a lot of the genes.

You did cross two breeds though so you created hybrid vigor. They will often hatch earlier and better than the parents too.

 

[JFreeman]

Those birds look fun! I love the crest and there is a lot going on in the feathers. Subtle but beautiful.

Thank you.

As soon as they start laying, I'll try to guess who lays which eggs and post pictures.