The Olive-Egger thread!

[Manningjw]

"Olive" was purchased as an Olive Egger, but now I'm doubtful. Would those experienced with BCM x Ameraucana Olive Eggers chime in? She is 11 weeks old and has what looks to be a straight comb developing. I don't think it's a pea comb as my Ameraucana's comb looks much different. (I'm a complete and utter newbie so bear with me.) This bird would be a 2nd generation as per the breeder. The first generation was a BCM X Wheaten Ameraucana. I get it that all of those birds would have a pea comb, but should carry the straight comb gene. My bird is a result of breeding the F1 bird back to a BCM rooster. I understand the genetics, but I'm unfamiliar with what a straight comb looks like at 11 weeks. Is this a straight comb? Any reason, based upon looks, to think she is a he? The behavior has become more confrontational with the other chicks lately. It may just be natural pecking order, but I'm beginning to wonder about Olive's sex.





Thanks for taking the time to look!

I cannot see well enough to say it isn't a straight comb, but you can tell on day old and up seeing it in person, the difference is actually quite obvious when compared to pea comb chickens.

If they were pure stock, the Ameraucana should have been Homozygous for pea comb AND blue egg genetics thus making it impossible to have anything but a green or olive egger chicken with a pea comb in the F1 cross. If the selection for pea comb and blue egg genetics wasn't very consistent in the parent "Ameraucana" stock, you cannot know what she might lay until she lays her first egg. Keep us updated though!

Your pullet color combination is my favorite color of chicken. Dark blue laced feathers with red leakage in the neck (idealy also the chest for me!) I think is just a beautiful combo. I am so excited to finally add blue feather genetics back to my flock!!

 

[egg0]

I have a french copper maran over some blue ameraucana hens. And hatched out 2 blues and 2 black hens. They should lay in a month or so. Looking forward to the eggs!

 

[FancyFarmQ]

Just thinking:

If you crossed a welsummer with a crested cream legbar... Would those chicks also be auto sexed?

 

[ronott1]

Just thinking:

If you crossed a welsummer with a crested cream legbar... Would those chicks also be auto sexed?

They could be sex linked--for the first generation but it would break the auto sexing genes.

Go the the sexling thread and read up on how it works. Post on the thread and ask there to see about auto sexing with those breeds. Black sex links work because the barring is linked to the males. You may get redsexlinks if there is silver that is linked.

 

[dekel18042]

Just thinking:

If you crossed a welsummer with a crested cream legbar... Would those chicks also be auto sexed?

From what I understand, different lines of welsumers are easier or harder to sex at hatching.
My Olive eggers followed the welsumer mothers. The girls had dark eyeliner and a dark straight line from the eye while the boys had lighter (tan) broken lines without full eyeliner.
That's one of the reasons I liked that cross better than the one involving marans.
Breeding OE to OE, this wouldn't work.

 

[cicknmama]

     Many hatcheries sell them but they are fairly expensive.  Olive eggers aren't a breed, but are made from breeding a dark egg layer to a blue egg layer.  For example you could get some by breeding your Ameraucana and aracana if they lay blue eggs to one of the dark or chocolate egg layers like marans or welsumers.
      One nice thing about using welsumers is you can often sex the peeps at hatch.

I have 2 EE hens that lay blue eggs and a Welsummer roo. Would it be possible to get OE's from this breeding?

 

[Manningjw]

I have 2 EE hens that lay blue eggs and a Welsummer roo. Would it be possible to get OE's from this breeding?

Very possible depending on how deep brown the eggs of the Welsummer were that produced the rooster.

Since you know the EE's lay blue eggs, there is at LEAST a 50% chance each of their off spring will carry the blue egg gene which is dominant. If they carry two copies(this is common) then they have 100% chance of passing on one copy of the gene and all their offspring will lay various shades of green possibly olive in color.

 

[cicknmama]

Very possible depending on how deep brown the eggs of the Welsummer were that produced the rooster. 

Since you know the EE's lay blue eggs, there is at LEAST a 50% chance each of their off spring will carry the blue egg gene which is dominant.  If they carry two copies(this is common) then they have 100% chance of passing on one copy of the gene and all their offspring will lay various shades of green possibly olive in color.

That's exciting! My roo is only 5 months old and is not breeding to any of my EE's. He prefers the more docile hens. When I'm ready to breed them, should I separate him into a pen with the EE's?

 

[Manningjw]

That's exciting! My roo is only 5 months old and is not breeding to any of my EE's. He prefers the more docile hens. When I'm ready to breed them, should I separate him into a pen with the EE's?

If you have less than 12-15 hens he should be able to fertilize all of them so not really necessary to separate the EEs from the flock. If you have 2 roosters then you will need to separate the other rooster from the EE's but having other hens with him is fine so long as you can tell the eggs apart(should be easy if they are your only blue egg laying hens). If you have any green egg layers, you might want to breed the rooster to them as well or even preferentially because they already would have brown egg genes.

 

[cicknmama]

If you have less than 12-15 hens he should be able to fertilize all of them so not really necessary to separate the EEs from the flock.  If you have 2 roosters then you will need to separate the other rooster from the EE's but having other hens with him is fine so long as you can tell the eggs apart(should be easy if they are your only blue egg laying hens).  If you have any green egg layers, you might want to breed the rooster to them as well or even preferentially because they already would have brown egg genes. 

I have 13 hens. 4 EE's. Two lay green eggs and two lay blue. So the green egg layers would be better to breed to? One of my EE's already lays a darker green egg. In between a mint and olive color. But she runs from the roo. Two of the EE's are going on their second year and won't allow the roo to breed them. Will that change as he gets a little older and larger?