The Olive-Egger thread!

[squirtsmomma]

Newbie question that may sound stupid. We hatched a barnyard mix for our first flock and all the eggs we hatched were tan, some a little lighter and some a little darker, but tan, not dark. We have no clear idea of what the parents were. Most were supposed to be RIR and BR, but its clear we got all kinds of birds, 4 cochins too. Is it possible to have gotten an olive egger in the bunch? We get tan eggs from most of the chickens, but one chicken lays more or less olive, maybe gray colored eggs. Just trying to figure out if she's healthy, needs a different diet or is this just what she lays. Like I said we are new to having a flock of laying hens. Only raised chickens when I was little for meat. This was her on the left when she was about 10 weeks old. Sorry I don't have a better picture. She's very docile, talks to me constantly. Love her to pieces, just wondering what she might be. This is her when she was hatched.

 

[annabellaknits]

There is a thread specifically for Cream Legbar mixes or hybrids as some call them. Check it out, people have done many different crosses and posted many pics. The variation depending on the cross can be quite different. Do you know what breeds the chicks parents were? I have a legbar cross that is black barred and she is a pullet that lays blue eggs.

Here is the link if you want to take a look https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/825092/cream-legbar-hybrid-thread

Thanks will check out
My roo is a mix of my own, F1 was orp roo over ameracauna hen, F2 (current roo) F1 roo over black giant hen

 

[morbius18]

I 'discovered' a secret olive egger today. I found a weird semi hard shell egg yesterday. It was olive. I assumed maybe being a first egg, something wasn't working right yet. After closely examing my hens today, I found one of my Black Copper Marans pullets had a suspicious looking comb. She had always had really sparse leg feathering. Her comb was smaller, I just assumed again that she was a late bloomer and would grow into it. She definitely has a weird comb in the middle of a pea and a single. Just one row of bumps like a small single comb. Any thoughts?

 

[aart]

I 'discovered' a secret olive egger today. I found a weird semi hard shell egg yesterday. It was olive. I assumed maybe being a first egg, something wasn't working right yet. After closely examing my hens today, I found one of my Black Copper Marans pullets had a suspicious looking comb. She had always had really sparse leg feathering. Her comb was smaller, I just assumed again that she was a late bloomer and would grow into it. She definitely has a weird comb in the middle of a pea and a single. Just one row of bumps like a small single comb. Any thoughts?

Small straight comb, could be modified pea.
Looks like she has a bit of a beard too maybe?
BCM do not always have feathered legs tho.
Where did birds come from?

 

[morbius18]

Small straight comb, could be modified pea.
Looks like she has a bit of a beard too maybe?
BCM do not always have feathered legs tho.
Where did birds come from?

Got her with a group on bcms from a local breeder. She did have a few olive eggers and id them by their leg feathering. The pure bcms from this breeder have leg feathering.

 

[morbius18]

Ive got a group of olive eggers that are 2 months old. One is already starting to crow. I wouldn't have believed it, if I wasn't just watching it right now.

They are skittish, so its hard to get a closeup good pic. The first is of him crowing, the second is of the group with him standing tall in the back.

 

[aart]

Quote: Well, there's some pretty good clues that you have an OE......
....time will tell once she gets the egg machine tuned up and cranking.

 

[beagleman77]

I had a accidental cross last year a black giant roo with 2 EE hens and gave them to my aunt some of the offspring lay olive eggs a dark color I got some EEs today just a couple days old I want to cross them to a brown egg layer to get some for my self to see how they do with the egg laying

 

[MelissaZeno]

My OE's hatchlings that are laying now have very shades of green and one is darker than hers.

 

[morbius18]

Well, there's some pretty good clues that you have an OE......
....time will tell once she gets the egg machine tuned up and cranking.

So I contacted the lady. She was breeding olive eggers and black copper marans. They were identified by the lack of leg feathering, since their combs resembled a modified pea. Hers all possess wattles and no beards/muffs. She would be an F2 olive egger. The lady offered to buy her back or trade for a bcm. I told her that I was happy that I ended up with one and solved the mystery.

This is her second egg next to my easter egger, bcm and buff orpington egg.