The Olive-Egger thread!

[Fire Ant Farm]

I'm not sure who mom is, but all of the possible moms lay very dark eggs.... Weird, huh?

Edit to add - one lays an egg that's darkest compared to the others, and smoothly dark. (I think it's the black copper marans). The blue copper marans eggs are also very dark, but a hair lighter, and are speckled. Perhaps that's it?

 

[thlayli]

Might be? Since the color isn't an even layer of pigment the gene that got selected coulda just been the lighter "base" color. I have no idea about chicken genetics though lol

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Yeah, there are a bunch of brown egg color genes - heaven knows how many are involved here...

But the girls are lovely and sweet (I need to get some pics), and I'm happy to have interesting eggs.

 

[thlayli]

My chickens are little velociraptors. You're lucky to have nice ones!

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Not all are nice - among the others I have three Cream Legbar girls who don't have names. They just go by "The Three Witches". Evil little things...

 

[thlayli]

I have 2 buff Orpingtons who seesaw between friendly/cuddly and vicious. I have bruises from their beaks. >8C at least the unfriendly ones I have just stay away from me. Did you ever see the second Juassic Park, with the guy who gets eaten by the little compys? I feel like if I ever fell down that's what my chickens would do to me!

 

[CABINHOLLOWNC]

Pretty sure you have a cockerel and the second is a pullet.

Thank you! That is what I thought too...but I'm certainly not and expert or even qualified to make a guess...LOL!!

 

[CABINHOLLOWNC]

Not all are nice - among the others I have three Cream Legbar girls who don't have names. They just go by "The Three Witches". Evil little things...

...The Three Little Witches!!

 

[miss maple]

My two home grown "olive eggers" (lavender ameraucana x blue/black cooper marans) hatched this January are now both laying. Interesting - one is laying a spearmint-colored egg, one is laying a very dark olive egg. (Brown NN egg for comparison)
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Thanks for posting this pic, you have no idea how much it helped me hehe! I had an araucana and oe yet to lay and found a blueish egg in the nest boxes the other day. Since my ladies are marans x araucana, I was expecting dark olive eggs from the both of them, but this egg is nowhere near as dark, but also not as bright as an araucana egg. Now I know who laid it (pretty sure at least), so thank you!

 

[miss maple]

Adding a comparison photo in case I jumped the gun and shower the wrong little lady with praise hehehe