The Olive-Egger thread!

[LilJoe]

IMO, if they don't lay olive eggs, they are not olive eggers.

Yep, as soon as you start crossing, or back crossing, for second generation your chances of getting olive egg laying girls goes down. 50% is a guess as you don't know if a bird carries 1 or 2 blue genes and if only 1, if it will pass down or not.

If you really want all OE chicks, put the BCM cock over the CL hens, and the CL cock over the BCM hens. Separate them all out like that in 2 groups and wait 3-4 weeks for the unwanted sperm to pass before you gather eggs for hatching. Leave the mixes out of the mix(haha!) and of course the above groupings will only work if you are sure they are pure breeds. The BCM(cock) x CL(hen) will give you sexlinked chicks, sexable at hatch, so you could sell OE pullets as chicks.

Not sure what your goals are, if you're just playing around or want to sell OE layer chicks. Using OE or EE (they are both mixes) is a crap shoot and you have to wait until they lay to see if you actually produced an Olive Egg laying pullet.

I agree.
I'm probably worse about what to call things. I wouldn't call any that don't actually lay olive colored eggs OEs.
Even if they laid green but not dark enough to consider olive I'd just say those were EEs. Don't call brown egg laying birds EEs either. Don't seem right to me.
All the F1s are only carrying one blue egg gene so that's 50% chance of it passing it on and 50% chance it doesn't so I'm sure that's where the 50% odds are coming from. But ya that's only one side so odds will depend on that its breed to. Another F1, back to a pure for blue egg bird or a dark brown breed that carries no blue gene.
So there's the issue. Breed to up the chances of blue egg gene or lower the chances to try and darken the green.
Imo it would be wise to start with the absolute darkest brown egg layers. I've had a lot of OEs not lay dark enough green in the F1s just because the marans only laid a decent egg not super dark.
Going as dark as you can will get you a generation or two that you can concentrate on blue egg gene. You start out with a medium dark egg layer thinking you can easily back breed for darkness that puts you behind the 8 ball already.
You're right every generation might give you some improvement on a few of the birds but it ups the percentage of throw away birds to and unlike breeding for color and such you won't know on those till they start laying.
I like the olive eggs but they're a pain to breed especially trying to breed a line of.
I'd stick with keeping the parent breeds and only producing and selling F1s.

Rught now I'm using my BCM hens to get more BCM. One of the two lays a 6 or a 7, so hopefully the roo keeps it dark. If not then..
I still don't understand why I can't use the mixes to try to create OE.

 

[aart]

I still don't understand why I can't use the mixes to try to create OE.

You can...if you want....just less chance you'll get them.

Not sure what your goals are, if you're just playing around or want to sell OE layer chicks. Using OE or EE (they are both mixes) is a crap shoot and you have to wait until they lay to see if you actually produced an Olive Egg laying pullet.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Your mixes only carry one blue egg gene so half the chicks they produce with the BCM will only lay brown eggs..
You'll be raising pullets to laying age just to figure out which half or so aren't olive eggers.
Or if you believe OEs can lay brown eggs then you're good to go with all their chicks.

 

[LilJoe]

Your mixes only carry one blue egg gene so half the produce with the BCM will only lay brown eggs..
You'll be raising pullets to laying age just to figure out which half or so aren't olive eggers.
Or if you believe OEs can lay brown eggs then you're good to go with all their chicks.

I don't believe OE lay brown eggs... she's just one of the 50% or so OE chicks that lay brown eggs. Her mom was backcrossed to a BCM so that makes the brown egg chances higher.

 

[emgrider]

I thought I might add something to this thread. I had a Lavender Amerauca roo over a Black Jersey Giant hen that produced a daughter who laid a nice green egg (not olive). Well then I bred the green egger hen to a Birchen Marans roo, and their daughter lays a STUNNING olive egg. Would the olive egger have a blue gene or a brown? I’m confused about that. Thanks!

 

[aart]

Would the olive egger have a blue gene or a brown?

Blue shell gene came from Ameraucana background.
There are only blue and white shells.
Brown coating genes are different.

 

[The Moonshiner]

I thought I might add something to this thread. I had a Lavender Amerauca roo over a Black Jersey Giant hen that produced a daughter who laid a nice green egg (not olive). Well then I bred the green egger hen to a Birchen Marans roo, and their daughter lays a STUNNING olive egg. Would the olive egger have a blue gene or a brown? I’m confused about that. Thanks!

She has one blue egg gene and one non blue (White) egg gene.
She also has genes for brown. Brown is separate from white or blue. Whole different set of genes that work in a whole different way.

 

[hipeatall]

Hi there! I was wondering if anyone has ordered pullet chick Olive Eggers from Privett Hatchery. If so, I would love to see pictures of the chicks, eggs, hens if you have them to share. Thanks so much!

 

[Juther]

I have 2 F4 OE hens and a F4 OE roo. If I breed them together what percentage of green eggs will I get?

Where can I learn about chicken genetics/breeding?

 

[aart]

I have 2 F4 OE hens and a F4 OE roo. If I breed them together what percentage of green eggs will I get?

Where can I learn about chicken genetics/breeding?

Where did these birds come from..and what is their parentage??

At the top of this FB group page there is an excellent chart for OE's,
and great place to ask questions.