The Olive-Egger thread!

[Happy Chooks]

I hatched one from my EE covered by my welsummer rooster, and she looked EXACTLY like a welsummer with a beard and pea comb. We gave her to a friend, so I don't have current pics of her. My EE was the standard EE partridge coloring.

My olive eggers are 3 1/2 months now. I can't wait to see what they lay. Some are first generation and some are who knows what generation. (I have a multiple generation olive egger rooster)

 

[HHandbasket]

I have a question about my olive egger. She is 20 weeks old as of this last Friday and came from one of Wynette's eggs (not that Wynette herself laid the eggs LOL). My EEs have laid around 30 weeks, but this morning, the girls who lay were making egg song, and Olivia (the olive egger, of course) started chiming in! She has also been very, very friendly with us as of late, and yesterday I thought she was gonna squat for me (it was almost like she paused and thought about it hehehe). I didn't anticipate any eggs from her until March or so--they don't lay THIS young, do they? I would be surprised if she starts laying in January! I would be pleased, for sure... I'm sooo excited/anxious to see what color eggs she lays.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
She could. My EE began laying at 20 weeks.

 

[TheEggLady]

Hi there,

I am based in the UK, but like you all I keep a little flock of pet chickens.

I am very excited this month, as last Summer I crossed my Copper Black Maran hen with a Lavander Aracauna. Both pure breeds. The pullets, which are just starting to lay, are producing a beautiful dark olive egg. I was told that if you cross a dark brown layer with a blue/green egg breed, you should produce olive egg layers, which underneath the olive are blue/green! It seems to have worked for me. So I suppose any blue/green egg layer (not too many to choose from) with a dark brown egg layer, would work. The biggest problem for me was sexing them, and I ended up raising some of the cockerels, until they were obviously cockerels. I did implement the "tail feather" trick. That is ringing the chicks that were the first to grow tail feathers after a few days, as these were supposed to be pullets. This seemed to have a 70% success rate, with only a few cockerels slipping through, so there must be some truth in the "tail feather" trick. I am still waiting for some more to lay, as they were only hatched in July this year, and we have had a very cold winter.

All my chicks have names connected with food; Pastry, Hot Legs, Hot Wings, Mr Paxo (a brand of chicken stuffing in England), Mr Kellogg, Cornflake, Gravy, Peanut, Omelette, Chips, Bisquits, Nugget, Marmite, Dumpling, etc, etc.

I would post some photos, but every time I try and download some, it doesn't work. I'm now fed up of trying and getting nowhere. Is it because I have a MAC and my software isn't compatible with the site's system? I keep getting asked for the URL???? I only want to download from my photo album. I was expecting to be able to find a programme similar to hotmail, where you can add any attachment from your own computer.

Good luck with future crosses. ....just wish I could show you all some photos!

 

[draye]

I did implement the "tail feather" trick. That is ringing the chicks that were the first to grow tail feathers after a few days, as these were supposed to be pullets. This seemed to have a 70% success rate, with only a few cockerels slipping through, so there must be some truth in the "tail feather" trick.

How many days old before you can tell about the tail feathers? Two-Three days?​

 

[jerryse]

Sexing chicks can be done if you us barring on one side of your cross.It is sex linked.If you use cuckoo marars roo over black,blue,lavender,or any mostly black variety the opposite sex in chicks will be barred and can be sexed by the white head spot.In the example the pullets will be barred.If you use barred hens and a mostly black variety the males will be barred.In addition to this if you keep a barred flock you can sex by the size of the head spot as the larger spots will be male.Hope this is a help. Jerry

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

Just had to show off one of my new Olive Egger chicks. I had 4 hatch from eggs from Natalie (sonew). Here's one, with her little serama friend.

 

[Wynette]

Welcom, TheEggLady!

Post some egg pics when you can - we love pics!!!

PhiladelphiaP - what a cute little chick! Congrats!

 

[Morgan7782]

Hello everybody!!!

I do not have my Olive Egger yet, but hopefully in a week or two! I am getting one from a good friend, and this OE girl is B-E-A-Utiful! Here is a picture from when I picked her out. She is the one in the front.

 

[Wynette]

Morgan, she is lovely! She looks just like a black copper marans, but with muffs/beard! She's sweet! Make sure to post an egg pic when she lays for you!