The Olive-Egger thread!

[BlacksheepCardigans]

May be of interest to some -

I have a friend who has been looking for EEs, as he calls them "the type I had 30 years ago." I showed him pics of Ameraucanas and all kinds of EEs and he wanted them as gamey as possible, dark partridge/wild, laying a green egg. (This was also interesting to me, because that's what I remember from thirty years ago too - the ones we had laid a green/light olive egg, very similar to a bunch of the OE F1s, and every single one was dark partridge/wild colored.)

Anyway, he started calling around to hatcheries, actually asking them what was in their EEs. Did they ever lay brown, did they have a "pretty range" of colors, and rejecting any that said "Oh, yes, a beautiful rainbow!" or anything of the sort. He got to Meyer and Meyer told him that they'd had the same strains forever, they were all partridge colors, and they ALL laid green.

I'm waiting for his order (he's getting 50, which is going to be the largest single order of EEs I've ever seen) and I'll believe it if I see it, but if they're as consistent as Meyer says they are then Meyer may be an excellent source of homozygous blue-gene EEs for larger-scale OE projects (or for Amerilegs or other EE-based projects).

Just passing along the info

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[Wynette]

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Sure there is...breed toward that goal and all it will take is time. Most people are just content to keep producing mutts and more mutts, selling eggs by the dozen and then you get what we have here...failure to communicate...

For sure, this would be fun to work on...maybe when I retire!

For me, it's just something I can easily do sort of "on the side" since I have Marans, EEs, and Ameraucanas.

Also, regarding "failure to communicate" - there's also a responsibility on the part of the customer/buyer to become well informed & do their research. Just sayin'.

 

[Medicine Man]

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Sure there is...breed toward that goal and all it will take is time. Most people are just content to keep producing mutts and more mutts, selling eggs by the dozen and then you get what we have here...failure to communicate...

For sure, this would be fun to work on...maybe when I retire!

For me, it's just something I can easily do sort of "on the side" since I have Marans, EEs, and Ameraucanas.

Also, regarding "failure to communicate" - there's also a responsibility on the part of the customer/buyer to become well informed & do their research. Just sayin'.

mostly, I was just quoting Cool Hand Luke.

But I do think that nowadays if we're selling hatching eggs we could mention the genetic statistics, to the extent that we know them, for any given mating. I can disclose to somebody if any given one of my eggs is going to hatch a peep with a 50, 75, or 100% *likelihood* (mathematically) of carrying a blue egg gene. Can't others do this with their birds' matings? If not, do they have any business selling hatching eggs from a designer hybrid? Why/how sell it if one cannot reasonably predict it? I suspect that most everybody selling Olive Egger hatching eggs is fully aware of Punnet Squares and Mendelian Genetics, but chooses not to disclose the statistical numbers.

 

[Medicine Man]

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Nice informacion. Meyer's EEs are very true to the Quechua roots. Ideal's EEs are more likely to lay a blue egg. Both are very likely to be homozygous for blue egg genes.

 

[Illia]

Murray McMurray are quite true to the original Quechua, but they are also prone to having health and genetic issues and defects.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Hello all, I have a pretty EE, Sunny Girl that lays a brownish tinged green egg. Do you think if I breed her to my welsummer roo, that their off spring may lay the dark olive colored eggs?

Sunny Girl

Her first egg in the middle

The green one is hers in this pic too

 

[HHandbasket]

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Well, she's not quite old enough to lay yet anyway, so there is still hope. She may be one of those OEs that has a straight comb but lays an olive or golden-olive egg anyway. That is one of the positive things about this... it's a mystery what she'll lay until she actually starts laying. I like her a lot... she's a sweet bird & is really pretty. And she's an integral part of my flock now. I'm still going to get the BCM after all because you can never have too many pretty, chocolatey-colored eggs.

 

[Morgan7782]

Genetics are awesome and frustating all rolled into one lol!! It is really neat though because each breed was originally.. Just an experiment. Nobody knew they would create a beautiful French Black Copper Maran, or some really beautifully colored Wyandottes. But they are here

and great additions to the "chicken world".

I am excited for a surprise as well. Olivia's temperment is awesome and I think (hope) the one I get will be the same. It is so funny to look back when I first got chickens and had Barred Rocks, and only really wanted Barred Rocks. Now I have a total mixture and it is great! I am excited for everybody to start laying and will update when I get my olive egger girl and when she lays

 

[buckabucka]

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I have two EEs from Meyer Hatchery. One is white, and lays a green/olive egg. The other is partridge colored and lays a pale blue/green egg. She has a cross-beak, but manages to get enough food that she grew and started laying. I'm hoping she continues to survive.

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

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That should work! Pretty girl there.