The Olive-Egger thread!

[HHandbasket]

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Why not Wynette?

I have a Wheaten Pene pullet that came from a pretty decent egg color (probably a 6) and I plan on putting her with my BW Ameraucana boy this fall in hopes of some OE babies.

Is there any negative outcomes known when using Penes verses Marans?

The only negative I can see is that it breeds out the blue egg gene & you don't get olive eggs.

The chicks that came from her ameraucana x penedesenca mother are laying brown eggs, not olive. That's why she's not using the penedesenca anymore. The eggs a GORGEOUS brown/terra cotta (almost red with a creamy sheen on them), but they're not green & the blue gene is bred out of 75% of them, according to what she told me this morning.

I love my OE that came from her stock, but she's not really an OE since her eggs are terra cotta. It's a genetics gamble with mutts anyway, but she's a pretty bird with a wonderful disposition! Incidentally, my OE that came from Wynette's penedesenca/ameraucana cross did hatch FROM a beautiful olive green egg, but she herself doesn't lay olive eggs.

 

[Wynette]

Quote:
Why not Wynette?

I have a Wheaten Pene pullet that came from a pretty decent egg color (probably a 6) and I plan on putting her with my BW Ameraucana boy this fall in hopes of some OE babies.

Is there any negative outcomes known when using Penes verses Marans?

The only negative I can see is that it breeds out the blue egg gene & you don't get olive eggs.

The chicks that came from her ameraucana x penedesenca mother are laying brown eggs, not olive. That's why she's not using the penedesenca anymore. The eggs a GORGEOUS brown/terra cotta (almost red with a creamy sheen on them), but they're not green & the blue gene is bred out of 75% of them, according to what she told me this morning.

I love my OE that came from her stock, but she's not really an OE since her eggs are terra cotta. It's a genetics gamble with mutts anyway, but she's a pretty bird with a wonderful disposition! Incidentally, my OE that came from Wynette's penedesenca/ameraucana cross did hatch FROM a beautiful olive green egg, but she herself doesn't lay olive eggs.

Not ALL of the pullets/hens out of that cross lay brown eggs. 75% of them lay olive colored eggs. (If I stated only 25% lay olive colored eggs, I misspoke.) As indicated, in my second generation birds, 25% hatch with single combs; that's not to say that they will not lay olive colored eggs - there is a member on here who has a single comb olive egger that lays olive colored eggs from my line. Any time you cross breed, you will get different results. This is just what I have found with my breeding.

 

[ruth]

I've discovered that I can't keep breeding each generation of olive eggers back to pure BCM roos or I end up with a hen that will lay a dark brown egg. So now I'm breeding all of my olive egg laying hens to "pure" olive egger roos. Pure meaning roos that came from olive eggs that have pea combs. I didn't run into that problem until a 4th generation olive egger. So far as I know, all the rest of my olive eggers lay olive eggs.

Here's the beautiful dark egg (first egg) from one of my 4th generation olive eggers. At least I think it came from one of them. I can't swear to it because I did have a young blue copper pullet in the same pen and she could have laid it.

Here's a picture of some of mine at the Marans egg table show. I sent some just for display - they are the ones in the far left row (the darkest olive ones):

I do get a variety of shades of olive. Not a great picture since it came out too bright but here's some examples:

I already have a waiting list till the end of March but if anyone's interested in eggs from April 1st on just let me know. I also do a combo pack of Olive Eggs and pure BCM eggs so you can start your own Olive Egger Program.

Monique

 

[Wynette]

Monique, that's interesting that you didn't have an issue with an olive egger laying brown eggs until the 4th generation! You're onto something there! Folks sure LOVE the combo packs - I have almost as many orders for combo eggs as I do of just one variety!

 

[ruth]

Also, for those that have ordered Olive Eggs from me in the past, I would LOVE to know how they are laying and what colors. I'd also like to know what the bird looks like. I really need to keep some stats since I've sold far more than I've kept.

 

[Illia]

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[ruth]

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I know, I found it interesting but I think because I kept breeding each olive egg laying hen back to the same pure BCM roo that started out as the daddy to my first generation, that it was just too much "brown" in the mix. Of course, like I said, I can't swear to it that what I thought was an olive egger actually laid it. I'll find out soon because I just put them all in a breeder pen and will soon know if the dark brown egg layer is in there and will figure out which one she is if she's there. Everyone freeranges during the winter months and I gather up the olive eggers I want to use in my breeder pen based on their looks. I like to use the blue ones especially the blue ones with muffs and feathered feet. Some don't have muffs so the pure Blue Copper Marans pullet could have been in that pen when that first egg was laid because I was wanting to breed her to the Olive Egger Roos in the pen.

As you can tell, my Olive Egger experiments are still on going. However, thus far, every olive egger on the farm is a descendant of my blue Ameraucana mix hen and the two pure BCM roos she bunked with. I hatched several of her light green eggs and all of them grew up to lay olive eggs and I've been hatching them ever since and until this season, kept breeding them back to the same roos. Sadly, I lost the flock matriarch last year. I think she began laying internally because eggs suddenly stopped and then a few months later she suddenly stopped eating and became very lethargic and died within 2 days. She was one of "Ruth's" daugthers so all of my olive eggers are descendants of Ruth (who I still miss).

Ruth is my avatar. This was her daughter and the Olive Egger matriarch:

She laid the light blue/green eggs in the basket. All of her daughters laid olive eggs. I think I have some 5th generation this season.

 

[HHandbasket]

Wynette: I apologize if I may have gotten the percentages backwards; I was barely awake when I read your message earlier this morning. Either way, it's all good!

Your birds are healthy, gorgeous, and you know what you're doing far better than I do & I'm so grateful there are people like you here that teach us newbies! My Olivia does have a big, straight comb, but she's very unique in that she has muffs & a beard like the ameraucana in her ancestry, and she's a pretty blue/black with a BRIGHT red comb. I will have to send you a picture of her, she's such a beauty! And she follows me around like a puppy--she really is the most personable of our flock. You breed good birds. Kudos, and thank you!

Ruth: What beautiful eggs! Wow... just beautiful. Thank you for sharing those.

 

[Wynette]

Awe...sorry to hear you lost your Ruth daughter girl!

It "should" be easy to tell, Monique - the inside of the egg should still appear blue if it was an olive egger that laid it. Emphasis on "should" as, again, you just never know what you'll get with these guys!

 

[hipeatall]

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Gorgeous Eggs!!!