The Olive-Egger thread!

[Illia]

Thought I might share this with you all. . .

Blue Wheaten Olive Eggers

Quite a while ago I auctioned a few Olive Eggers, Blue Wheaten Marans x Blue Wheaten Ameraucana, and the buyer jenjscott had a nice outcome from the hatch. She was so nice to post the above thread and show off the offspring, I'm so happy to see my "grandchildren" chicks and their beauty.

I hope they lay very nice eggs too. . . The Ameraucana parents lay the richest blue eggs I've ever known, and the Marans parents lay some very dark eggs, often with a purple effect too.


I was very glad to see those photos, as I myself have yet to have the time to hatch out some of my own Blue Wheaten/Wheaten/Splash Wheaten Olive Eggers.

 

[AquaEyes]

Quote:
You know, it wasn't until AFTER I asked the question about Black Copper Marans X Wheaten Ameraucana that I learned that there are Wheaten Marans. I had asked only because I thought that making an Olive-Egger with a pure-breeding coloration (in plumage, anyway) might be more interesting than wondering what comes out of a B/B/S X Black Copper.

I wonder if someone could make a project out of breeding for a pure-breeding Olive Egger. From what I've learned here, you can "follow the blue egg gene" by following the pea comb. You could test-breed to see which birds are homozygous for the blue egg gene by breeding F1 X F1, then using those confirmed homozygotes for the blue egg gene F2's back onto a Marans, breeding those offspring together, test-breeding again to find the birds homozygous for the blue egg gene, and keep repeating until the desired olive color was obtained in a test-breeding-confirmed homozygote for the blue egg gene. If the ultimate goal was simply the color of the egg, that's easier than all the variables involved in body type. And if you use the same coloration for both, you won't have a muddy-mutt.

Thanks for posting this, Illia.



~Chris


ETA -- Basically, a pure-breeding Olive Egger would need two copies of the blue-egg gene, plus whatever genes make a dark brown egg. The F1 generation have one copy. To get birds with two copies, breed F1 X F1, and statistically, 25% of the offspring would have two copies of the blue-egg gene. Most would also have at least some genes for the dark brown egg. Test-breeding will let you know which of the F1 X F1 have two copies (breed the offspring from F1 X F1 with a bird having no copies of the blue-egg gene, and if all of THOSE offspring have the blue-egg gene, then you know that the F1 X F1 offspring had two copies). Once you have an F1 X F1 offspring that is confirmed to have two copies of the blue-egg gene, you can use it just like an Ameraucana and cross it to a Marans. Only thing is that this new Olive Egger will have brown-egg genes from both parents (i.e. more than the original Ameraucana X Marans offspring would have).

 

[Illia]

You have a mind much like mine.

I myself am working on breeding for an F1 x F1 Olive Egger with BOTH homozygous blue genes and also dark genes, (which will take a LOT of pullets to hatch out and wait til laying age to find) - hopefully to get something out of this world rich in color. But the thing is, I'd personally like it to have moderately to heavily feathered shanks, a rumpless but well rounded cushion and body, a very nice breast for dual purpose, good size, a neat color OTHER THAN boring ol' black or blue, and of course with tufts and possibly muffs/beard too.


I'm thinking a color not often found in either parents but possible with the parents I do have. A color like spangled, red barred, or silver/golden duckwing, or khaki.



Oh and as a note - There are a few uncommon colors you can breed true in Olive Eggers. . .


Silver Ameraucana or Gold Duckwing Araucana x Welsummer or Golden Salmon Marans

Buff Ameraucana x Black Tailed Buff Marans

Buff Ameraucana x Wheaten Marans (technically not a true breeding, but the offspring turn out a gorgeous buff or black tailed buff)

White Araucana or Ameraucana x White Marans

 

[AquaEyes]

Quote:
I like the way you're thinking.

I think that if you nailed the formula for making a homozygous blue-egg chicken which also has the dark genes, you can apply it to any other color by starting with different colors in the original parent breeds. I'd guess that for rumpless you would use Araucana. If you wanted to have parallel lines, you could breed the F1 back to a blue egg gene parent, and get 50% homozygotes, but a decrease in the brown egg genes. You'd still have more than using the original pure blue egg breed, but you would less easily lose another trait, like rumplessness. With such a variety of colors at your disposal, you could very easily create one "breed" with totally unrelated "color strains" that still has a consistent type. The things you want to vary are controlled by far fewer genes than those involved in type, and using the same two breeds for all "color strains" would get you closer to that goal more quickly.

And, hey, what's so boring about B/B/S? That's my favorite for my three "wishlist" breeds (Ameraucana, Marans and Jersey Giant...ooh, imagine a Giant Olive Egger...). I kind of like the image in my head of a free-range flock all in variations of black, white and bluish gray, along with guineas in the same color range, and Midnight, Purple and Bronze peafowl. I'm also into other birds that are way more colorful that would be kept in planted aviaries (softbills, finches and parrots), so seeing free-ranging birds in more "soothing" colors works for me as a nice contrast.



~Chris


ETA -- It sounds like there will be all sorts of chicken recipes tried out at your place in the next few years.

 

[Illia]

Try having a huge flock of BBS Jersey Giants, Araucanas, Ameraucanas, Easter Eggers, Marans, then some other random white, black, and silver laced birds. . . . . Ugh, after a while all that gray black and white gets to you, especially when living in the rainiest place in the US.

We now only have a few blue Araucanas, a few splash Araucanas, and of course Blue Wheatens and normal Black Coppers to make up those colors, but the Wheatens, Blue Wheatens, Buffs, and a couple other colors are finally balancing out the general flock rainbow. And next year. . . .

I'll have plenty of "Tolbunt" coloring in the flock too.

 

[AquaEyes]

Quote:
Well, for me, part of the reason I got interested in chickens is for supplemental food. I don't eat much meat, and when I do, I seek out small organic extensive producers rather than big conventional intensive producers. I'm getting my mind OK with the idea of eventually processing some of my own, and for me, the B/B/S strikes a bargain between being attractive enough to not be ugly, but not so gorgeous that I couldn't "do the deed" (or, if I "chicken out", to be OK with having someone else do it for me). The "pretty pets" for me are the exotic birds (see my favorite boy on my head in my pic). I feel for you on being in a gray and rainy climate. After coming to Buffalo, I've decided that South Florida will be my home after school. Yeah, it's rainy there, too, but at least it's warm enough for softbills, parrots and finches to be kept year-round in planted outdoor aviaries. And that's enough color for me.

And....if you still have such a diverse flock when I'm ready, I know a source for some eggs from my "wishlist breeds". Maybe by then you'll have some pure-breeding B/B/S Olive Eggers for me for my "fourth breed."



~Chris

 

[Goose and Fig]

Illia- thanks for sharing that! The BW Am roo I just got back came with 2 wheaten marans girls that lay really dark egs. Hoping to get something similar here- just a couple for myself

 

[cook_kaka_ook]

Quote:
I'm adding more pics here. Today, I collected three olive eggs with different shades of color. I'm assuming 3 out of my 8 Olive-eggers are laying at 20 weeks-old.

The last row in the pic are the OE's.

the egg container was rotated, and now the OE's are in the front row.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Very nice! Congrats!

 

[jeremy]

I've got OEs from Wynette popping like popcorn inside my bator at home!

When I left for work 3 were completely out, 1 was fully zipped and at least 2 others had big pips in their shells! I cannot wait to get home this afternoon and see what all makes it out of the egg!