The Olive-Egger thread!

[DMRippy]

Now it is the first I have heard to NOT use a blue egg layer. I have always used my GREEN egg layers in my Olive Egger crosses. I am getting good color from my first Olive Eggs. If I was starting from scratch I would use my Blue Egg laying Ams x Marans to start.

 

[mstricer]

I read a lot about it, before I started. I now have a 2nd generation cockerel over my Olive eggs and will have to wait to see what those chicks will lay. Long wait since they are only 2 weeks old. I actually, but 3 of my 1st generation girls under my Lav. Am. to put more blue in them, then those chicks will go back to a Donna's Blue Cooper Marans in the incubator right now, to add the dark back. I'm new to this and I'm in it for the different shades they will throw. No harm in playing around.

 

[DMRippy]

I read a lot about it, before I started. I now have a 2nd generation cockerel over my Olive eggs and will have to wait to see what those chicks will lay. Long wait since they are only 2 weeks old. I actually, but 3 of my 1st generation girls under my Lav. Am. to put more blue in them, then those chicks will go back to a Donna's Blue Cooper Marans in the incubator right now, to add the dark back. I'm new to this and I'm in it for the different shades they will throw. No harm in playing around.

I like all the shades too. In some pens I wish there were more shades so I knew who was laying what.

 

[nicalandia]

IF he came from my eggs they were green. The barred EE were and EE x BR cross so the eggs were green.

he still lacks the blue egg shell gene(O)

Now it is the first I have heard to NOT use a blue egg layer. I have always used my GREEN egg layers in my Olive Egger crosses. .

Blue egg layers will only dilute the nice dark brown color that works as a background for any OE project, not keep in mind I say blue egg layers, not the Blue egg gene, the blue egg gene mixed with a normal brown egg layer will produce a light green egg layer... why use Green instead of the Blue? thats easy, the green already has some of the genes of the Polygenic trait(Dark Brown egg shell)..


think about it this way, what happens when you cross a brown egger to a white egger? the shell comes out looking cream... now cross that brown egger to another brown egger? the eggs will come out brown.. the perfect background for Olive Eggers

 

[seventreesfarm]

IF he came from my eggs they were green. The barred EE were and EE x BR cross so the eggs were green.

Thanks!
That'll teach me to put all my eggs in one basket (incubator)

Next hatch I will tag the little buggers as they hatch.

I was trying his color combo in the calculator http://kippenjungle.nl/Overzicht.htm but don't know enough about genetics to do it right. I guess it all depends on if he's a nice guy too. He'll be in the stewpot if he's a meanie. So far he's just tired of being caught all the time.

Too bad BR's don't lay more interesting eggs. They are such good layers and foragers. And the crosses so far are really fast developing and sturdy. Maybe the BCMxBR pullets will be worth trying with an oliver roo....

 

[DMRippy]

Quote: Yes, I knew he was lacking the pea comb. So PROBABLY not going to carry the genes for blue eggs. I was only answering what color egg he came from.

I think that is way I always used the green layers, they were already partially there to make olive eggs. It just made sense to use the green layers to make OLIVE eggs. I use the blue layers for the EE pen. BUT if I need to make them from scratch I would use a pullet that laid blue eggs if I needed to.

 

[DMRippy]

Quote: BCM x BR make AWESOME meat birds

and you make sexlinks if you use BR hens.

 

[seventreesfarm]

I just went out to the baby coop and stared at them all for a bit, trying to visualize which is which and who will lay what. They all just stared back at me like I'm some crazy chicken lady

I think I will just try a hatch next spring of a few different combos, take really good notes, and keep track of which eggs hatch which chicks. The nice thing is, even the 'mistakes' are useful one way or another.

 

[Lark Rise]

Lark rise, I live close to you in Ga. I am looking for some olive eggers to hatch. Do you
have any eggs right now? I want to hatch now for spring layers. Or do you gave any chicks or
Pullets? I can come and pick up. Thanks. We love the picture of eggs.

I'm close to Augusta. My OE are taking a break. They have molted, but have not started laying again. I have 2 pullets that have been laying for a couple of months, but I have not yet tested for fertility. I'll let you know when they are laying again. I love olive eggs the best!

 

[Little Wing]

I'm not sure where to post this so I'm putting it on the OE thread because that's what I plan to do with him. I went to look at at Birchen Marans and saw this guy and had to have him. He came out of a Marans egg from a well respected Marans breeder in Texas. He only has Marans on his farm but this guy has the cheeks of an Ameraucana and doesn't seem to have the body of a Marans. I thought, him crossed with a Lavender Ameraucana would make a nice looking OE.
His name is Powder



Sorry, these are cell phone pics.