To get an olive egger...

[MomMommyMamma]

Pleae educate me!

My understanding is that you need a rooster w/ the "brown gene" and a hen w/ the "blue gene". Yes? I have found two locals who are crossing an EE with a Wellsummer and getting olive colored eggs. Which brings me to my next question - once that roo & hen mate, are the eggs she lays going to be olive or do you have to wait for the eggs that that original offspring lays to get the olive eggs? And the eggs of a hen resulting from an olive egg will always be olive?

And...
Which roosters carry the brown egg gene? I was hoping to use a French Black Copper Maran rooster with an Ameraucana. Will this combo work (to the best of your guesstimation)?

 

[Illia]

Of course a Marans x Ameraucana will work.

To me, any brown egger and any blue egger will NOT make Olive, but instead just plain green. To me, an Olive Egger must be an actual layer of a darker olive green or a really dark green color. Thus, you have to have one of the parents (doesn't matter which) to be a dark egg layer, such as a Marans. The other parent can be an Easter Egger, Ameraucana, or Araucana - Either way, they must lay blue or greenish colored eggs, otherwise you won't get the desired egg color.

Only the offspring carry the olive eggs. You can't change a hen's egg color. And yes, they will continue to be Olive in color.

The best Olive Eggers come from really dark laying Marans (usually Black Coppers) crossed with good blue eggers, such as BBS Ameraucanas or Wheaten/Blue Wheaten Ameraucanas.

 

[Elphaba2140]

Do you cross the olive egg laying offspring back to a brown egg rooster? Will these babies lay darker olive eggs? Do you need to reintroduce the blue sometime?

 

[Illia]

Quote:
Reintroducing the blue gives you a greener egg. Reintroducing another dark brown layer gives you a darker, richer colored egg.

And, to my experience, using a more pale laying "dark egg layer" or a pale laying blue egg layer will give you offspring that lay more of a washed stone-colored egg instead of a nice rich Olive green tone. It is still very pretty though!

 

[MomMommyMamma]

Quote:
Excellent info ~ thank you!
On the subject of EEs - I only know what I've read so far and one place (My Pet Chicken - though I'm not dealing in hatchery stock, it's just where I found the info) says that an EE can lay blue, green tint, or even pinkish and you don't know what they will lay until they lay. If that's true, then I'm guessing that starting off with a breed known to only lay blue or blue/green would be the wiser choice?

 

[Illia]

Not really. If your Easter Egger has a pea comb, and you know for sure it's a pea comb, you're in a very safe bet that it will lay a green or blue egg. Oh, and its earlobes have to be red or at least on the pink side.

I've seen some very pretty olive eggs come out of EE hens bred to Black Copper Marans.

It is all up to your preferences. Like me, I like Araucanas crossed better than Ameraucanas or Easter Eggers, simply because VERY few people do that cross, and in the result you have more color variety, a 50% chance of tufts, a 50% chance of having no tail, and of course feathered shanks. A very neat looking bird.

 

[Chickanmanfromarkansas]

I have an Olive Egger. Don't know her background other than I got her from TSC who ordered them from Privett Hatchery. She is cleaned faced though. I have had them in the past that layed olive eggs and didn't have any of the dark brown egg layer genes in them.

 

[ekemily]

thanks for posting this question.
I have three or so eggs in the incubator that are a cross between a cuckoo marans roo and an EE.
It'll be awhile before I see what I get (hoping for girls), but I'll keep you updated.

 

[MomMommyMamma]

Quote:
Cool! Yes, that's kind of the patience side of chicken breeding - waiting to see what you get. I now understand why it can take years to get the trait(s) you are looking for.

 

[enggass]

So a good 'Olive Egg Laying Bird' could hatch from the egg of a BW Ameraucana Hen crossed with a BCM Roo... yes?
And what would this offspring look like?