How to get true Olive Eggers?

[The Moonshiner]

You know how cool are Autosexing blue egg layers like the Cream Legbar ares? Well I think it would be even cooler if one would start a "Autosexing Olive Egger" breed..


And it would not be hard at all, just get yourself a few Black Copper Marans, a Cream Legbar rooster and breed back to BCM to get back body and type while keeping sex linked barring, then it would be a matter of making homozygous barred cockerels...

The other way would be to breed Golden Cuckoo Marans breed to Legbar or Ameraucana..

Or a legbar rooster over dark egg laying welsummer.
F1 pullets would be autosexing. Cockerels would need the second barring gene so breed pullet back to CCL.
Then its just a matter of keeping the egg color which is standard issue with OEs.

 

[The Moonshiner]

You know how cool are Autosexing blue egg layers like the Cream Legbar ares? Well I think it would be even cooler if one would start a "Autosexing Olive Egger" breed..


And it would not be hard at all, just get yourself a few Black Copper Marans, a Cream Legbar rooster and breed back to BCM to get back body and type while keeping sex linked barring, then it would be a matter of making homozygous barred cockerels...

The other way would be to breed Golden Cuckoo Marans breed to Legbar or Ameraucana..

Keep breeding back to BCM or GCM wouldn't that be hard to auto sex because of the birchen?

 

[nicalandia]

Keep breeding back to BCM or GCM wouldn't that be hard to auto sex because of the birchen?

Not at all, Birchen is one of the e alllels that can be use for autosexing, ER birchen and eb brown too

Effect of Barring B/B and B/- on ER/ER chick down? Yes, both genders have headspots, but males are much much lighter than females

1 Male(all the way to the right)

 

[The Moonshiner]

Not at all, Birchen is one of the e alllels that can be use for autosexing, ER birchen and eb brown too

Effect of Barring B/B and B/- on ER/ER chick down? Yes, both genders have headspots, but males are much much lighter than females

1 Male(all the way to the right)

Cool
Thanks

 

[Lilorp14]

So tell me if I got this right.

It doesn't matter if it's a True Amaracauna or an Easter Egger as long as they have the blue egg gene. You breed a first generation Olive Egger back to a Maran and you'll progressively get darker and darker eggs.

One more question...

I only want one rooster in my flock, so is it safe to breed the first generation OEs back to their father? I know it's weird but I'm not sure if it physically affects chickens like it would humans...

 

[The Moonshiner]

Yes all you need is the blue egg gene.
I would not use an EE myself.
I get where the other poster would and would follow the pea comb to chase the blue egg gene.
I would use a pure ameraucana because it will have two genes for the blue eggs. It will pass a blue gene to every chick so no trying to follow the blue egg gene.
An EE could have two blue egg genes or one. If one about half the chicks produced will not get a blue egg gene and that's a lot of wasted chicks.
Your first generation chicks will only have one gene for blue eggs. Half their offspring will not receive the blue egg gene. Every time you cross back to a marans your producing fewer chicks with the blue egg gene. If you cross back to blue egg gene bird you increase the likely hood of continuing with the blue egg gene but you'll then lose the darkness of the green.
With enough breeding, knowing what you're breeding and test breeding you can get birds with two copies of the blue egg genes and the dark brown genes to get the dark green eggs but it isn't easy and is time consuming.
In general breeding olive eggers generation to generation is a dead end project. In the long run most end up back to brown egg layers or regular green egg layers.

 

[Lilorp14]

Yes all you need is the blue egg gene.
I would not use an EE myself.
I get where the other poster would and would follow the pea comb to chase the blue egg gene.
I would use a pure ameraucana because it will have two genes for the blue eggs. It will pass a blue gene to every chick so no trying to follow the blue egg gene.
An EE could have two blue egg genes or one. If one about half the chicks produced will not get a blue egg gene and that's a lot of wasted chicks.
Your first generation chicks will only have one gene for blue eggs. Half their offspring will not receive the blue egg gene. Every time you cross back to a marans your producing fewer chicks with the blue egg gene. If you cross back to blue egg gene bird you increase the likely hood of continuing with the blue egg gene but you'll then lose the darkness of the green.
With enough breeding, knowing what you're breeding and test breeding you can get birds with two copies of the blue egg genes and the dark brown genes to get the dark green eggs but it isn't easy and is time consuming.
In general breeding olive eggers generation to generation is a dead end project. In the long run most end up back to brown egg layers or regular green egg layers.

Ok. Where would I find real Ameracaunas? (I'd assume breeder or something but idk)

 

[3riverschick]

Mike Gilbert has some lovely Ameraucana.he is on the Net and in Mich. or Wisconsin
Also check the American Sussex breeders Assoc. Website. He is listed there too in the breeders directory. He also knows other Ameraucana breeders who may be closer to you. Just breed the Ameraucana to a Welsummer or a Black Copper Marans. The darker the egg strain the Marans or Welsummer is from, the darker will be the olive eggs your chicks will eventually lay.
Best,
Karen

 

[nicalandia]

Every time you cross back to a marans your producing fewer chicks with the blue egg gene.

Statistically speaking(Law of Large Numbers) the amount of progeny that will inherit the blue egg shell gene will never be less than 50% no matter how many times you cross back to Marans, It's only with the F1s that if you use a Pure Ameraucana that you will produce 100% progeny with one blue egg shell gene(O/o+), but the first back cross(BC1) to Maran parent will always be 50% chance of inheriting the blue egg shell gene(O/o+), same goes for second generation back cross(BC2) and so on....

Now the OP would need to weight the benefits or drawbacks of obtaining pure Ameraucanas when the ultimate goal of the project would be to produce Dark Olive Eggers

 

[The Moonshiner]

Yes 50% if you're only breeding birds with the blue egg gene back to the marans.
If you're breeding all offspring back you get less every generation.
Or yes you can throw away 1/2 the chicks each generation and continue on to get 50% each generation.
That's my point OE projects produce a lot of useless chicks. That's why id start with a pure ameraucana. At least that's one generation of getting 100% keepers.
Back breeding to marans will never produce anything but 50% chicks that carry one blue egg gene. You will never get any to breed true.
If breed one blue egg gene birds back to pure ameraucana at some point. Then you can get all blue egg gene chicks again. And half would get two genes for blue eggs. At least you can get something that would breed true for blue eggs with two of those chicks or breeding one back to ameraucana.
That would be my goal.
That also would mean you would have to then breed harder for the dark brown genes.
That was also my point. You have to breed for one or the other either the blue genes or the dark brown genes.
Its always one or the other and back and forth.
To get pure true breeding OE it seems starter to start with pure ameraucana and breed towards offspring that are carrying two genes for blue so then you can continue on with only breeding the darkest green egg layers to hopefully get to olive.
If you're just looking to sell OE chicks imo it is least hassle and more chicks that lay olive to breed pure ameraucana to absolutely darkest brown egg layers and only do that cross and only sell F1 chicks.