Back Crossing Olive Eggers

[Mwhit]

Hey everyone. I’m looking to back cross my OEs with my Marans roo. My goal is to get a dark olive egg. One hen lays a really cool shade of olive and the other lays a regular brown.

Would only hatching the olive eggs give me a greater chance of getting the dark olive, or would I have an equal chance with hatching both the olive and brown?

 

[AusHen]

Your olive eggs will give you 50/50 olive and brown unless the hen is homozygous for the blue gene (two copies) in which case all female offspring will lay olive. Your brown eggs wont produce any olive laying offspring because the hen doesn't possess the blue gene

 

[Mwhit]

Your olive eggs will give you 50/50 olive and brown unless the hen is homozygous for the blue gene (two copies) in which case all female offspring will lay olive. Your brown eggs wont produce any olive laying offspring because the hen doesn't possess the blue gene

That makes sense. Thank you