Olive eggers are a F1 (first generation) hybrid of breeds with very distinct traits, namely: a breed that reliably produces blue eggs and a breed that reliably produces DARK brown eggs.
There are dozens of combinations of these two conditions that would produce offspring that would lay a gorgeous dark green egg, but at the Livingseeds Hatchery, we don’t do things the way everyone else would!
A standard Olive Egger may be the result of crossing a Black Copper Marans (Chocolate Brown Eggs) Rooster with Ameraucana or Araucana (Blue Eggs) hens. The result is a largely black hen that lays a lovely dark green egg.
Livingseeds Hatchery has produced Barred Olive Eggers, a South African first! This particular type of Olive Egger looks much like a Koekoek due to the barring colour pattern that Koekoeks are known for. Barred Olive Eggers differ from Koekoek in appearance in a few key ways: The leg colour is dark slate rather than yellow, they have much larger combs than Koekoeks, and they frequently have feathers on their legs from their Marans ancestors.
Barred Olive Eggers typically lay around 250 medium – large dark green eggs per year and have a tendency to go broody, though not as often or consistently as other breeds. Barred Olive Eggers may also produce eggs that have speckles – a desirable but inconsistent trait.
The deep green eggs that Barred Olive Eggers produce make them a MUST-HAVE breed for those chasing that rainbow basket or tray of eggs.
Livingseeds Hatchery produces this hybrid breed periodically. Contact us to find out when we will have available next.