[madchickenlady]

Just been browsing the backyard chicken website (ok so I was bored - not of this forum- but in general) and there is a lot of threads re olive eggers, don't recall seeing anything on this site so is this an American thing or have I just missed it due to being a newbe? Also what is an Americana? (have seen a couple of different spellings)

[darkbrowneggs]

Basically if you cross a double gene blue egg layer such as a good Cream legbar, over a brown egg layer, as long as the brown egg is not too dark you will get green or "olive" eggs. 


Blue eggs have shells which are blue thoughout the shell, so if you peel away the inner membrane the shell colour will be the same as on the outside.  Brown eggs are white (or almost) shelled eggs with a brown coating deposited just before lay, so the brown coating over a blue shelled egg makes for a green or olive coloured egg, depending on the depth of colour of the brown pigmentation


It is not a "breed" as such and will never breed true.  It is generally a first second or third cross.  But they lay lovely eggs which really add interest to an egg box

[madchickenlady]

Thanks for the info, don't breed my hens at present but may experiment in the future. I have an Arucana hen and a white Sussex cockerel, would that work?

[darkbrowneggs]

Might be okayish - just depends what you are hoping to achieve  That would probably give and opal green sort of colour ?

[lord flynn]

this is partly why I wanted a couple of pullets of darkbrownegg's stock as I also breed rumpless araucana and was going to put them in with the rumpless cock at some point. In fact, if anyone would like his services later on in the year then give me a shout. Blue egg colour is dominant so I think if you cross blue with tinted you may just get a slightly greenish egg rather than olive.