Olive Egger

An Olive Egger is a domestic chicken bred for olive green eggs rather than a standardized breed with one body type. Most are produced by crossing a blue-egg line, such as Ameraucana, Araucana or Cream Legbar, with a dark brown egg line such as Marans, Welsummer, Barnevelder or Penedesenca. The blue shell pigment and brown outer coating combine visually to create shades from gray green to deep olive. Plumage, comb type, size and temperament vary with the parents.

Care depends on the cross behind the bird, but most Olive Eggers fit ordinary backyard flock management: secure housing, balanced layer feed, clean nest boxes and protection from heat or predators. The main buyer issue is genetics. A pullet from olive-egg parents may still lay brown, blue or lighter green eggs, especially in later generations or casual crosses. Reputable project breeders track egg color by hen, know which males carry blue-egg genes and describe whether chicks are first-generation crosses or backcrosses.

Colors: Barred, Birchen, Black, Blue, Brown, Buff, Columbian, Crele, Cuckoo, Duckwing, Gold, Gold Laced, Laced, Lavender, Mille Fleur, Mottled, Partridge, Penciled, Porcelain, Red, Silver, Silver Laced, Spangled, Splash, Various Colors and Patterns, Wheaten, White