Breed profile
Olive Egger
Not a breed — a recipe. An Olive Egger is a cross of a blue-egg layer with a dark-brown-egg layer, and the blue shell gene plus brown coating chemistry lands on olive. One hatchery builds its Olive Eggers from Cream Legbar roosters over Welsummer hens and says about 97% of its hens lay olive-toned eggs; another crosses 'a dark brown egg layer with a blue egg layer' across several strains. The second is also upfront about the lottery: shades run across the olive family and some hens land tinted or brown. Production sits around 180-200 a year per the hatchery estimate.
The egg numbers
| Eggs per year (first laying year) | 180–200 |
|---|---|
| In-lay rate | ≈3–4 a week |
| Strain note | One spec table: 180-200, and its breed blog repeats the same spread. Another line: 4-6 eggs a week with no annual figure — the annual spread rests on the first estimate. |
| Egg color | olive |
| Egg size | large |
| Starts laying | 18–23 weeks |
Body and climate
| Form | standard |
|---|---|
| Strain | hybrid cross |
| Comb | varies by strain |
| Distinguishing features | F1 hybrid — breeding offspring gives F2 birds with a wider color spread · egg shade runs across the olive family and can land tinted or brown |
| Mature hen weight | 5.5 lb |
| Mature rooster weight | 6.5 lb |
| Weight note | One table: 5.5 lb hens, 6.5 lb roosters. Another: 5.5 lb hens, 7 lb roosters. As a hybrid, there is no standard weight. |
| Cold hardiness | good |
| Heat tolerance | good |
| Climate note | One combined field reads 'Hardy in all climates'; the other hatchery's pages carry no cold or heat rating at all. |
Character
| Temperament | Friendly and calm on one page, active on another; the line is a willing forager (Forager: Yes). |
|---|---|
| Broodiness | moderate |
| Broody note | One table lists Broody: Yes; another grades its line Variable. Either way, broodiness interrupts a laying flock. |
| Good first breed | Yes |
What this means for your setup
Buy the shade with the group: the published spread runs light olive to dark olive and green-brown tones, and one hatchery warns some eggs come tinted or brown — so the flock-level rainbow needs several hens. The line runs as an F1 hybrid; breeding two Olive Eggers gives F2 offspring with a wider spread of egg colors, not a fixed breed. Broodiness is graded moderate ('Yes' on one table, 'Variable' on another), so chicks are an incubator project on any reliable schedule.
Gear that fits this breed
Coop Size Calculator
turn 5.5-lb hens into coop, run and roost numbers
Egg Calculator
turn the 180–200 egg-a-year range into a hen count
Olive Egger FAQ
What breeds make an Olive Egger?
A blue-egg parent over a dark-brown-egg parent. One hatchery uses Cream Legbar roosters over Welsummer hens; another crosses several parent strains, describing it only as 'a dark brown egg layer with a blue egg layer'. The breed blog lists the usual blue-egg candidates (Ameraucana, Araucana, Cream Legbar) and brown-egg candidates (Marans, Barnevelder, Welsumer, Penedesenca).
How many eggs do Olive Eggers lay a year?
One spec table estimates 180-200 a year; another line lays 4-6 eggs a week with no annual figure published. The annual spread rests on the first estimate.
What color eggs does an Olive Egger really lay?
Olive — in shades. The tables list light olive, medium olive, dark olive and green-brown tones, and one hatchery says about 97% of its hens lay olive-colored eggs. The other cautions that the rest can land tinted or brown. Each hen keeps her own shade.
Do Olive Eggers go broody?
Sometimes. One table lists Broody: Yes and another grades the line Variable — between them, plan for occasional sitters and keep the incubator option open.