How do you get an olive egg?

An Olive Egger is a cross between a dark-brown-egg breed (like a Marans or Welsummer) and a blue-egg breed (like an Ameraucana). Brown pigment layered over a blue shell produces green — the darker the brown parent, the deeper the olive.

Is an Olive Egger a real breed?

No — like the Easter Egger, it's a hybrid type, not a standardized breed. Each bird is an individual, and egg shade varies from light green to deep olive depending on its parentage.

How many eggs do Olive Eggers lay?

Typically 180–240 large eggs a year — more productive than either pure dark-egg or pure blue-egg parent breeds, thanks to hybrid vigor.

Olive Egger: The Hen That Lays Olive-Green Eggs

The Olive Egger exists for one delightful reason: olive-green eggs. It isn’t a breed but a deliberate cross — a dark-brown layer over a blue-egg layer — and the genetics behind it are the whole story. Lay brown pigment on top of a blue shell and you get green; push the brown as dark as possible (with a Black Copper Marans parent, say) and you get rich, deep olive.

Why keepers love them

The egg: a true olive-green that anchors a rainbow basket alongside blue (Ameraucana), terracotta (Welsummer), and chocolate (Marans) layers.
Productivity: 180–240 large eggs a year — hybrid vigor makes them lay better than their purebred parents.
Hardiness and temperament: generally friendly, robust, and adaptable to cold and heat alike.

What to know before you buy

Because it’s a hybrid, every Olive Egger is unique — egg shade, size, and looks vary bird to bird, and they don’t breed true (cross two Olive Eggers and the color often dilutes). If a specific deep-olive shade matters, buy from a breeder who tells you the parent stock. For most keepers, though, the Olive Egger is simply a hardy, friendly hen that drops a gorgeous green egg most days — the perfect complement to an Ameraucana or Easter Egger in a colorful flock.

Common questions

How do you get an olive egg?: An Olive Egger is a cross between a dark-brown-egg breed (like a Marans or Welsummer) and a blue-egg breed (like an Ameraucana). Brown pigment layered over a blue shell produces green — the darker the brown parent, the deeper the olive.
Is an Olive Egger a real breed?: No — like the Easter Egger, it's a hybrid type, not a standardized breed. Each bird is an individual, and egg shade varies from light green to deep olive depending on its parentage.
How many eggs do Olive Eggers lay?: Typically 180–240 large eggs a year — more productive than either pure dark-egg or pure blue-egg parent breeds, thanks to hybrid vigor.