Most people with a small backyard chicken flock are raising them for their eggs.
Since white or brown eggs are considered boring, many chicken enthusiasts seek out chickens who lay a variety of colorful eggs.
The Olive Egger chicken is a popular choice, but it is not a recognized breed.
Olive Egger and Sapphire Olive Egger, as names, are often used interchangeably, but is there a difference between the two?
A Sapphire Olive Egger chicken is a hybrid version of the Olive Egger, and they both lay green eggs. The appearance of an Olive Egger varies depending on the parents, but the Sapphire Olive Egger is distinguished by its smokey blue feathers.
Sapphire Olive Eggers have become more popular as the demand for colorful eggs has increased.
Since the Sapphire Olive Egger is a hybrid of many different chicken breeds, it is difficult to replicate exact colors, and each chicken is unique.
Read on to learn more about the Sapphire Olive Egger, including their egg-laying habits and personality.
What Chickens Make a Sapphire Olive Egger?
An Olive Egger chicken is a hybrid resulting from breeding a brown egg layer breed, such as a Maran, with a blue egg layer, like the Ameraucana. The specific breeds of chickens do not matter as long as they produce brown or blue eggs.
A Sapphire Olive Egger will have a blue-feathered breed in genetics, such as a Blue Plymouth Rock, also known as a Sapphire Gem.
Both varieties of Olive Egger chickens get their name from the olive-colored eggs they lay.
This makes the Sapphire Olive Egger stand apart from an Easter Egger, which may lay various egg colors, including blue, green, or pink.
Sapphire Olive Egger chicks are very similar in appearance to chicks of other breeds, and they will either be black with yellow and white spots or mostly blue.
Are Sapphire Olive Eggers Good Layers?
The size and number of eggs a Sapphire Olive Egger lays depends on the genetics of its ancestors. On average, Sapphire Olive Eggers will produce up to 200 eggs per year.
A Sapphire Olive Egger can lay between 240 and 260 eggs in one year, but this is rare and typically occurs within the first two years of egg-laying.
While the Sapphire Olive Egger is not a prolific layer, egg production may be increased by breeding with a more robust egg layer.
The Sapphire Olive Egger is a more consistent egg layer than both the Ameraucana and Araucana.
To prevent your chicken from slowing down her egg production, it is essential to feed her a balanced and nutritious diet.
Keeping your Sapphire Olive Egger healthy is also essential to maintaining a steady supply of olive green eggs.
What Age Do Sapphire Olive Eggers Lay?
Sapphire Olive Eggers will begin to produce and lay eggs when they are between 5 and 6 months old. Like most chickens, egg production in Sapphire Olive Eggers will taper down after 2 to 3 years.
If there is an Ameraucana in its bloodline, a Sapphire Olive Egger may begin to lay eggs even sooner.
Sapphire Olive Eggers are also more reliable egg layers than Ameraucanas.
A Sapphire Olive Egger may lay 4-5 eggs per week when she starts producing eggs.
As the hen gets older, she will average closer to three eggs in one week.
If you are raising a Sapphire Olive Egger specifically to sell the eggs, you will want to have multiple hens to provide a steady number of eggs to sell.
Are Sapphire Olive Eggers Noisy?
Sapphire Olive Eggers like to chatter among themselves, and some would consider them quite noisy. Like other Easter Egger varieties, Sapphire Olive Eggers tend to stay quiet, but they can crow loudly.
The noise level of a Sapphire Olive Egger also depends on which chicken breeds were used to create it.
Most Easter Egger chicken breeds, like the Ameraucana, are only loud when they are scared or angry.
Sapphire Olive Eggers are more talkative than other chicken breeds, but they are nowhere near as noisy as the Orpington or Polish hens.
It is possible to train your chickens to be quieter by spraying them with water whenever they get too loud, but there is no guaranteed way to ensure your flock will not be too noisy for your neighbors.
What Determines the Color of Sapphire Olive Egger Eggs?
The color of Sapphire Olive Egger eggs is determined by the breeds used to create the chicken. While Sapphire Olive Eggers lay mostly olive-colored eggs, they may also lay brown, blue, or pink eggs.
Since Sapphire Olive Eggers are hybrids of so many different chicken breeds, there is no way to be sure your hen will only lay green eggs.
However, as a general rule, cross-breeding a brown egg layer with a blue egg layer will generally result in green eggs.
Breeding a Sapphire Olive Egger rooster with a Sapphire Olive Egger hen does not mean you will always get olive eggs.
Crossing a regular Easter Egger with a Sapphire Gem to create a Sapphire Olive Easter Egger is more likely to produce egg colors other than green, but you are guaranteed your hen will not lay any boring white eggs.
The egg size may also vary among Sapphire Olive Egger hens depending on their bloodline.
Why Isn’t The Sapphire Olive Egger Considered a Breed?
The Sapphire Olive Egger is not officially recognized as a breed because there is no specific breed combination that will produce a chicken with the same physical characteristics. There is no set breed standard because of the variety of species used to create a Sapphire Olive Egger.
Every Sapphire Olive Egger is unique in its appearance since there is no exact combination of breeds to precisely duplicate certain physical traits.
Sapphire Gems are often used to create a Sapphire Olive Egger, and you will see many traits passed on from the breed.
Sapphire Gems are the result of breeding the Blue Plymouth Rock and the Barred Plymouth Rock breeds.
The coloring of Sapphire Gems ranges from smoky gray, blue, and lavender, and these colors are often seen in Sapphire Olive Eggers as well.
Sapphire Olive Eggers also tend to walk more uprightly like the Plymouth Rock breed.
A Sapphire Olive Egger may also inherit the puffy muff and beard feathers of an Ameraucana or the leg feathers of a Maran.
Are Sapphire Olive Eggers Good For Meat Production?
Sapphire Olive Eggers are not an optimal breed for meat production due to their slower growth and smaller size when compared to other chicken breeds. On average, a Sapphire Olive Egger weighs between 5 to 6 pounds.
If there is a large chicken breed, such as a Maran, in a Sapphire Olive Egger’s bloodline, the chicken may grow slightly larger at around 7 pounds.
A Sapphire Olive Egger is perfectly fine for eating, but the chicken is mainly raised for its colorful eggs, which are more profitable for the farmer.
However, if you find yourself with too many roosters in your Sapphire Olive Egger flock, you may decide to use some of them for their meat.
What Is the Personality of Sapphire Olive Eggers?
Sapphire Olive Eggers are very docile, quiet, and friendly, and their personality makes them very popular to keep in backyard flocks. Sapphire Olive Eggers are not aggressive birds, and bullying is not a common issue.
Because of their varying bloodlines, a Sapphire Olive Egger may either be energetic or calm.
However, these birds almost always have a friendly demeanor, and they get along well.
Sapphire Olive Eggers also do well in a fenced-in space, and they rarely attempt to escape.
Are Sapphire Olive Eggers Prone to Disease and Illness?
Since Sapphire Olive Eggers are hybrid chickens, they are not susceptible to disease, and illness like some purebred chickens are. Your Sapphire Olive Egger is less likely to suffer from diarrhea, coccidiosis, and fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome.
One thing you will need to watch out for is chicken mites.
All chickens are prone to a mite infestation, and if no action is taken, the birds could suffer from anemia, lethargy, and reduced egg-laying.
Regularly inspect your flock for signs of mites, which will include:
- Bald spots
- A pale comb
- Scabs on the legs and feet
The skin under the bird’s wings may also appear to be red, scaly, or inflamed.
Dusting your chickens and their coop with diatomaceous earth is an effective and natural way to get rid of mites.
You will also need to remove any bedding from the coop and thoroughly clean the nooks and crannies where the mites like to hide.
Another effective remedy for eliminating mites is neem oil, which disrupts mites’ lifecycle, lice, fleas, and ticks.
Create a coop spray by mixing two teaspoons of neem oil with apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle and spraying the mixture liberally throughout the chicken coop to keep the mites from returning.
Keep the coop clean to avoid mite infestations in the future.
Related: Does bleach kill chicken mites?
Do Sapphire Olive Eggers Need Special Care?
Sapphire Olive Eggers require the same care as any other breed of chicken. A protein-rich, high-quality chicken feed, freshwater, and plenty of space are all these hybrid chickens need to thrive.
Sapphire Olive Eggers are also known for being hardy birds, and they will adapt well to almost any climate.
The Sapphire Olive Egger is especially cold-tolerant, and egg production will only drop slightly during the winter.
Other chicken breeds may stop laying in the winter months completely.
With artificial lighting in the coop, you will barely notice your Sapphire Olive Egger’s minor drop in egg production.
