Chickens That Lay Green and Olive Eggs
Green and olive eggs are the arithmetic of eggshell colour: a blue shell with brown pigment brushed over it. The bird has to inherit the blue gene from one parent and a brown-laying line from the other, which is why "olive egger" describes a cross rather than a stable heritage breed. The darker the brown parent, the deeper the olive.
These 6 breeds and lines lay green to olive. Olive Egger and Whiting True Green are the reliable picks; a true Easter-egger basket comes from keeping several colour genes in one flock. For the darkest olive, cross a Marans (see the dark-brown page) onto an Ameraucana yourself — the result is the deepest egg most flocks will ever produce.
3 breeds you can actually buy
| Breed | Egg colour | Eggs / year | Temperament | Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whiting True Green | Green | 280–320 | Active, friendly | Standard |
| Starlight Green Egger | Green | 260–280 | Active, easygoing | Standard |
| Olive Egger | Olive green | 150–200 | Friendly, docile | Standard |
Rarer breeds that also fit
These match too, but few or no US hatcheries stock them — expect a breeder waitlist.
Schijndelaar · Isbar (Silverudd's Blue) · Javanaise
Breed facts from our open chicken-breed database, cross-checked against US hatchery listings, the Livestock Conservancy’s 2026 priority list and the American Poultry Association. Lay rates are a healthy hen’s good year, not a guarantee.