Which lays more eggs, the Easter Egger or the Olive Egger?

The Easter Egger typically lays more: 200–280 eggs a year against the Olive Egger's 150–200. Strain matters, though — hatchery lines of any breed usually out-lay show lines.

Which starts laying first, the Easter Egger or the Olive Egger?

The Easter Egger usually starts sooner, at 20–25 weeks old; the Olive Egger typically starts at 22–28 weeks. Daylight is the wildcard for both — a fall-hatched pullet often waits for lengthening spring days regardless of breed.

Can you keep Easter Eggers and Olive Eggers together?

Yes. Both need the same feed, coop, and run, and mixed-breed backyard flocks are the norm. Size the housing to the more demanding bird: plan on 4 sq ft of coop floor per bird for this pairing, plus run space.

What color eggs do Easter Eggers and Olive Eggers lay?

The Easter Egger lays green eggs and the Olive Egger lays olive — keeping both gives you a two-tone basket.

Easter Egger vs Olive Egger: Which Chicken Breed Should You Get?

The short answer: the Easter Egger lays more (200–280 eggs a year vs 150–200) and starts sooner, at 20–25 weeks.

Figures reviewed against hatchery and breed-registry guidance · Last reviewed July 2026

Side by side

	Easter Egger	Olive Egger
Eggs per year	≈ 200–280	≈ 150–200
Egg color	green	olive
First egg	20–25 weeks	22–28 weeks
Size class	standard	standard
Coop floor per bird	4 sq ft	4 sq ft

Both are crosses named for the egg rather than standardized breeds: an Easter Egger’s color is a lottery between blue, green, and olive, while an Olive Egger is bred deliberately dark-over-blue for deep olive shells.

Easter Egger in brief

Not a standardized breed but a blue-egg-gene mix — each hen lays one color for life, but you won't know if it's blue, green, or olive until the first egg.

More detail: when do Easter Egger chickens start laying?

Olive Egger in brief

A deliberate cross of a dark-brown-egg breed with a blue-egg breed; the layered pigments produce olive-green shells. Timing and output vary with the parent breeds.

More detail: when do Olive Egger chickens start laying?

Which should you pick?

Pick the Easter Egger for more eggs and the color surprise.

Pick the Olive Egger if you are chasing that specific deep-olive carton — just know that timing and output vary with the parent breeds.

And honestly, most keepers don't have to choose. Both breeds eat the same feed and share a coop happily, so a couple of each is a common answer — use the coop size calculator to size the setup for your total flock, and the first egg calculator to see when each breed will start laying from your chicks' hatch date.

Frequently asked questions

Which lays more eggs, the Easter Egger or the Olive Egger?: The Easter Egger typically lays more: 200–280 eggs a year against the Olive Egger's 150–200. Strain matters, though — hatchery lines of any breed usually out-lay show lines.
Which starts laying first, the Easter Egger or the Olive Egger?: The Easter Egger usually starts sooner, at 20–25 weeks old; the Olive Egger typically starts at 22–28 weeks. Daylight is the wildcard for both — a fall-hatched pullet often waits for lengthening spring days regardless of breed.
Can you keep Easter Eggers and Olive Eggers together?: Yes. Both need the same feed, coop, and run, and mixed-breed backyard flocks are the norm. Size the housing to the more demanding bird: plan on 4 sq ft of coop floor per bird for this pairing, plus run space.
What color eggs do Easter Eggers and Olive Eggers lay?: The Easter Egger lays green eggs and the Olive Egger lays olive — keeping both gives you a two-tone basket.

More breed matchups

Sources

First-egg age and egg counts are the consensus of multiple hatchery and breed-registry sources (no extension service tabulates per-breed figures), cross-checked and last reviewed July 2026.

The Livestock Conservancy — Chicken breed profiles