[ycholmes]

My 4 new Cuckoo Marans are now about 32 weeks old and one is trying to lay. She kept going in and out of the bed area and sitting for a while then coming again with nothing to show for her effort.  However, this morning I went in to let them out and clean the bed out and an egg was miraculously where she slept, smallish and soft.  I know that 1st eggs sometimes are like that.  I wasn't expecting it to be pale creamy buff colour.  I was hoping and expecting a darker brown egg.  Are the first ones this colour and the dark colour comes later or will she always lay light eggs?  Any information will be gratefully received.

[joyfull]

they can be light until they get into the swing of things. However you also need to be aware that not all Marans lay the lovely dark brown coloured eggs it all depends on the strain.

[ycholmes]

Many thanks Joyfull.  Heres hoping they go darker.  I will be disappointed if they are not brown.  However, they are gorgeous girls and love playing with my Orps.  They are like children chasing each other round the trees.  looks like they play tag!

[Casey76]

Not trying to be difficult, but they are cuckoo Marans aren't they?

It's just that there are several hybrids available which look like cuckoo Marans, but will not lay dark eggs.  Confusingly, one is called a coucou (which, while French for cuckoo, is not a Marans)

[ycholmes]

Well they were bought from a breeder of Cuckoo Marans and they look very like them.  Is there a tried and tested way of knowing?

[joyfull]

what colour legs do they have?

[darkbrowneggs]

Hi there - don't judge the colour of the eggs she is going to lay until she has laid at least 20 eggs.  The first ones can sometimes be covered with a calcium "veil" but after around a couple of doz eggs then they will probably lay as dark eggs as they will produce during their lifetime.

Even when they laying tract is fully established the shell colour will vary slightly day to day.  All hens lay their eggs in what is known as clutches ie a modern hybrid may lay as many as nine or more eggs before having a day off.  A more traditional breed may only lay a couple then have a break, and a really poor layer (some French Marans can be fickle layers) may lay an egg or two then have a week or so off.

With a Marans the shell is white and the colour painted on, so if there has been a day (or more) without an egg the pigment will have had time to build up and the first egg of the clutch will be laid with a darker colour shell

One of the problems with the cuckoo gene is that it is dominant, so pretty well anything bred to a cuckoo feathered male will tend to give cuckoo coloured pullets with a Marans look.  In order to increase egg numbers many times in the past a male hatched from a dark egg has been put to high egg producing females, and the resulting chicks look similar to cuckoo Marans but will not lay the darker eggs.

There is information on The Marans Club Website,  and quite a lot of detail on my own website.

All the best
Sue

[ycholmes]

Thanks for all your help.  I will look at the Marans site.  Their legs are yellowy cream.  Does that sound right for a Marans?

[joyfull]

this page gives you the breed standards for all the Marans colours:-

http://www.themaransclub.co.uk/#/breed-standards/4541956911

[ycholmes]

Thanks Joyfull. I shall look at that later.  In fact we had our first brown egg yesterday.  I think the creamy soft one the day before might have belonged to one of the Orps as they had stopped laying also.  Molly (blue orp) has be in moult and Tilly (just finished being broody)  I will try and get some photos on here later on.

[curries]

32 weeks   Blimey do Cuckoo Marans take that long to start laying??  Mine are only 13 weeks old so it looks like I've got a long wait then 

[darkbrowneggs]

From the Marans standard
IN BOTH SEXES AND ALL COLOURS
Beak, white or horn. Eyes red or bright orange preferred. Comb, face, wattles and earlobes red. Legs and feet white.

Many Marans, especially those lines which have not been selected for utility values, can take in excess of 6 mths to begin to lay.  But if carefully selected can be quite early and prolific layers (obviously not up to modern hybrid quantities ) but they will live and lay longer.

My earliest laying pullet this season was laying at just under 19 weeks old - which I think is pretty good for any breed. 

All the best
Sue

[ycholmes]

What a good website you have dark row eggs. So much information. Thanks for all your help. At least one has started to lay brown eggs, just 3 girls to get started!