[SarahJC]

We have a 5 week old chick (just the one hatched). I'm looking to get a grower to keep chick company when 'Mum' has decided she's done all she can for her chick and wants to go back to the big 'girls'. 'Mum' is a hybrid blue egg layer by the way  :blink:

I'm getting myself in a right tizzy trying to decided what to get. I definitely would like a pure breed and would quite like a dark egg layer. I've read that Barnevelders and Welsummers are dark egg layers. Can anyone recommend either or something else?

Our chick is an Araucana by the way - fingers crossed for a girl! 

[Casey76]

A proper Marans (plural with a capital is correct, even for a single chicken ) will lay a very dark red/brown egg. 

Beware of people selling Marans which lay only medium brown eggs... they wouldn't make the grade in a poultry show.

[Mulberry1990]

Apparently Maran's lay dark eggs. Mine hasn't laid yet so I couldn't tell you for sure, but that's what i'm expecting! =)
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html
This chart show what colour eggs different breeds will lay.

[SarahJC]

Thank you!

We have a Marans hybrid that I was expecting to lay dark eggs, but she lays a normal Warren coloured egg and at nearly a year and a half old her eggs have never gotten bigger than a bantam size  Never mind she's a lovely hen 

[VeggieVirgin]

Our Welsumers lay beautiful large dark brown eggs, but they aren't the most prolific layers.

[hillfooter]

We have a 5 week old chick (just the one hatched). I'm looking to get a grower to keep chick company when 'Mum' has decided she's done all she can for her chick and wants to go back to the big 'girls'. 'Mum' is a hybrid blue egg layer by the way  :blink:

I'm getting myself in a right tizzy trying to decided what to get. I definitely would like a pure breed and would quite like a dark egg layer. I've read that Barnevelders and Welsummers are dark egg layers. Can anyone recommend either or something else?

Our chick is an Araucana by the way - fingers crossed for a girl!  

Welsummers are dark chocolate brown egg layers but I agree they aren't as prolific as many other birds but they are beautiful birds.  

Barnevelders lay a dark brown egg too though not as dark as a Welsummer.  I like Barnevelders they are  a lovely looking heavy breed with attractive close feathering and seem to be quite hardy and lay bigger eggs than Welsummers and are more prolific.

There's so many poor quality Marans around it's a challenge to get a good dark egg layer so unless you know you are getting a good dark egg laying strain I wouldn't go for one.

If you want a lot of eggs consider a Speckeldy which is a hybrid hen developed from a Maran.   Again a good one lays lots of dark brown eggs of reasonable size though again not as dark a Welsummer (see photo).
HF

[SarahJC]

Thanks again 

Mulberry thanks for that, very informative!

Hillfooter, I'm rather taken with the Barnevelders, lovely looking birds. Your Welsummer eggs are a beautiful dark brown. I have worried about Marans and some not being particuarly dark egg layers.

This will be it for the amount of hens I can comfortably fit into their morning run , so another two growers to go with my Araucana chick will be it  Probably why I am so fixated on what to get 

[hillfooter]

Thanks again 

Mulberry thanks for that, very informative!

Hillfooter, I'm rather taken with the Barnevelders, lovely looking birds. Your Welsummer eggs are a beautiful dark brown. I have worried about Marans and some not being particuarly dark egg layers.

This will be it for the amount of hens I can comfortably fit into their morning run , so another two growers to go with my Araucana chick will be it  Probably why I am so fixated on what to get 

Here are some Barnevelders then
HF

[ehs284]

Our Welsummers give dark brown eggs which are regular/standard to small size. This is a relief as I'm always concerned at the enormous size of the eggs from some of our hybrids. Nice birds. friendly, but don't like handling.

[SarahJC]

Decisions, decisions  :blink:

The chick is still only 5 weeks, so I might have a couple of weeks (?) to be contacting suppliers when I've decided what to have and what I am actually able to get that is a reasonable distance from me and a grower  :blink:

Thanks for the photo Hillfooter and thanks for the info on your Welsummers ehs