[darkbrowneggs]

this nice weather is suiting her and the eggs are getting nice and dark.  I shall hatch all I can of her eggs to choose my stock cockerels for next year 

70grms plus and a good layer.  Yes definitely my favourite hen, well apart from maybe a pert little Araucana cross which gives me such a cheeky look everytime I see her ..... and lays a big beautiful blue egg nearly every day. 

[ANHBUC]

Lovely colour.  They always seem to scratch the egg though when laying.

A picture of the layer would be nice and the blue eggs of the Aracuna cross.   

[darkbrowneggs]

That's because the pigment is coated on last thing before its laid, and the darker the egg, the thicker the pigment.  When it is laid it comes out wet and if you pick it up straight away you would leave a thumbprint on it.  When the hen adjusts the egg for a bit of "comfort" sitting before she leaves the nest her claws and any bits of bedding slightly damage the pigment

This was her and her sister in the barn when she was a pullet - my Cuckoo Marans are on the dark side as they are selected for egg colour rather than showing - anyway I love them 

I will see what the Araucana has laid tomorrow 

[ANHBUC]

I know, my welsummer eggs always have the scratches.

They are beautiful, is the breed available in bantam as well as LF?

[darkbrowneggs]

Yes - I don't keep them myself, but apparently they are excellent layers, the eggs aren't as dark as the LF but still a good rich colour, they are cheap to keep and most of the breeders complain because the eggs they lay are too large to show in the bantams classes - hardly a fault in my book 

The best chap to contact about them is Ken Nash of The Marans Club, he is exceedingly knowledgeable, and pretty well anyone who wins anything in Marans bantams classes for birds or eggs has had stock from him at one time or another. 

If you google The Marans Club website - I know we are not allowed to include links on this forum  - his contact details are there and he is well worth talking to about them.   

[splash101]

Those eggs are fabulous.

Imagine my Children's delight one day when I said you can get chickens that lay chocolate eggs.
Imagine their disappointment when I corrected myself with chocolate coloured eggs.

[ANHBUC]

Yes - I don't keep them myself, but apparently they are excellent layers, the eggs aren't as dark as the LF but still a good rich colour, they are cheap to keep and most of the breeders complain because the eggs they lay are too large to show in the bantams classes - hardly a fault in my book 

The best chap to contact about them is Ken Nash of The Marans Club, he is exceedingly knowledgeable, and pretty well anyone who wins anything in Marans bantams classes for birds or eggs has had stock from him at one time or another. 

If you google The Marans Club website - I know we are not allowed to include links on this forum  - his contact details are there and he is well worth talking to about them.   

I believe it is only links that you are directly involved with and would profit from as it would be seen as advertising.   

[ANHBUC]

Those eggs are fabulous.

Imagine my Children's delight one day when I said you can get chickens that lay chocolate eggs.
Imagine their disappointment when I corrected myself with chocolate coloured eggs.

  

I think the colour does encourage children to eat the eggs though.

[darkbrowneggs]

Those eggs are fabulous.

Imagine my Children's delight one day when I said you can get chickens that lay chocolate eggs.
Imagine their disappointment when I corrected myself with chocolate coloured eggs.

Eggs for the incubator with Kinder egg in foreground

[Prod]

When my Copper Marans started laying around Dec/Jan she laid eggs that colour  now they have lightened up  and are just a dark brown   Does that always happen  or is it what she eats etc (they free range but have layers pellets & corn treats etc)

[darkbrowneggs]

The colour will vary throughout lay. 

Good breeders will try and breed from those birds which retain their egg colour over as long a period as possible.  But there are many other factors which will affect shell colour intensity, including what the weather is like, what they are eating, how happy they feel.

Scientists have now found that intensity of female egg shell colour is a signal to their mates of the quality and potential of the egg, hence the males (in those species which invest the most care in their offspring) will devote extra time and energy to protecting the females and their offspring from the most intense coloured eggs. 

So to get extra dark eggs, not only do you need the genetics capable of producing such dark eggs, but you need to keep the females in optimum conditions, and if I was a hen I would not be feeling in peak condition after the last wet year followed by this horrible cold, late spring.   

[snowdrops]

Why are all the eggs on t towels or is that a daft question? Also what do you do with the cockerals? Don't you want more hens?

[darkbrowneggs]

If you are breeding for dark eggs, you need to use a cockerel which has been hatched from a dark egg, so the darkest eggs are marked so that next year's potential stock cockerels are selected from the chicks of those eggs

The eggs are placed on a pale background so not only the best egg colour, but the very best shape and shell texture only are selected for the incubator, and tea towels stop the eggs from rolling on a hard surface.

[snowdrops]

Thank you

[yaxley]

Those eggs are fabulous.

Imagine my Children's delight one day when I said you can get chickens that lay chocolate eggs.
Imagine their disappointment when I corrected myself with chocolate coloured eggs.

Ok as long as they dont break them open looking for the smarties inside .