Dark Egg Breeds Thread

[knjinnm]

Quote:
Hi,
Please post a few pictures of your solid blue Marans, cocks and hens, and their eggs.

Thanks,
Joe

 

[pinkchick]

Hi Joe!

Sorry, I do not have any solid blues, I do have some birds that appear to be solid but they came from Black Copper, Blue Copper and Splash Copper parents and carry the copper gene but do not show it. I don't have any updated photos of them but will try to get out today and get some new ones of them playing in the snow.

Here are some pics that I just took this morning of the eggs I am collecting for the New Year's Day Hatch along with Mahonri.
They are all from Blue Coppers and a few are from my Splash Coppers. Thank you for asking me to share them.
Photo one is outside in full light this morning (in the snow

) with flash and the second photo is without flash. Photo 1 is very accurate on color.

Currently in the incubator. Blue Coppers.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:
The one thing that really stood out to me is they seem to be holding their shell color longer thru the laying cycle than our Cuckoo's or the BHB Marans. We hatched these out this year and just as a guess they have been laying 3 months-ish now (i'm not the best record keeper lol ) and the eggs I pictured the other day are from them. The BHB birds we have are in full molt so I doubt any of them are laying. The eggs we got from Buddy hatched out strong, healthy chicks - we haven't hatched any ourselves as of yet. I really really don't like to brood chicks in the winter.

Steve

 

[drom]

Quote:
Hi,
with regard to the angle of his tail, I think it is not bad. If you draw an imaginary straight horizontal line across his back and tail and then draw a straight vertical line that starts at the base of his tail and goes straight up to the top of the picture, I think that it puts his tail angle at about 50 degrees in that particular picture. At least that is how I measure it. I think that is correct.

And remember, you don't really count the angle of the sickle feathers. I think you are supposed to just measure at the angle of the feathers directly underneath the sickles.

Correct me if I am wrong here folks.

 

[drom]

Quote:
Beautiful egg bowl Pink!

 

[kathyinmo]

I think 90% of my birds are molting. Feathers everywhere and few eggs to be gathered.

Anyone have dark eggs they would sell me to hatch for Mahonri's New Year's Day hatch? PLEASE!

 

[drom]

Quote:
Oooo yes that will be a nice project

 

[drom]

Quote:
The one thing that really stood out to me is they seem to be holding their shell color longer thru the laying cycle than our Cuckoo's or the BHB Marans. We hatched these out this year and just as a guess they have been laying 3 months-ish now (i'm not the best record keeper lol ) and the eggs I pictured the other day are from them. The BHB birds we have are in full molt so I doubt any of them are laying. The eggs we got from Buddy hatched out strong, healthy chicks - we haven't hatched any ourselves as of yet. I really really don't like to brood chicks in the winter.

Steve

This pic is a re-post that illustrates what color my BHB eggs finish off at the end of the season. My best BHB pullet eggs have a nice dark red shade in the beginning of their 1st season and then gradually become more of a lighter, rusty orange color.
The egg with the stripe down the middle is an example of the difference. The color of the stripe is how they start out and rest of the egg color is what they usually stabilize to at the end of the season.

In 2009 I got some beautiful dark eggs from them at the end of the season in September and October. It was an extremely hot summer and they laid crummy, light eggs during the heat. In September it really cooled off and was very mild and they surprised me when all the sudden they started laying dark again. These birds don't like the heat. At least mine don't.

 

[Rathbone]

Regarding what you said about not laying in the heat - uh-oh. I live in the Mojave Desert...nothin' but heat. I hope mine will lay. Anyone else want to weigh in on the heat factor?

 

[Lotsapaints]

None of mine liked the heat either they slowed down but didn't stop they don't seem to like big swings in temps from day to day because I have a 50 degree change from morning to mid day in the summer and that's okay but if one day was 100 and then one was 80 with the swing I didn't get as many eggs....