Marans egg color from hatchery stock (MPC) *pics*

[kari_dawn]

I have seen lots of questions asking about color of marans eggs from hatcheries, so I thought I would give a little update on my hatchery black copper marans from my pet chicken. All three are now laying, and from questions I had asked, and questions I others had asked and responses I had read, my hopes were not too high. This is what I am getting from my girls. Enjoy





This is a close up of the darkest egg in the basket picture. Sorry for the scratches! The new girls aren't exactly gentle with their eggs! In the background is the cherry cabinets in my kitchen for comparison. They are quite dark.

 

[StarLover21]

 

[kari_dawn]

Now if only I could figure out which one keeps giving me the darkest eggs! I have ten big girls left, and five of them are black. My color ratio is off! LOL

 

[kari_dawn]

well, I found out who is responsible for the darkest of all...Cora! She is so darling!



I am so excited about how dark her eggs are! They are like a rich mahogany! SO pretty...and these aren't even the darkest ones she has laid...I cracked open the darkest ones and used them already...then I had the genious idea to tak a photo :\ lol

 

[Spangled]

So (as of last year) My Pet Chicken is selling Marans chicks that lay (at least some of them) good dark colored eggs. Nice!

Not a thing wrong with those if dark eggs is the goal! Thanks for posting.

 

[off-grid hen]

Thanks for posting this! My sexed BCM girls come from my pet chicken on April 9th. I hope they are as dark.and I hope I hope I don't get a "oops" rooster.

 

[chickenhawk1982]

Those are some nice dark eggs!

 

[kari_dawn]

Thanks for posting this! My sexed BCM girls come from my pet chicken on April 9th. I hope they are as dark.and I hope I hope I don't get a "oops" rooster.

How many girls did you order? I ordered three, and I am not sure, but I think Cora is the only one laying eggs that are that dark. I suppose the more you order, the better your chances of getting nice dark eggs like mine . Sending good dark egg-no rooster vibes your way! MPC has been excellent about not sending any roos lately...my last three orders have been roo free, and they have been pretty big orders.

 

[katiekarl]

Is there anything you can do to get darker eggs?

 

[kari_dawn]

I don't think you can do much to get a darker color to the eggs. Egg color is kindof like skin color in people...you can move one or two shades away (Dark eggs lighten as the year progresses), but you can't do much to change the concentration of pigment the hen adds to her eggs.