Wheaten and Blue wheaten Marans Discussion Thread

[blackdotte]

On my monitor the posted MOAC chart the 6 egg is the minimum I would accept .
As has been said colour prints vary,fade etc, monitors show differences.
My only foolproof test is to look at the eggs as laid, and select the darkest.
This increases the depth of colour over time. Most of my eggs range,in my opinion, between 5 & 6.
The French state anything above this is exceptional, meaning uncommon.
David

 

[fowlman01]

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I wondered if the egg color changed after it dried completely.. Thanks!

Walt

 

[berkeleysprings]

i still cant beleave in this day and age we cant find a way to put numbers to the egg color simalar to a paint store matching paint color if the color can be matched with a computer . why cant a egg ? i know thats sounds funny ,sometimes i see pictures so dark you canty tell how many eggs are even in the picture or so bright they look washed .
2 years ago when i first got my davis eggs and buddy henery (presley) i saved the egg shells and pasted them in a nice frame and marked wich chick came from what color egg to compare it to after about 2 months the eggs lighten up so much they did not look like the same ones . they fade quickly There has to be a way
to communicate color shades from one person to another accurately .what formula did they use to make the charts ?? sounds like such a no brainer that if u can make and print a billion charts there is a number or computer program that put the colors to numbers

I think the sciences and technology people need to get together with this . i can match color at the homedepo store if my mom who lives 400 hunderd miles away likes the color of my wall paint the numbers are the same
there for the color is to

 

[Debbi]

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You just need to be like me......have them because you think they're pretty birds and you like the dark eggs. I'm trying to keep a nice line of birds but in the end I want them to be what makes me happy and that I enjoy.....all the drama that has a tendency to go along with them will ruin them for you if you let it, so I just ignore it.

So true Katy! I have them as I was first attracted to the egg color. My first eggs have been less than desirable as far as BCM standards go, but the sheer joy I have obtained from these guys is priceless! Egg machines? NO! But if I wanted a ton of eggs every week without regard to color or a good challenge, I would've opted for Leghorns! I love my Marans!!

I will try to improve as I go on, to obtain a nice, chunky type of bird, that lays a decent egg color. Personally, I love the ruby colored eggs the best (6-7)! To me the really dark ones, look like a horse laid them

. Not to say that I'd throw a really dark one out to the dogs...just saying

 

[Debbi]

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Good point Randy! Maybe we should be taking the different colored eggs to their paint dept. for a solid match?? Evidently, their matching formula is a pretty steady deal. Then we could get egg swatches and color cards. I'm not kidding, I think that sounds doable. Of course, a video of the event, asking the paint man to match this egg, may prove to be quite humerous!

 

[jeremy]

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I really, really like the red colored eggs too, Debbi! The only thing that I think tops them are the speckledy red ones!

I feel like as long as you (generally speaking) are happy with your birds egg color, then that's all that counts. I mean, as long as they're dark enough to be considered a Marans, because egg color to me is what defines the breed. They gotta at least be sorta dark.

 

[Debbi]

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I really, really like the red colored eggs too, Debbi! The only thing that I think tops them are the speckledy red ones!

I feel like as long as you (generally speaking) are happy with your birds egg color, then that's all that counts. I mean, as long as they're dark enough to be considered a Marans, because egg color to me is what defines the breed. They gotta at least be sorta dark.

Hi Jeremy

Yes, I agree. My girls just started laying, so maybe they'll darken up some as they go. The next pair of pullets will start in the spring, so I'll see what I get there. Got Blue Coppers baking in the bator right now, soon to hatch, and hope to get some Wheatens in the spring. That should do for me! I've got the speckled eggs right now, just hope they get a bit redder and darker. If not, will breed towards that end, while trying to acheive a nice, typey bird...as in dual purpose fowl!

 

[knjinnm]

Hi All,

Is anyone hatching eggs by time of the year?

I ran across this thread recently:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=429468&p=2


"In regards to raising large fowl hatch as early as possible to keep size up. Jan, Feb, March. In bantams hatch the first chick on March 1'st and stop about April 20th. That will keep the size down. Bantam breeders up north hatch chicks out like large fowl and most of the bantams are to large. Down here in the south I have found this to be true. This is a method I have done and now all the bantams are done this way. If the eggs do come out early I will sell the eggs to people or hatch the chicks and send them as started birds. But with my heat down here its a waist of time to raise them for show birds. As breeders they are fine.

I hatched some large fowl white rocks a few years ago in June they where one pound smaller than the same baby chicks hatched in Jan and Feb. Why I think the heat slows down the growth or they don't eat as much. The chicks from these smaller birds however, if hatched in Jan and Feb the next year will be normal size.....

That's how I do it and it works for me.
You need to buy you a cheap digital scale and weigh your birds so you know if you are in the ball park. In American Breed Large fowl it is better to have your birds at age ten months to be about one pound over standard weight. You get a nice 24 ounce per dozen set of eggs and your chicks will be right on the money.

Hope this helps you. Robert Blosl"

 

[Debbi]

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That's interesting, will have to watch and see how that goes. I know when breeding dogs, I was told long ago, if you wanted more female pups, breed the female in the first part of her heat. If you want more male pups, breed her near the end. The theory was that in nature if there were too many males in the population, the females got bred early on, so nature made up for it by supplying more females in the litter. If bred toward the end of the heat, meant there were not enough males in the pack, so nature supplied more males in the litters. I tried it with 6 or so matings, and quite a bit of the time, it did seem to work that way. Too bad chickens don't cycle

 

[berkeleysprings]

kinda quiet here