Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[Wynette]

I live in British Columbia on Vancouver Island. I got 10 eggs local(45 min drive) and the other 5 doz from the mainland. My tenant picked them up near her parents. He charged for 4 but gave me an extra doz. I can't see myself attempting shipped.It's bad enough paying $25/doz. My wife would kill me If I spent more than that plus shipping and ended up with bad results.LOL

AH, I see that under your avatar, I hadn't noticed you were in Canada before. $25/dozen is UBER CHEAP! That's great that you're working it out!

 

[dvoice]

These are a sample of eggs I used with production beige brown eggs and the top right is an EE egg. I think it was a little too bright for getting a good pic of the Choc. color.

 

[johnderosa1]

Wynette... That is a critical goal for me. My second set of birds I had definitely suffer from that problem. Eggs start out 5-6 but after a month or so they are in the 3-4 range. Funny thing is that their offspring lay an egg that is a solid 6 at the beginning and hold a 5 late into the cycle. The pullet that laid this egg was hatched out of a pretty dark egg from a breeder known for excellent egg color. I am hoping she doesn't lose more than 1 shade over time.

 

[dvoice]

AH, I see that under your avatar, I hadn't noticed you were in Canada before. $25/dozen is UBER CHEAP! That's great that you're working it out!

Well there's also the breeder that charges $48/doz and one small backyard breeder with the same line that wants $50 but I'm just starting with the BCM's and with the 2 diff. batches I got I plan on keeping some just for egg laying and others that I want to bring close to SOP for resale.

 

[Wynette]

Wynette... That is a critical goal for me. My second set of birds I had definitely suffer from that problem. Eggs start out 5-6 but after a month or so they are in the 3-4 range. Funny thing is that their offspring lay an egg that is a solid 6 at the beginning and hold a 5 late into the cycle. The pullet that laid this egg was hatched out of a pretty dark egg from a breeder known for excellent egg color. I am hoping she doesn't lose more than 1 shade over time.

EXCELLENT! It is said that, when bred back to the father, the daughters will lay darker than the parents. Sounds like you are seeing this in your own back yard. I saw this also, a year or so ago.

Well there's also the breeder that charges $48/doz and one small backyard breeder with the same line that wants $50 but I'm just starting with the BCM's and with the 2 diff. batches I got I plan on keeping some just for egg laying and others that I want to bring close to SOP for resale.

Goodness, $50/12+ is also pretty darn cheap. Unless these are just bred for backyard pleasure. Nothing wrong with that, of course! It'll be a really good way for you to know whether you want to stay with them or not, to be sure. Not everyone breeds for exhbition, not everyone needs to. They all have their place, in my opinion.

 

[happyfrenchman]

What is a safe marker to mark eggs for in the incubator... I was wanting to mark them with the day they were laid so that I will have an idea on how long I can keep them before I have to start incubating... I was figuring 10 days but when I turn on the machine, I will have some of varying ages. Does it matter if I use a sharpie and just make a minimal mark? Or can I just write the date?

 

[familypendragon]

What is a safe marker to mark eggs for in the incubator... I was wanting to mark them with the day they were laid so that I will have an idea on how long I can keep them before I have to start incubating... I was figuring 10 days but when I turn on the machine, I will have some of varying ages. Does it matter if I use a sharpie and just make a minimal mark? Or can I just write the date?

Somewhere on one of the how-to articles it said use a sharpie so I use one for dating, labeling, marking air cells etc. I have never seen it bleed through to the membrane or anything so apparently it is fine. Someone will correct me if I am wrong I am sure.

 

[Zanna]

Somewhere on one of the how-to articles it said use a sharpie so I use one for dating, labeling, marking air cells etc. I have never seen it bleed through to the membrane or anything so apparently it is fine. Someone will correct me if I am wrong I am sure.

I use a sharpie, never had a problem. Some use pencils and crayons.

 

[Blarneyeggs]

What is a safe marker to mark eggs for in the incubator... I was wanting to mark them with the day they were laid so that I will have an idea on how long I can keep them before I have to start incubating... I was figuring 10 days but when I turn on the machine, I will have some of varying ages. Does it matter if I use a sharpie and just make a minimal mark? Or can I just write the date?

I use pencil in the incubator and marker in the coop ( those broodies tend to rub pencil marking off)

 

[happyfrenchman]

Thank you all... I will go with the sharpie. I didn't want to give the chicks a tattoo..