Black Copper Marans discussion thread

I'm in need of a little help. Every year I buy chicks from people in Michigan who all have claimed their flock has Davis line or Jean line in them. Once the chicks grow up and start laying I can tell I was taken for a fool again. The eggs they lay are too light and I end up culling the flock. This is my 4th year of trying to find Marans that are actually Marans and not someone's poor excuse of the breed (meaning their eggs end up under a 4 on the color chart). I even ask for pictures of the flock and of the eggs they are hatching. The pictures the seller emails me are of really dark eggs. However, once the chicks I purchase from them start laying they are no where near the color in the pictures they sent me back in spring.

I am posting a picture of some eggs hoping someone could tell me where they stand on the color chart. I am hoping a couple of these hens are worth breeding because I am tired of the heartbreak of spending so much money on raising a bad flock. The top row are from my black sex link. The middle row are the Marans eggs the bottom are Easter Eggers. The 4th from the left is the egg color of past flocks that have all been culled but one hen. She is kept in with my Easter Eggers to create Olive Eggers each spring. Could someone tell me where each of these eggs are on the color chart numbering them from left to right? I need to know if its okay to breed this flock or if I should keep trying. I'm really hoping these are acceptable. Would you use them for breeding?

I forgot to add: These eggs were collected after the hens have been laying for 3 months.
The only way to know for sure is to get a Marans egg color chart, as monitors and cameras differ so greatly as well as lighting, etc. We always post egg photos with the chart in the photo near the egg(s) or put an egg behind the chart with a hole punched so the egg shows through the hole like this:



This way anyone with the color chart will know that we are looking at the same color egg, no matter what they look like in the photo due to conditions, equipment, etc.
 
Got a first egg today from my $8 "marans" pullet. What do y'all think? Yep, but she is adorable. (Egg really does look darker IRL and slightly speckled)



 
Got a first egg today from my $8 "marans" pullet. What do y'all think? Yep, but she is adorable. (Egg really does look darker IRL and slightly speckled)



Nice Olive Egger.
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Will marans egg get darker with time ?? My FBCM laid her first egg 5 days ago and it was dark but not as dark as i thought it would be also it havent laid again since. why ??

My hen is solid black in color andher eyes are very dark black or red (i cant tell ) and she has feathers on her feet

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The egg is the darker one all the other eggs are rhode island red eggs does it look ok for a BCM???
 
I agree that your egg is not very dark for a Marans. There is some debate as to whether or not the eggs get darker over time. When my Marans hens return to laying after molting or being broody, the eggs are slightly lighter than normal and then darken up over the next week or two. I'm not sure if your eggs will darken up much though. The brown in your photo is the same color my red stars lay.
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I hope they get darker i bought only one hen and one roo they are very expensive and i want them just for their egg color and we only have one main breeder in our country and he wont change the price :(
 
Looking for feeback on my Black Copper Marans trio. They were hatches July 17th 2014 so they are just under 6 months old. I have one cockerel and two pullets. No eggs yet but it's quite cold here and I do not do supplemental lighting and they free range for most of their food.
Here is the cockerel
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He had great feathering before he became a full time free range chicken (Picture later of a the leg feathering on a pullet who has been confined due to injury)
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He does have a point on his comb that isn't straight. I don't know if it will straighten or is it permanent? He also has a bit of a wave to his comb.
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I'll load the pullets later
 
Looking for feeback on my Black Copper Marans trio. They were hatches July 17th 2014 so they are just under 6 months old. I have one cockerel and two pullets. No eggs yet but it's quite cold here and I do not do supplemental lighting and they free range for most of their food.
Here is the cockerel

He had great feathering before he became a full time free range chicken (Picture later of a the leg feathering on a pullet who has been confined due to injury)













He does have a point on his comb that isn't straight. I don't know if it will straighten or is it permanent? He also has a bit of a wave to his comb.





I'll load the pullets later
First I have to ask if that is a a spiral legband/ziptie on his left leg. If so, it is WAY too tight and I'd remove it immediately. He looks to have good fore/aft balance and nice back/tail angles in these photos. While I prefer a clear black breast, the amount of copper he is showing on his chest is I believe an acceptable amount. He does appear to narrow considerably from front to back however. At this age I would like to see some copper showing on wing bows but it may come in later.
 

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