cuckoo marans egg is not dark

[wanttobefarmer]

Can anyone tell me if cuckoo maran eggs get darker? My cuckoo maran beatrice just layed her first egg and we have been anticipating this moment to marvel at our first chocolate egg. To our dismay it was light brown with speckles. Anyone know if they get darker or if this is the color we can expect. What breeds of the marans lay chocolate eggs? thanks

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

Cuckoos aren't known to lay the darkest. Black Coppers generally are thought to be the darkest layers.

I have a cuckoo that lays almost as dark as my Black Copper. Mine are from a breeder though. Hatcheries most often carry Cuckoos, but they don't often lay the dark eggs as advertised.

 

[greathorse]

In general the Cuckoo Marans lay a lighter colored egg than the Black Copper or the Wheaten, but if the Cuckoo is of good breeding, from lines that have been managed to promote dark eggs, the color can be quite nice.

I am sure you will hear from Cuckoo breeders that will tell you they have eggs in the 7 or 8 range from Cuckoo hens. It is possible that your first egg is lighter than subsequent eggs, but again in general the darker eggs are earliest in the laying cycle.

I have a few Cuckoo (supposedly) from hatchery birds, the eggs they lay are no darker than the eggs from my RIR or any other breed. I think it quite possible that you have a Cuckoo Marans that is simply not going to lay very dark. As a matter of fact this reality in Marans and hatchery stock is where I really became interested in seeking out birds that have the genetics to get me where I want to be.

I hope I am wrong and that your eggs get darker as time goes on, but I would not bet on it.

The speckling may go away and you will get some eggs where the dappling is more equally distributed. I got both from my birds. I did have some Wellsummers that consistently laid speckled eggs I thought they were very nice looking.

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

I should add that the color does vary from day to day with the Marans. Generally they are darkest at the beginning of the cycle, and lighten over time.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I have the same thing going on here.

I had a couple of Cuckoos I sold at our county fair last Jan, they were right at POL. I had gotten them from the feed store, don't know which hatchery they bought them from. They only laid pale or speckled eggs. I too thought they might get darker as they progressed in their laying careers. Later I got some Cuckoos from someone who had ordered them from Ideal, and they also only lay pale brown eggs.

This is really disappointing. The word on the street is that the Marans lay dark brown eggs. No one says that it's only a certain variety of Marans that can be counted on to lay that color. I like collecting a basket of different colored eggs from my flock & would love to have some nice dark brown ones in the mix. But I sure don't have the $$$ to invest in breeder stock to do so.

 

[wanttobefarmer]

thanks alot, i'm dissapointment isn't huge as beatrice is a really good chicken, but for my next purchas i would like to buy some marans that do produce chocolate colored eggs. Do you have breeder stock that you recommend?
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[greathorse]

I think if I were you I would post on the Wanted to buy thread and see if that gets you anywhere. The one person that I know that had Cuckoo has sold them all. I do know that with the Cuckoo you must be very sure to buy from the person that breeds for egg color.

It would be my suggestion to go for a Black Copper (there are many many of them) Marans breeder if you want the darker eggs. In any case don't let your expectations exceed the reality. Even the darkest layers get lighter and lighter as they get deeper into their cycles. It takes a very special hen to create that deep chocolate color you seem to be pursuing.

 

[Chicken Dharma]

I have two black copper marans and they lay light brown, sometimes speckled eggs. A friend gave them to me, but I have no idea where she got them. My guess is, not a breeder.

 

[boyscout002]

Cuckoos aren't known to lay the darkest. Black Coppers generally are thought to be the darkest layers.

I have a cuckoo that lays almost as dark as my Black Copper. Mine are from a breeder though. Hatcheries most often carry Cuckoos, but they don't often lay the dark eggs as advertised.

I have a question but would like ti discuss it offline. can you send me an e-mail at [email protected] and put in the subject "Marans" thank you

 

[Folly's place]

The clean legged hatchery cuckoo Marans hens will lay lighter tan eggs, that's true. For dark eggs, get the feather legged French Marans, any color. Mine from Cackle do lay very dark eggs, as advertised.
Birds from breeders who select for this trait should be good too.
Mary