Marans, Dark eggs ...light eggs...

[sandypaws]

OK.. i knew that but.. these are my first marans.. they just started to lay.. one of them is laying light colored eggs.. cream colored..
i got these chickens from ideal hatchery. i love them i dont care what color,, i was just wondering???

 

[iajewel]

In my oppinion.. and this is only an oppinion.. when you buy from a hatchery the quality is never there. Hatcherys breed for numbers.. they have to meet orders and some don't care how they do it. There is a photo on this site of buff lace Polish that are basically pure white birds, with a buff fleck here and there.. Not what I or anyone would call a buff much less a lace.. This is not uncommon for Hatchery birds.. They may even cross breed to keep up the numbers..

when you buy from a breeder, you will have the best luck.

 

[sandypaws]

i understand that and i do agree with you.. it is quantity over quality.... that is how i got my naked frizzle rooster,, bad genes from a hatchery..
but.. i do NOT know of any private breeders that ship day-old chicks.. them MIGHT ship eggs

 

[Katy]

Quote:
There are private breeders who ship day-old chicks and a lot who sell hatching eggs, but a person has to be willing to pay the price for them.

 

[sandypaws]

again.. i understand that... i just personally never found a private breeder that ships chicks.. only eggs..
or pick up at a show or their ranch...
sorry,, i am NOT driving to kansas for 10 baby chicks...

anyway back to the question...
just wondering if the first few eggs can be lighter?????
i got several dark ones and a huge dark egg this morning...
and WHY do the lighten during the season??

 

[MaransGuy]

Quote:
Yes, the first eggs can be lighter. Some pullets take a little while to darken up but it is usually not too long before they do. Regarding the reason for them lightening over time, it has to do with the way the eggs are pigmented. Unlike typical brown egg layers that have the pigment as part of the outer layer of shell, a marans' egg color is actually pigment "painted" onto the surface of the egg. This pigment is wet when first laid and can be smudged if handled before the egg dries. Additionally, it can be washed off even after it dries. It is assumed that the reason the eggs fade over time is that the section of the oviduct that secretes the pigment produces a lot of pigment at first but eventually starts slowing down over time. It is not uncommon for egg color to really drop off in the last few eggs before the bird stops laying. After a break in laying, perhaps after a moult, the color is recharged and the cycle begins again.

Richard

 

[onthespot]

would you drive to Riverside for day old chicks? I have good ones.

 

[sandypaws]

onthespot....HEY.. i grew up in NORCO!!!!!right down the street form INGALS PARK.... of course i would... watcha got?? i would love somemore cuckoomarans..

guy.. thank for the info.. makes sense
i have owned chickens all my life.. but this is the first time with marans.. i only have 1 roo and 3 hens.. i am really loving them...

 

[sandypaws]

and i have a maran hen that has layed several speckled ones.... kind pretty,,wondering if it will go away.. and a HUGE egg from a maran...

picture of what i collected this morning.... how FUN

all marans eggs this morning...

 

[onthespot]

Right this second I have a bator full of someone else's stuff, Dark Brahmas, two cuckoo marans eggs, some EE eggs, and the like. I JUST, JUST, JUST, put it in there an hour ago.... and I have a dozen eggs due to hatch tomorrow and twelve welsummers due to arrive in the mail any day! But... when all that stuff clears out I can put in some copper black marans eggs, or if you wait just a bit more, I can have blue/black splash marans eggs for you, clean legged variety. Right now only the black are laying, so I don't know if the blue and splash will lay dark enough... I can probably get some nice, dark golden cuckoo marans eggs and hatch them out for you too... from good, big, DARK eggs. Think about it and PM me and surely we can get you some GOOD marans chicks without you having to drive to Kansas. Talk to you soon.
Patty