Marans Thread for Posting Pics of Your Eggs, Chicks and Chickens

[SunnyDawn]

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That's so interesting! All my gals started laying VERY dark freckled eggs but two have lightened up quite a bit so now only one of my marans still gives me a super dark egg (I only have three marans now but would love to get a couple more in a season or two). These three gals are the best behaved of all my birds and never give me any trouble. I judge from your comments about a few of yours being "high strung" that the calm nature of my three gals is not the rule?

 

[onthespot]

There are some lines more high strung than others. I have had Ray Valentine birds, and found them VERY flighty, small bodied and high percentage of slow feathering gene, and start out laying dark but thei color faded fast. The Wade Gene/Ron Presley line lays dark usually in the beginning and lightens some but stays pretty dark . They are less flighty than the Ray Valentine and hardly any slow feathering problems. I have Bev Davis hens, and they are far more gentle than either of the other two lines, and their eggs are lighter colored then either of the other two, but larger. Just my limited experience with under probably a hundred birds total. Counting chicks, roo chicks included.

 

[pinkchick]

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Did you eat any yet? I am dying to eat an egg from a Marans! Heck, I am just anxious to get one from my own coop!
<<<< sigh >>>> someday ....

Kathy~ Don't feel bad I've never eaten one of my Marans eggs...LOL!

 

[americana-chick]

Well today i go and pick up my Marans

 

[M@M@2four]

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How exciting!!!

What kind of Marans are you getting?

I have a BCM egg auction going on right now(pics included): https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=282904

 

[drom]

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That was my experience last year with the Wade Jeane/Ron Presley birds from Donna. They stayed about the same color most of the year. I got the lightest eggs they laid in June and July and I know why; it was very hot here and that had a big effect on their egg color. But in September, when the weather was just wonderful, I got some of my darkest eggs all year.

 

[ShaggysGirl]

Our Cockoo Marans started to lay two weeks ago I wasn't expecting them to start till March.
Here is one hens second egg

Pictured next to a golf ball

 

[ruth]

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I read the above quote somewhere else, and it confuses me. Now, it seems to me, that Marans should be laying their darkest eggs at the beginning of a cycle. And, the beginning of a cycle is right after molt, correct? (As well as the first pullet eggs, if I understand correctly) ....
Can you tell, I have never gotten any Marans eggs yet! LOL
soon ... soon...

Yea from everything I've read and experienced that doesn't make much sense either! See marans start out with whites eggs and they lay the pigment on as the egg passes through the oviduct. Of course all brown egg layers lay pigment on after the egg is formed but the marans' actually dye their eggs at the very last moment with special glands in their oviducts (that's why the color can be removed so easily when the egg is freshly laid). From what I've read the longer they go without laying the stronger and more intense the dye will be in these glands but although this has been the case with my gals it obviously isn't for everybody!
I guess that's why we love those gorgeous dark eggs so much. They are such a special treat! Well at least they still taste just as delicious. I especially love my marans' eggs for custards, nog and puddings etc. The chalaza (those white pieces that anchor the yolk and keep it centered) seem to be less invasive on the marans' eggs. They separate real easy and aren't as big or as hard as they are in other eggs. So they make delicious custards etc.
Could be I'm just imagining this though. Has anybody else noticed they seem to taste better in these creamy recipes or is it just me?

That was a quote from my recent add for BCM eggs. And I still don't know when a laying cycle is. All I do know is that my birds are now in their second year of laying and for whatever reason, they stopped laying for a few months. We had rain every day for three months solid and now we are having record freezing weather. But, they are laying again and the eggs are much lighter than they were before they stopped laying.

Here's an example - pic taken before they stopped laying:

Pic taken the other day from the recently gathered eggs:

I know I've read that color can be darkened, depending on what you feed them. Mine freerange and I don't feed them anything special to darken the egg color. But even when they were laying daily, I still got light eggs one day and maybe dark eggs the next and so on. So I'm confused also because I've yet to determine if they have a laying cycle and if so, each one of mine must be on its own cycle.

I do know, from the breeder BCMs that I have in separate pens, that I have two hens, banded and marked, that always lay a dark egg - probably an 8 (but don't want to start an argument on that) - every day - no exception - no variation in color. So they don't seem to have a "cycle" at all - if they do, it's always the same color egg.

I also know I bought BCMs simply for the enjoyment of having dark eggs to add to my "Easter" egg baskets of colored eggs. I had no idea it would become such a fad and then a heated topic of competition and rivalry. It seems now that no bird is good enough and no egg is dark enough and no line is pure enough. Gee....they're chickens. I love the variety of color.

 

[kathyinmo]

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I don't see it as a competition or rivalry. I am just trying to learn, and I think alot of others are also. I looked at this as a subject being discussed, and conclude that there is no one perfect answer.

You sound irritated or annoyed, Ruth. I sure do not mean to offend anyone, by asking questions. I think this is a good thread to learn from, and I am sorry if your feelings are hurt.

Yes, they're chickens ... isn't that what this whole site is about? I would like to learn more about this breed, as well as a few other breeds. That's why I read, and study, and ask questions. I am new to poultry, and have learned all I know from BYC threads like this one.

 

[megcpat]

wow, that IS a dramatic color difference. It's hard to tell from the photo, but are they spotted as well? Were they spotted before they took their break?