What is your favorite color of eggs?

[Liz Birdlover]

My black hens...Who is Maran or Australorp?
Combs seem different, egg colors definitely different

 

[Ascholten]

I h ave black australorps like those, the eggs are a lighter brown, decent size, bird is a big heavy one too, and real sweet. A lot of my flock been rather timid lately, figured it out, my golden comet is quite the passive bully. I locked her ass in a have a hart trap and let the rest roam free and amazing how the friendly personalities came back when she wasn't there clucking 'whatever' at them....

Aaron

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

She's beautiful. Maybe calcium in a small feeder could help. There are times I've gotten birds & was misled about age, she may be older.

She really is, I almost regret not getting the 1 year old but she’s so pretty that it’s okay
She doesn’t look too old. I have a 3-5 year old hen who’s still consistently laying… if I could get even just one fertile egg from her I’d be content. I don’t mind free loaders, they keep the rodents and bugs down

 

[Ascholten]

Sometimes just the act of moving them to a new home, new parents, the car/truck ride over can stress them out, and if it happened to coincide with a coming molt or something, then yah egg laying can be shut down for a few months. I had one that she took about 4 months off, she's going on 3, and is a golden comet, She recently started laying again which of course I am happy, but they DO for reasons only they know. take breaks occasionally

Aaron

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

Sometimes just the act of moving them to a new home, new parents, the car/truck ride over can stress them out, and if it happened to coincide with a coming molt or something, then yah egg laying can be shut down for a few months. I had one that she took about 4 months off, she's going on 3, and is a golden comet, She recently started laying again which of course I am happy, but they DO for reasons only they know. take breaks occasionally

Aaron

I’m hoping that’s what it is but we got her in the warmest Alaskan weather seven months ago (may 21st) if she is laying at all it’s not dark eggs at all which I was told she lays

 

[PicoFarm]

I h ave black australorps like those, the eggs are a lighter brown, decent size, bird is a big heavy one too, and real sweet. A lot of my flock been rather timid lately, figured it out, my golden comet is quite the passive bully. I locked her ass in a have a hart trap and let the rest roam free and amazing how the friendly personalities came back when she wasn't there clucking 'whatever' at them....

Aaron

Did you notice any change of bully behavior once you reintroduced the golden comet?

I've tried the peepers (blinders that "secure" at the nares) on the bully hen(s), but they don't stay in long. Small dog harnesses take the starch out of aggressors for a bit.

 

[Ascholten]

I had a RIR that was a huge bully, at one time I kept her locked up for a week, asking her to give me a reason to go into the meat grinder. she calmed down a bit after the gulag.

The comet, it's strange, she is NOT overtly aggressive, it's like they are standing there she'll say something and the little ones will run away, or she'll cluck something quietly and nip at one of the other two and they get away fast from her. It's not like she is screaming and tearing feathers out but she absolutely IS bullying them on some level with that ! She's going to stay locked up the rest of the day, she's moaning a bit over that but too bad. The others went right to being nice and friendly to me without her being able to get to them, not totally but you can tell they are acting a bit easier. I will try them again tomorrow and if this continues then it's time to haul out the timeout cage and she can spend a few days in there all by herself UNABLE to free range and be with the rest of them while they get treats and have their fun etc. However the comet is an absolute doll with me, I just don't get it. I don't want to say it's jealousy, can chickens exibit that really?

Aaron

 

[PicoFarm]

oh agree 1000 percent there but I was more asking, are there any marketed that way, not coincidentally. If we were to go by behavior Id have had a meat cockatoo years ago

Id like a blue egger, and if could get some that are meat / layers that do blue that'd be great, be able to work on the best blue and not have to put up with second best. Keep the best genetics for the eggs and the rest are lunch. Although egg laying age is probably twice what a normal meater is culled at, it's still young enough to be a nice tasty meal.

although sadly knowing me, Id end up with 100 hens that are on their 'last chance' :eyeroll:

aaron

One of our local hatcheries has a guide to the varieties they sell, including whether for meat/laying and egg color. You can click on the a breed listed on this availability guide (https://www.cacklehatchery.com/availability-chart/) ...and follow links to "breed information." Example for Cinnamon Queen provides anticipated bird weight, use (layer or meat), # eggs per year, comb type, egg color, mating ratio, and preferred roost height. https://www.cacklehatchery.com/product/cinnamon-queens/

Your local vendor might have something similar for the varieties they offer.

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

I had a RIR that was a huge bully, at one time I kept her locked up for a week, asking her to give me a reason to go into the meat grinder. she calmed down a bit after the gulag.

The comet, it's strange, she is NOT overtly aggressive, it's like they are standing there she'll say something and the little ones will run away, or she'll cluck something quietly and nip at one of the other two and they get away fast from her. It's not like she is screaming and tearing feathers out but she absolutely IS bullying them on some level with that ! She's going to stay locked up the rest of the day, she's moaning a bit over that but too bad. The others went right to being nice and friendly to me without her being able to get to them, not totally but you can tell they are acting a bit easier. I will try them again tomorrow and if this continues then it's time to haul out the timeout cage and she can spend a few days in there all by herself UNABLE to free range and be with the rest of them while they get treats and have their fun etc. However the comet is an absolute doll with me, I just don't get it. I don't want to say it's jealousy, can chickens exibit that really?

Aaron

Jealously is definitely possible, when I first got my five chicks after only having Cinnamon and the goats for awhile the goats would only pay attention to the chicks and ignore cinnamon, and she loved the goats, she would sleep in their kennel and ride of their backs. She would either attack one of the chicks or peck the goats if the goats were ignoring her too much. Now with my silkies if I pay too much to Yeti Reaper starts complaining or when I bring another chicken inside for a bit Reaper starts losing her mind, whenever I would bring Reaper inside she would get snacks and cuddles. Chickens I believe have much more feelings then people will realize, I’ve watched them protect each other simply because that one hen doesn’t like the rooster, like when my roo Kia was chasing down, I think it was Babs, Pepper attacked him, Kia is terrified of most of my older hens which Pepper is one of, Pepper and Cinnamon he has much respect for

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

@SwampQueenChick
If by spearmint you mean light green (blue over slight tinted egg) many of my Raraku tend to lay that color. I haven't gotten any new photos in a while but the egg on the right in the nesting box is from one Raraku hen and the one in the top photo is from a different Raraku hen. They are a landrace from Easter Island rather than a breed.

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Yes, I do mean the coloring of the egg shown in the top picture!

What breed lays the chocolate ones that are almost red?

Marans lay maroon/chocolate!

My experience with Maran's eggs is they lay dark brown but on occasion if there is a heavy bloom it will appear to be "Maroonish." So I didn't think Maroon is an official color. BUT I was just reading that a Croad Langshan will lay a "Plum" colored egg. I didn't know that, might have to get one!

Alright, sorry for the misunderstanding. I have just heard of them naturally laying maroon.

Check with the hatchery where they originated. The Cinnamon Queen lines used by the hatchery where I get my chicks market them as brown egg layers.

Big red comb fits. Skinny body doesn't, unless they have worms. Here's one of mine. You might also look at their preferred roosting height. I noticed my EE light to be about 5ft and Cinnamons prefer about 3-4ft.

They didn't come from a hatchery, they came from a backyard breeder.

My black hens...Who is Maran or Australorp?
Combs seem different, egg colors definitely different
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I'd definitely say those are Australorps!