Wheat Marans color of egg question

[klf73]

Beautiful eggs

where can I get mine

Krista

 

[drom]

Quote:
Very nice eggs!
But I think if the genetics behind dark egg production were that simple, the characteristic would be completely locked in to everyone's lines and the breeders wouldn't be discussing it as one of their biggest challenges. I am reading that is not that simple; that you can have a bird who comes from a dark egg, end up laying lighter eggs and visa versa. On the Yahoo Marans group site, just recently they were discussing how rare it is to have a hen who lays very dark eggs consistently though the laying cycle. There is one woman in Florida who has one and Bev Davis said her bird is very rare.
I am not any kind of expert, but I think that if no one yet understands how the genes involved in dark egg production work, then hatching only your darkest eggs is one way to approach it, but then you also have a whole bunch of other factors that come in to play that can get in the way of that; such as, the breed standard for color and type.
I think the serious breeders end up having to work with lots and lots of birds and have to work very hard at this.

 

[Wynette]

You're definitely correct, drom; however, as I said, most reputable breeders do hatch only the very darkest eggs. I learned that from the yahoo forum you mentioned (I'm a member of it as well). For most breeders, the egg color is the most important factor, so most work on that first, then other conformational issues. I'm not a breeder, have just learned a lot from the marans forum.

 

[drom]

Quote:
Yes, of course you're right. I'm enjoying the Marans forum too. It's a good place to find out what is going on with the breed. I am not terribly interested in breeding. If it were easier, I definitely would be. It just seems to me like maybe a lot of people get sucked in to it because the breed is so nice and the eggs are so pretty, but don't realize how much time and work it really takes and how much the breeders who have been at it for a while know about poultry genetics. I love my little birds though. I hadn't kept chickens before and I had no idea they were so funny and cute. I'll be happy with them whether they give me super dark eggs or not.