Which breed has the darkest colored eggs?

[Monstertone]

I'm guess Black Copper Marans, but does anyone know the answer for sure?

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I've heard welsummer

 

[becky3086]

Another good topic for a poll!

 

[chicken_boy_Kurt]

Penedesca. They lay virtually black eggs their first year. But they're rare and I'd doubt you could find them. Welsummers lay really dark eggs as well. As do Marans.

 

[Krys109uk]

I don't think any one breed could be guaranteed to lay the 'darkest' eggs. I think it may well depend upon strain.
There was a fad to get penedescencas some years back & in due course they appeared in USA. I saw some of their eggs, they did not look a lot different from average Marans or Welsumer eggs. I have heard reports of a certain colour of penedescenca laying nearly black eggs. But the colour of a bird does not affect the colour of its egg, so it must have been that particular line. I have seen Marans with poor egg colour & I've seen them so dark a red they look nearly black. The welsumers I've seen have had a slighly more consistent egg colour of a rich terra cotta colour & in a couple of exhibition strains in UK I've also seen them with exceedingly dark eggs.

 

[gumpsgirl]

Welsummers are dark (more of a clay red dark), but the Marans lay darker eggs if you get a good line.

 

[Monstertone]

Thanks for the responses! I currently have a Welsummer, and her eggs are definitely dark brown. (often speckled as well).

I had a cuckoo maran, which laid a similar shade of brown. I've recently seen several pics of Black Copper Maran eggs which (at least from the pics) seem several shades darker than these.

Here are some I found from ebay:

 

[cubalaya]

penedesencas lay the darkest egg of any chicken

 

[playswithfowl]

It seems like I heard of a rare breed called Empordanesa that lays really dark eggs.

 

[sparkles2307]

This is what Feathersite says:
This Spanish breed is closely related to the Penedesenca. In fact, as I understand it, Empordanesa is the name for any of the solid colored Penedesenca types (except the Black); as far as I know, Empordanesa come in White and Red varieties. They are the same size as most Penedesenca and have the same carnation comb (single with multiple lobes at the rear).