Which breed lays the darkest egg?

[suzettex5]

Sorry if this has been posted before- I was thinking of getting maybe 2 more laying hens for myself, and I was wondering which breed lays the darkest (generally)?

Looking for decent sized eggs, not quail, or other smallish eggs. Any opinions? Oh, and how attainable are the chicks/breed?

 

[canada-goose]

I believe that Marans lay the darkest eggs.

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Marans. However the hatchery stock eggs are not as dark from what I have read on here. I'd go with a breeder if you want dark eggs. Several BYC'ers raise them.

 

[BarkerChickens]

Marans and Welsummers lay dark terracotta colored eggs.

 

[suzettex5]

Is there any special sub-catagory of Marans that lays any darker, or just the regular, run of the mill Marans? The Marans I had last year layed a reddish brown egg, but not as dark as some I've seen here on BYC. Could have been because mine was just Belt hatchery stock?...

 

[Illia]

Marans lay the darkest, but certainly NOT hatchery Marans. . . Black Copper Marans from breeders who have been bred to a proper quality (egg darkness 6 or better) are what to look for, and there are plenty breeders here who have some and take great pride in their flocks.

 

[suzettex5]

Ahhh, so it was my hatchery stock thing. I will look into breeders, but its SO dang hard to find any decent breeders of ANY chickens out here in Nor Ca. I must not be looking hard enough or in the right places!!

 

[Illia]

Quote:
I don't know about North California, but So Cal has some really well known breeders of Black Coppers with DARK eggs. One, bayhorsebonne, just sold out her flock though. . . But there are others too. It is actually amazing to learn how many breeders there are in the west coast though, even in my own state.

 

[bayhorsebonne]

Hello, I still have my copper blacks if you would like some eggs, please go to my website: www.socalmarans.com and order there. The flock is not leaving till mid-May, so hurry if you want some.


Thanks, Donna - Bayhorsebonne