Will a half Maran still lay a dark egg?

[chanceosunshine]

I have a post in another area that I was curious about the breed of chicken she was. I "knew" she was supposed to be half Maran, but then it dawned on me that her eggs are so light, maybe that's not really possible??
There were a couple of guesses that she was mixed with Austrolorp.
This is her and her eggs that she's sitting on. They are obviously quite light in color.

 

[sourland]

Those eggs are very light in color for a hen with Marans background. I'd candle them and remove any that are not developing. That's a lot of eggs for her to cover effectively. One in the foreground appears to be dented. If so I would remove it from the clutch.

 

[chanceosunshine]

Those eggs are very light in color for a hen with Marans background. I'd candle them and remove any that are not developing. That's a lot of eggs for her to cover effectively. One in the foreground appears to be dented. If so I would remove it from the clutch.

They are due to hatch on Friday. Will candling still work?

 

[Yardmom]

Yes candling at any stage is possible.
You should see eggs that are mostly full (dark) and movement. I think sometimes drawings are difficult to show what an end stage looks like. In a few days you should see what looks like shadows of a chick in the air cell, and breathing moment.

 

[chanceosunshine]

Yes candling at any stage is possible.
You should see eggs that are mostly full (dark) and movement. I think sometimes drawings are difficult to show what an end stage looks like. In a few days you should see what looks like shadows of a chick in the air cell, and breathing moment.

Ok. I'll do that when she leaves the nest today.

 

[chanceosunshine]

Candled the eggs. I don't think any are viable. Most look like this and I could see no movement.

 

[Yardmom]

Make sure it is dark where you are candling.

 

[chanceosunshine]

Make sure it is dark where you are candling.

It definitely could be that it wasn't dark enough. I should have closed the doors. I'll try again if she gives me the chance. She was not happy that I was in there.