maran eggs

[kathyd]

Hi

I keep getting told that marans lay deep brown eggs. My maran lays smallish, almost white eggs.. always the same! Is there a reason why this happens? I don't mind what colour the eggs are, I'm just curious .

Thanks
Kathy

[Suechooks]

LF Marans generally do lay dark eggs. I think Cuckoos and Copper Blacks lay the darkest brown. Obviously some strains may be bred to lay dark eggs and others for different attributes so you may lose the egg colour for this reason.

[Scarlet]

I keep marans and they all lay large dark brown eggs, they do tend to be darker in the spring though. Are you sure that they are traditional marans and not a hybrid?

[Nicos]

Mine both lay dark brown eggs. One darker than the other.
They are a dual purpose hen - originally ( meat and egg birds).
Maybe yours is more a meat bird??

I have read that the more often they lay, the paler the egg- so although you're not getting the brown you were hoping for, perhaps you'll be rewarded with more eggs than my gals lay???

[Glutton4...]

I have two Copper Blacks and one Cuckoo Marans. When they can be bothered to lay, they produce pinkish brown eggs, no darker than my Batties. However, they have a different sheen to the shell, so I can tell them apart. I bought them as PoL, and when they started laying their eggs were darker.

[kathyd]

Mine both lay dark brown eggs. One darker than the other.
They are a dual purpose hen - originally ( meat and egg birds).
Maybe yours is more a meat bird??

I have read that the more often they lay, the paler the egg- so although you're not getting the brown you were hoping for, perhaps you'll be rewarded with more eggs than my gals lay???

Meat bird?? Wash your mouth out!! lol . Hard to tell about the quantity yet, not had her long enough, but she does try . I love her anyway, whatever colour and however many she lays, and she's always so proud she makes me laugh, which is more important than the egg itself any day

[kathyd]

I have two Copper Blacks and one Cuckoo Marans. When they can be bothered to lay, they produce pinkish brown eggs, no darker than my Batties. However, they have a different sheen to the shell, so I can tell them apart. I bought them as PoL, and when they started laying their eggs were darker.

Ah, so more marans which don't produce dark brown eggs! Now that makes me feel like mine isn't such a freak . I think she's a cuckoo - kind of speckly? -

Scarlet - you may be right, she could be a cross with something - I don't know enough about chickens yet to tell. But she does LOOK like the marans in pics I've seen. I've just got a copper cross today, so it'll be interesting to see how they compare when this one starts to lay.

Is it true you can tell what colour eggs a hen will lay be the colour of her ears??

[Snadger]

...........

Is it true you can tell what colour eggs a hen will lay be the colour of her ears??

No..................its the colour of her teeth!

[Scarlet]

I've just got a copper cross today, so it'll be interesting to see how they compare when this one starts to lay.

When they first lay in spring they are generally much darker than later on in the year - Just out of interest has she got feathers on her legs? I'm sure the ones with feather on their legs lay darker eggs... Any pics??

[Glutton4...]

The leg feathering makes no difference to mine! As for ear lobe colour, I've only ever had two with white ears - one laid blue eggs, the other, white.

[VirginVegGrower]

Hi

I keep getting told that marans lay deep brown eggs. My maran lays smallish, almost white eggs.. always the same! Is there a reason why this happens? I don't mind what colour the eggs are, I'm just curious .

Thanks
Kathy

We had a Wheaten Marans who laid chocolate brown eggs, our Copper Black Marans lays the same, our Splash (white with black splodges) lays pink, chalk eggs not brown.

[VirginVegGrower]

Ah, so more marans which don't produce dark brown eggs! Now that makes me feel like mine isn't such a freak . I think she's a cuckoo - kind of speckly? -

Scarlet - you may be right, she could be a cross with something - I don't know enough about chickens yet to tell. But she does LOOK like the marans in pics I've seen. I've just got a copper cross today, so it'll be interesting to see how they compare when this one starts to lay.

Is it true you can tell what colour eggs a hen will lay be the colour of her ears??

Ref ear colour - I was told this by the hen breeder. Our Cream Legbar has pale blue almost irridescent ears and lays blue eggs. Our white egg layer has pale colour ears. The Copper Black lays brown eggs and she has skin coloured ears.
My hens have no teeth Snadger - should I get them to a dentist quick for some dentures?!

[kathyd]

When they first lay in spring they are generally much darker than later on in the year - Just out of interest has she got feathers on her legs? I'm sure the ones with feather on their legs lay darker eggs... Any pics??

Don't think she really has feathers on her legs, just huge feathery thighs. 'Think' I've attached a photo although it's not fantastically clear.

[nellie-m]

My hens have no teeth Snadger - should I get them to a dentist quick for some dentures?!

Definitely!
And remind the dentist which colour of teeth you prefer for them - be innovative - think about the price you could charge for red, yellow, blue, lilac and green eggs all in one egg carton!


Okay - back on topic.
My white Marans hen hatched from a very dark egg, and she lays very dark brown eggs herself. The trouble with all the breeds that were created originally because of their special egg colour - like the Welsumer, the Barnevelder etc. - is that you lose the extraordinary points quickly if you don't keep selecting for them, and end up in the mediocre. Utility strains often lack the beauty of show birds, but a lot of show strains lost the breed's main features because breeders selected for perfection to the standard rather than for egg colour, meat quality, egg numbers - in short, all the things you cannot see in the show cage!

Let's put it that way - Marans, Welsumers, Barnevelders all *should* lay dark brown eggs because that's what they were created for. It's important to breed from males that hatched from very dark eggs. You can always select good hens by looking at the colour of their eggs, but as cockerels don't lay the only way to be sure that chicks will inherit the genes for dark egg shells from their fathers, too, is to use only sons of the best hens for breeding. Good record keeping is the key to success here.

And ear lobe colour - well, statistically there is a connection in that most breeds with white earlobes lay white eggs, but not all - there is no genetic connection. It is a "more likely" rather than a "will definitely". Sicilians with their red earlobes lay white eggs.

[Nicos]

My Marans lay eggs a similar colour to those 4 on the top right of this piccie I've found...



Their feet have feathers going down the outside of their legs and along the outer toe- similar to these...




OOOOPs!!!...a bit big- but all the easier to see!!!