Black Copper Marans are a complex breed. I get so many questions and if I’ll send my darkest eggs in a shipment or request for all speckled or something like that. So below I’m going to break down some facts mixed in with my experience and commitment to the breed and offering them to the public! Hope this helps! Im no expert but have learned so much about them over the years.
1. Let’s first clear the air, a BCM laying a 9 is rare. Very very rare. Lighting plays a huge roll in pics you see online + editing *gasp* etc. So no, I will not send you all 9s in your order LOL.
2. Now that we covered that 🫠 the 2nd thing is that just because a hen lays a really dark egg, doesn’t mean she will the next day. They vary and some vary drastically.
3. A hen lays her darkest eggs in the beginning of her cycle. It lightens until she goes into molt. Then it starts over. We have hens at different cycles because we raise new pullets each year and the new ones are usually not on the same as the seasoned hens. Please understand that the hen who laid dark in February and much lighter by June still has the same genetics!! Now as a breeder, we can work to eliminate hens who have major drastic changes in egg color over the season from our program if we wish (and yes I do this).
4. There is never a guarantee the color your hens will lay. Now, if you are hatching from something extremely light genetically, the likelihood of it being a dark offspring is slim to none. That’s just genetics. But it’s 50/50 hen and rooster so his genetics matter too. Part of the challenge with marans is to continually hatch your own eggs and pick the best.
5. NOT all marans are crested equally. A hatchery is usually a mystic marans (cross breed of barred rock and marans usually). There are quality lines out there and getting your hands on them can be tricky. You often need patience and good 💵. Even then, still no guarantee (ask me how I know 😂).
6. Marans take around 20 eggs laid to show their true color. They can darken up over that time period.
Ok so as for my farm and what I offer ‼️‼️
🤎I don’t have a secret stash of crap marans. What I have is what I have and I try each season to pick better ones.
🤎I pick egg color first, SOP second. I never will show. Have no desire to. I want rich eggs from hens who lay well and a healthy flock.
🤎For roosters, I do try to pick the closest to SOP.
🤎When shipping eggs, I take my time and don’t rush shipments. Each dozen is carefully created to give you different hens.
🤎None of my hens are “light”. The splattered artistic eggs can be orange when she doesn’t lay the splatter and that is my only eggs like that.
Pictured below is an offspring of the splatter who hasn’t had more than speckles so far. Then the middle is a new laying pullet from marans I bought elsewherere last year (those get time to come out of pullet stage and show their true color). The right eggs is from one of my most fav hens on one of her lighter days!!
Comments