How dark are Meyer hatchery marans eggs?/What’s the best hatchery for marans?

[HawllyHawk]

Last year I got three lovely splash marans (among several other breeds) from Meyer and while I think they are solid layers and have just wonderful personalities their eggs are only slightly darker than a regular brown egg!

A few of my old gals have passed over the last year and so I have room for some new chicks this fall. I was wondering how dark the eggs on other marans such as wheatens, bcms, etc from Meyer are. I’m not looking for the deepest darkest eggs possible (though I certainly wouldn’t mind them lol) I just want something dark enough to stand out amongst regular brown eggs! Thanks in advance

Complementary photo of my maran Cloris for the chicken tax <3

 

[Kiki]

I am not sure there are any major hatcheries that have really dark layers.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

My Black CM laid a nice dark egg, but the Blue CM eggs were not quite as dark. I referred to them as dark chocolate and milk chocolate, lol. The lady at the hatchery encouraged me to get two of each breed and assured me all the eggs would be really dark, the Blues' as dark as the Blacks'. She lied.

 

[HawllyHawk]

My Black CM laid a nice dark egg, but the Blue CM eggs were not quite as dark. I referred to them as dark chocolate and milk chocolate, lol. The lady at the hatchery encouraged me to get two of each breed and assured me all the eggs would be really dark, the Blues' as dark as the Blacks'. She lied.

This is in essence what happened to me with my splash marans, they said that they were “not quite as dark as bcm eggs but still nice and chocolaty” they also lied lol

 

[My Three Chicks]

Could you post a pic of their eggs? Would love to see the color as I had planned to get Splash Marans from Meyer myself!

 

[HawllyHawk]

Could you post a pic of their eggs? Would love to see the color as I had planned to get Splash Marans from Meyer myself!

Here’s a few photos of their eggs. The first is when they just started laying, the second is what I usually get these days. Even after they took a break last winter and in the heat this summer their eggs unfortunately never returned to their initial dark and bloomy appearance.

 

[My Three Chicks]

View attachment 3948898View attachment 3948899
Here’s a few photos of their eggs. The first is when they just started laying, the second is what I usually get these days. Even after they took a break last winter and in the heat this summer their eggs unfortunately never returned to their initial dark and bloomy appearance.

Thanks for the photos! Looks like you have 1 'dark' egg in there. Now I'm wondering what I should do...I can only add 2-3 chicks and wanted a dark egg layer. I've heard that Splash Marans are real sweet and I think they are so pretty but if they aren't gonna lay dark eggs
I hope you don't mind a few more questions!
Are all 3 of yours friendly?
Do they all have feathered feet? Is it a lot of feathers? Never had feathered feet and a little worried about all the rain here in Seattle.
Looks like you have a Steele Egger...what do you think about her??

 

[AZcluckers]

Both eggs from cuckoo marans (2 different girls).

 

[HawllyHawk]

Thanks for the photos! Looks like you have 1 'dark' egg in there. Now I'm wondering what I should do...I can only add 2-3 chicks and wanted a dark egg layer. I've heard that Splash Marans are real sweet and I think they are so pretty but if they aren't gonna lay dark eggs
I hope you don't mind a few more questions!
Are all 3 of yours friendly?
Do they all have feathered feet? Is it a lot of feathers? Never had feathered feet and a little worried about all the rain here in Seattle.
Looks like you have a Steele Egger...what do you think about her??

Sorry for the slow reply, I’ve had a real busy week!

All three are ridiculously friendly and super easy going while also holding their own well in the pecking order. They do have feathered feet and legs but only very slightly, my climate is quite cold and wet about seven months of the year and they do just fine.

My Steele Egger is one of my favorite chickens I’ve ever had! She lays gorgeous large blue eggs super consistently, she’s friendly though she’s not always super keen about being held and while she’s my smallest chicken she’s also on top of our pecking order. If you’re looking for a blue egger I highly recommend them!

I’ve worked with a few of the Meyer exclusive breeds (green queens, LS cookies and cream, lakeside egger, etc) so if you have any questions about any of the others feel free to ask!