New Egg & other stuff

I "thought" this egg must have come from one of the Wellies so I was pretty excited. When I went to collect the eggs 2 hours ago there was a marans in the nesting box! She's still sitting and I'm impatient, I want so see if it's the same color as the other 3 so called Welsummer eggs we got. I may have poor quality marans eggs instead of high quality Welsummer eggs, haha!

While sitting outside waiting for the marans girl to come out of the coop I noticed one of the EE's has a VERY pasty looking bottom.. what causes that? Illness or food (treats)? I'll catch her tonight when they roost so I can wash her off and take a good look at it.

Hey, its a nice egg. I bet Welsummer but what do I know. You do know that not all Marens lay the really really dark eggs, right? I mean it depends on the stock and on the color. For instance BCM are supposed to lay the darkest ones.

She finally finished! I believe the egg above came from her too. Today's egg looks just like it. I'm a sucker for a basket of pretty eggs so I think she can stay for a while!

I can't remember how old the Wellies are, guessing 5 months or so. Their combs aren't big and red so they're taking their sweet time.

I too like the idea of a mixed colors egg basket plus I want a mixed looking little flock too. I think an entire flock of the same thing is just not as intesting. Congrats on your first Marens egg.

I am starting to think my BCM is a pullet so that would be very good for sure :-))

Annie That egg surely looks like marans rather than Wellie. The welsummer eggs generally look a little lighter with a redish look. Some call it terra cotta color...Hay

Ha, see Annie, I told you I don't know anything LOL!

That is much darker than any of my eggs.

It's Beautiful!!! Time to celebrate! :) Congrats Annie!
I love Welsummer eggs too though.. they are lighter, but have more freckles. :)

Thanks, I think it's pretty too and am thrilled to have that color. My mom hasn't gotten eggs from the store since my chickens started laying. The prettiest eggs are blown out and put in a bowl on her counter. One of my chicken goals was to provide my entire family with eggs. I'm going to need a few more really good production hens to do that. Still working on my list of day old chicks to buy in March. The list keeps changing because I seem to go for color first!

Congrats Annie, my wellies are just starting to lay and their eggs will get darker. I have one of those beautiful color eggs sitting on my counter right now.. I love colors. I have one of the rescues laying a beautiful two tone tanish egg, light one one end darker on the other. I dont know which one since she is in a pen with 6 others and she is the only one laying. They are good size eggs as well. I have a blue layer, a green layer and tan and white and the dark brown. That is all that is laying right now, but I know I have more color layers they just have not started yet..

Annie- I think at least afew of a red sex link type to really beef up your egg production. I read such glowing reports about Red Stars, Cinnamon Queens, ISA Browns, AmberLinks and all the others from people who really want egg production. While the ones who want to breed (especially heritage breeds) often put them down as just being egg machines created by the hatcheries. Well, I don't see anything wrong with egg machines :-))

I love my egg machine.. LOL I only have one RIR now, but her egg is awesome. I love my current laying flock.. Black Australorp, Speckled Sussex, Black Ameraucana, RIR & Lavender Ameraucanas... I get a really pretty collection every day. Not to mention the Serama eggs that really add some flavor to the mix!

Next spring I want 25 RIR chicks.. I want a whole coop full of egg machines!

ZZ- Have you comsidered the Production Reds from some of the hatcheries or any of the red sex linked breeds? That sure is what I would be looking at if I wanted a large batch of top brown egg producers. Your current flock sounds really wonderful :-))

I have had the sexlinks, and they are great layers, but to be honest I have found the RIR's, Austrolorps, and Americaunas to be just as good and consistient layers as any of the sexlinks. The size eggs they lay are very hard to beat in my opinion. I found the sexlinks just too booooring to look at. I'm like Annie I go for color and egg size. I personally also like the buckeye's for good laying...Hay

I'm with you Hay.. I've had many others and have yet to beat a good ol RIR for egg size and consistent laying.. easy keeper, calm, etc... I love RIRs Especially when they are chicks.. so fun cause they are so friendly..

Thank you Rita.. Yes, I've hatched about everything there is.. LOL It took a lot of experimenting to settle on the breeds I have now.. The only thing I think I'd add would be a blue copper Marans... Marans have the prettiest faces of all the breeds in my opinion.

oh and a few Modern Game for eye candy... LOL

NO Haystack.. I don't want any!!!!!!! LOL GOTCHA!

I have been surprised at what great layers my Ameraucaunas turned out to be. They not only lay almost daily, their eggs are huge - that they are lovely shades of blue is the bonus. The birds themselves are interesting with all their varied colors and comical faces plus they are real peacemakers in the flock.

So true Porkpal.. I love EEs for all those reasons. Color being #1 They can be amazingly beautiful.

I'm so glad to hear that! Every time I look at a picture of a Golden Comet/RSL I think ugh, how unattractive. The RIR and the Austrolorps are so much prettier and I so want a Buckeye or three. There goes my so called list! I should work on another coop and then make the wish list LOL. My EE gal's have been great layers and I love how pretty they are and their wonderful personalities, maybe it's because they were hand raised? The EE's and BO's were the first batch I raised as day olds, they think they're my little girlfriends. When I sit outside they want to talk nonstop, sit by me and be petted. The marans and wellies were bought when much older so they aren't friendly.

The real RIRs like you get from the breeders are just so much prettier than the hatchery color. At least in the pictures I have seen. Many of the red sex links are not much to get excited about looks wise. At least not in my opinion. For instance the ISA Browns are really boring looking to me. But have you ever seen pictures of the Black Sex Links? They are really, really pretty. Well, at least I think so.

One of the reasons (besides egg production) that I have been high on the Red Stars from McMurrays are because I had seen them in pictures and video and they are reasonably pretty. My own Red Sex Link Eggs go in lockdown Monday. I am very interested in seeing what they look like as the hatch and grow.

Oh good, I love love love reading about everyone's hatches!! It would be dangerous to have an incubator, I'd keep it running full time LOL

Does anyone know the average age Welsummers start to lay? Mine are still free loaders at just slightly over 5 months of age. I just checked the coop for eggs, the wheaten marans is sitting in the nest box, yay!

Even more dangerous than one incubator is having two. One for the incubating and one for the hatching.

Yikes! I've seen the really big cupboard sized ones ones. That would be dangerous, hatching 100 at a time, how fun! You could put in every kind of chicken you like and then sit back and watch what happens LOL It would be better than chicken tv, more like watching a drive in chicken movie theater.

The big incubators are good for people on farms or have lots of space. Not good for people like me that want to incubate and hatch afew at a time. I am going bonkers today as I really want to buy more hatching eggs but don't see what I want.

Yeah.. try 3 bators and a hatcher! LOL

Really, it's cheaper, easier and you get a better hatch rate with a broody. :)

May be cheaper and easier but your not as involved. I like doing it myself. Not that I have a broody hen anyway.

LOL ZZ, I'm trying not to wish for a broody to loudly or they might all go broody and it's the wrong time of year too! I'm hoping the Silkied will live up to the broody reputation they have and go broody in March so I can give her some day old chicks. She's such a sweetie and loves everyone, even the dogs.

The marans layed another egg today, right by the back proch. Guess she didn't want to leave the sun & fluff party the other girl's were having.

Rita, where are you looking to find hatching eggs? Ebay?

I look on both Ebay and BYC. I got my last set of eggs, the red sex links, off Ebay but my others before that I bought at the Auctions at BYC.

Rofl Annie!!!! That's what I call door to door service