Marans

1 - White egg : example : Bresse-Gallic or Leghorn, Braeckel for foreign breeds.

2 - Tinted egg : Wrongly called “brown” in most of the foreign breeds standards as for instance the Rhode-Island. As well, it is the colour of eggs from numerous industrial hybrid stocks, never laid by a pure-bred Marans.

3- Red egg : it’s a Marans egg but it’s an unsatisfying selection. The colour is insufficient when it’s usual in the stock which didn’t show any occasional superior specimens.

4- The real extra-red Marans egg

Note : The colour of the egg is not better than the egg n°3, but the pigments quantity is more significant, its stained repartition is uneven, and that’s why the extra-red egg is more valuable. A little brightness should always highlight this egg.

Experience : The egg n°4, placed on a natural red earthenware bottom, has to be a bit darker.

Note : the same hen can lay an egg that is slightly darker with an even colour in the beginning of the laying (first 20 eggs).

5 to 9 – Extra-russet-red egg (chocolate)

You may notice the spherical, globular shape which is typical to the Marans egg, and the brightness is always an extra property for this egg. Unfortunately, the hens laying eggs 7, 8 and 9 are not often selected for the body standard : light or skimpy subjects, squirrel’s tails, impure feathers and colours, etc… You can’t succeed in all matters, though! The selection of the Marans is a very hard work and a long exacting task.

8 and 9 – Exceptional eggs or rather accidental : the colour is close to the unalloyed pigment. Once again, you may notice that such eggs are obtained in the beginning of the laying. The fact that the shells ‘pigments tone down in the middle of the laying period is normal. The best shells stabilize around 6 and 7. A good stock can produce an important proportion of eggs 5 and 6. A drastic selection done years after years must maintain constantly that stock.

You can value the quality of a laying hen according to the colour of the eggs in the beginning of the laying after the first 20 eggs and the regularity of this colour during the greater part of the season.