Hello from Worcestershire Herefordshire borders

[darkbrowneggs]

Hi All - Found your forum looking for something else and it looks very interesting, so thought I would join up

I am Sue and live in Worcestershire, which I am delighted to say is in bright sunlight this morning, yesterday had been dull all day and we had a couple of inches of snow followed by sleety rain, so it lifts the spirits to see it looking bright outside

Over the years I have kept many farm type animals on my bit of land, but after a bout of illness parted with most of the larger ones (not that I shan't get some more as soon as I feel up to it - and I have eaten some of the meat out of the freezers)

I now have just poultry - they are easier on the back I keep the traditional English Cuckoo Marans which is my main interest at present as I am working on getting them back to the original standards as described by Lord Greenway in the 1950's. He had imported some French Marans just before last war and worked on the breed to improve its utility qualities

I also have Giant Rouen ducks and this year am looking to get some blue egg laying hens for variety in the egg basket.

I am normally pretty well self sufficient in the veg / fruit garden, but for some reason didn't do all that well last season - but never mind - with gardening one always looks to the future.

Look forward to chatting with you all online

All the best
Sue

[Green Aura]

Hi sue, welcome to Ish

[Millymollymandy]

Hi and welcome! Are those dark brown eggs what your cuckoo marans lay?

[spider8]

Hello and welcome Sue from a snowy Orkney (it's snowing heavily right now).

[becks77]

Helloooooooo

[MuddyWitch]

Welcome to ISH

Love the colour of those eggs!

MW

[Milims]

Hi there and welcome! Don't think I've ever seen eggs quite that brown!

[darkbrowneggs]

Hi and welcome! Are those dark brown eggs what your cuckoo marans lay?

Thanks for the welcom Millymollymandy

Yes those are from my hens. They were some of the darkest they laid last year and not every egg is that dark, but they are all a lovely rich colour. This (hope it works) is a photo of some of the eggs they laid in December during the snow.

All the best
Sue

[darkbrowneggs]

Hi there and welcome! Don't think I've ever seen eggs quite that brown!

Hi there and thanks for the welcome - I think I had some even darker last year, but it doesn't happen all the time. Marans eggs are formed white shelled, then as they pass through the oviduct they are "painted" with the pigment, so the longer the egg is inside the darker it is. Hens lay on a 3 day(ish) cycle then have a day off , so the first egg after the pause will be darker.

These were my very darkest
All the best
sue

[spider8]

Absolutely beautiful eggs Sue, I've never seen any that dark and my parents had marans .

[Millymollymandy]

Thanks for that info Sue, and won't they look lovely displayed with blue eggs when you get some of those hens.