Which hens lay dark brown eggs

One of the greatest things about being a chook keeper is raising a flock of chickens that vary in plumage, personality and There are 5 common chicken health issues that we always get asked about. Have a peck at our resources for those peeving poultry problems here. Chicken Behavior Chickens Videos. Hello chicken keepers! Chicken health is a mystery wrapped in a feathery enigma sometimes.

One of the biggest concerns for myself and the keepers I speak Prevention is better than cure for poultry health problems. Have a peck at the top 5 chicken health products I use to keep my hens happy and healthy. Chooks confined to a chicken run need activities to stimulate their minds and keep them active and happy. Check out our guide here.

Have a peck at the top 3 ways to keep hens cluckin' in their coop and chicken run with our top 3 ways to keep chickens happy and healthy right here. Sick or weak chook? Keep your backyard chickens productive, healthy and happy as we head into the warmer months with our Spring Chicken Checklist.

Search The Chook Coop. Ask our resident poultry expert - it's free. They do well in confinement as well as free-range situations. They are cold hardy and great foragers. They also come in a bantam variety. The most popular color is the Buff and you will see these most frequently when shopping at your local feed store during chick days.

They make excellent mothers and go broody quite often. Orpingtons lay a large, medium brown colored egg that may have speckling. This breed was developed in Spain and is considered a dual-purpose bird.

A lesser-known breed in the US, but gaining popularity. Despite having white earlobes, they lay a dark chocolate brown egg that can sometimes be speckled. These birds tend to be very flighty, like the Leghorn, and do better in confinement because of their skittish nature. Very seldom do they go broody and they are very good layers. The Serama is a true bantam breed and is the smallest breed of chicken. Some weighing in at only six ounces and standing six inches tall.

A lot of Serama lovers will keep them as house pets because of their calm demeanor and tiny size. They are a tropical breed and do not do well in extremely cold weather. The hens lay all year round and their tiny eggs range in color from almost white to dark brown. This breed has very recently stolen my heart. I just this year acquired a small breeding flock of Silkies from a friend who was downsizing, and I have been in love with them from day one.

They really are the beauty queens of the species. The Silkie is an ancient breed believed to originate in China although they are sometimes referred to as Japanese Silkies. They were typically owned by royalty as a status symbol. They are an ornamental breed, so more for show than production. Silkies have black skin, blue earlobes, five sometimes six toes, and a variation of top knots, cheeks, and muffs. The necks have no color patterns, but the body has a lovely triangular tipped pattern over the base color.

The original coloring was a dark brown with a light brown patterning of arrows It has a U shaped back. The wings are high on the bird. They have a single comb with five points, yellow legs, and four toes. They have red wattles. Barnevelders were recognized by the American Poultry Association in Barnevelder is a Dutch Heritage breed of chicken. They are gentle and may be picked on by other breeds. They are friendly and active birds. Barnevelders are cleaner chickens and spend a good amount of time preening themselves and taking dust baths.

They will often stay indoors instead of venture outside into the snow. Barnevelders do ok in confinement. They are not a noisy chicken and even the roosters crow only a few times a day. They are very rare in the United States. They are calm with children and the hens make great mothers! They are a great beginner chicken because of their hardiness, relatively quiet natures, and friendliness. Take a trip to Spain, just by enjoying your very one Empordanesa chickens.

These Spanish bred chickens lay beautiful, very dark eggs. This old breed has been around for a long time, cultivated among local Catalina farmers, but the first mention of it was in His publicity helped. In , a Spanish Government program worked with local farmers to revive the few remaining chickens left.

They were first imported to the U. Only white Empordanesa chickens have been imported to the U. There are three Catalina chicken breeds: the Empordanesa, the Penedesenca , and the Prat Lleonada, which lays pink eggs. Empordanesa and Penedesencas are related, but there are distinct differences. In reality, there are more differences between these close cousins. Empordanesa chickens have red ear lobes, instead of the white ones of their cousins. They have a carnation comb, name from the carnation flower-like comb on the head.

It is also called a crown or Clavell comb. It starts as a single comb and as it moves toward the back of the head, several loves spread out to make it look like a crown. Empordanesa chickens come in several colors including the red, white and buff varieties. Empordanesa chickens were accepted into the Spanish Standard in the mids. They are a heritage chicken to Spain. The greatest reason to own an Empordanesa hen is the amazing eggs!

Empordanesa chickens lay a rich, deep brown egg. They lay one of the darkest chicken eggs in the world. Hens will lay about 3 extra-large eggs a week, or eggs a year. They slow down in the winter.

This break gives them a chance to darken their eggs again as they become a deep color in the spring. Dark brown eggs are popular in the market and sell for a higher premium in many places. Roosters grow to lbs kgs and hens will grow to lbs 1. If you want to raise Empordanesa chickens, you will need an incubator. Empordanesa chickens fly very well.

They should be allowed to free-range. They are excelled foragers and will be very cost-efficient because they need very little supplemental feed during the warm months. They are very hardy birds and do extremely well in hot temperatures. They need more care in the winter and cold winter because their wattles are large and subject to frostbite. Empordanesa chickens are at a lower risk of predator capture than other chicken breeds. They do a great job of taking care of themselves and escaping danger.

Empordanesa chickens are active, eager and busy chickens. They also like to avoid people. They will get a little friendly, but will never be very bonded to their owners. Marans chickens come from Maran, France. The town is a seaport and saw hundreds of years of trading.

As a result, local chickens were bred with foreign birds and eventually, the Marans came about. Careful breeding of Araucanas with other breeds produces certain feather patterns.

Friendly, smart, cold- and heat-hardy, they lay well in the winter, with colorful eggs that range from blue, green, rose or brown to sage, olive or cream. Their eggs also tend to be quite large, Torres says. Leghorn genetics introduce Type A body and temperament traits. Marans are calm, easygoing birds of medium size and Type B build.

With a Type B build, Welsummers are great foragers that lay large chocolate-brown eggs with darker speckles and do well in heat and cold. Because eggshells are predominantly calcium carbonate, hens also should have access to calcium. Brown, blue, speckled and shades in between: colorful eggs make a splash at market. Wyatt, a creative writer with more than 20 years experience.