finally got chocolate eggs! *now her side of the story ;)*

[ORChick]

Congratualtions! Lovely eggs.

I did not get a chocolate egg today . I know that Barnevelders don't lay quite such dark eggs as the marans, but I really want to see how dark hers will be. She is 24 weeks old now, and her comb and wattles are getting redder, but no eggs! Her "sister", an EE, has been laying lovely green eggs since she was 19 weeks old. Does anyone know if all Barnevelders are slow to start, or is it just my Beatrix? (She is quite pretty though , and the Barnevelder cockerel is gorgious!)

 

[bibliophile birds]

Lizzy decided to share her side of the story here.

I did not get a chocolate egg today. I know that Barnevelders don't lay quite such dark eggs as the marans, but I really want to see how dark hers will be. She is 24 weeks old now, and her comb and wattles are getting redder, but no eggs! Her "sister", an EE, has been laying lovely green eggs since she was 19 weeks old. Does anyone know if all Barnevelders are slow to start, or is it just my Beatrix?

Lizzy is over 7 months old. i had seriously begun to think she was defective. my EEs have always been my earliest layers. my very first egg from my chickens was green (on St. Patrick's day, which was awesome). i got 3 "Araucanas" (turned out to be EEs) on the same day that i got Lizzy- they were 2 months younger. naturally, they've been laying for over a month. so, don't worry, they will come... eventually.

 

[framing fowl]

ORchick, take heart, my barnies were slow 24-26 weeks. Probably not what you wanted to hear but they should be close!

 

[ORChick]

ORchick, take heart, my barnies were slow 24-26 weeks. Probably not what you wanted to hear but they should be close!

Actually, that is what I wanted to hear Thanks! it means she should start in the next couple of weeks. What I did not want to hear is that usually they start at 16 weeks, and because she hasn't it means that she is just a (very pretty) dud!

 

[Henrietta23]

Congratualtions! Lovely eggs.

I did not get a chocolate egg today . I know that Barnevelders don't lay quite such dark eggs as the marans, but I really want to see how dark hers will be. She is 24 weeks old now, and her comb and wattles are getting redder, but no eggs! Her "sister", an EE, has been laying lovely green eggs since she was 19 weeks old. Does anyone know if all Barnevelders are slow to start, or is it just my Beatrix? (She is quite pretty though , and the Barnevelder cockerel is gorgious!)

Mine were pretty slow. And their eggs are no where near that dark, not that I expected them to be. They're pretty birds, but I probably won't get them again.

 

[ORChick]

I finally got my chocolate egg! It is milk chocolate, rather than dark chocolate, but at least the girl is not a dud . Her first was on Friday, her second today, bigger and maybe a bit darker. She is 27+ weeks old. Easter in October - 1 milk chocolate, 1 light brown, 1 pretty green, and 1 small white from my 4 girls

 

[bibliophile birds]

YAY! congrats.

now i want to see pics!

 

[freemotion]

Most of the heritage breeds take longer to start laying, like six months or maybe a little more. It often takes longer if they come to maturity as the days are getting shorter...some will wait until spring to start if you get them too late in the fall. I expect my current 3-week-old chicks to wait until spring. I may use lights this winter if the rest of the flock still has their legs crossed and I am feeding 3 dozen hens for 2-3 eggs! Sheesh!

 

[PamsPride]

Those sure are purty eggs! I love all the different colors! Make them look all Martha Stewart-y!

 

[me&thegals]

after months and months of waiting, my Marans hen finally laid some chocolate eggs. i guess she felt guilty about holding out for so long because she LAID 2 IN ONE DAY!

Absolutely beautiful!! Some people wonder why bother with colorful eggs if the taste and nutrition are the same. I figure why go boring when nature has such incredible color and beauty to offer? Yay for you!