Black Copper Marans

Yesterday, Andy and I drove up to western Massachusetts to buy some very fancy chickens. Normally we would not care too much about the breed, looks, or ‘show quality’ of our birds, but we recently started selling eggs and demand is high, so we wanted a few more layers in our flock. I found a nearby breeder of Black Copper Marans hens, which lay beautiful dark brown ‘chocolate’ eggs, and decided I had to see what they were about. They’re very rare, and the breeder happens to have the last of one of the three major breeding lines in this country, so without really meaning to, we’ve ended up with some rather uptown birds.

We also got our first chocolate egg! These beautiful, medium size eggs are prized for their culinary quality and excellent color, which varies slightly based on the bird’s diet and environment. We got two of those layers, and one pretty chicken which will lay green eggs. Welcome, ladies!