Black Copper Marans - Dark Egg Line Hatching Eggs

Pre-Orders Open December 1  
 
**Please note this is for 1/2 a dozen (6) hatching eggs**
 
If you are looking to add the darkest eggs available to your existing line or just want to enjoy those gorgeous mahogany gems in your backyard basket, these eggs are for you. 
 
Our method of breeding is via clan breeding otherwise known as line breeding. We maintain two lines of Black Copper Marans: Our Dark egg line with eggs consistently ranging from 7 to 9, and an SOP line. This season’s Dark line will focus on consistently dark-laying hens laying a 7 or better and covered by a 9 hatched rooster.  The majority of our Dark Line breeders have laid at least one 9, which is why she was chosen at grow out. 
 
Because we only send out eggs that meet a 7 or better on the Marans scale, our availability is further limited. In order to encourage that dark expression, we recommend only setting the darkest eggs, which means we only send the darkest eggs laid by this line. As breeders, we also want to continue to add to our lines, and therefore, we earmark only one of the darkest eggs for every four available to clients as our own to incubate. This way we are reserving the majority of our darkest eggs for our clients, as that is exactly what you paid for. For this reason, we are limiting the purchase quantity to a half dozen only and splitting the season for our Dark Egg line into two intervals. The first interval will ship from March 15 to May 31. After that, we will determine inventory by how well our line is holding their color and will re-open orders for shipping June 1 to August 15 if we are satisfied with the bloom color and availability. 
 
Because we only send out the darkest eggs laid throughout the season, availability is extremely limited. Even our darkest layers have off days of color where her printer runs out of ink, so-to-speak. We do not set or sell those eggs.  
 
What Sets Our Birds Apart:
Direct lineage from show-winning birds in both the U.S. and France (new import in 2025 exclusive to Little Chicken Farms) (See note on faults.)
Deep, rich egg color consistently ranging from 7 to 9 on the Marans scale, many with heavy purple blooms - *please note a 9 is only seen from time to time as the female’s bloom fluctuates throughout her cycle and even from week to week and year to year.  That said ONLY the darkest eggs laid will be sent to you to incubate, without exception. 
Our Dark line has been bred for egg color, which means that faults against SOP have been observed. The following faults are known to us: over-melanized females (little to no copper on hackles), dark eyes (SOP is a pumpkin colored eye), slightly smaller body size, and a pinched tail on females. Although these faults were acceptable to us to preserve the color of the eggs, we culled for traits that we observed to indicate a mixed breed, overly lopped comb, and tail types that we felt could not be corrected, regardless of the hen's egg color.  We have not grown out any males from this line, so faults are unknown at this time. Please consider these faults should you plan to breed for SOP in the future. Major, the sire over our Dark Line has the following observed faults: 6 point comb (very minor fault), slightly darker ear tufts than is desired (SOP is copper and he has copper and black mixed). If you zoom in on his picture above, you will see the ear tuft color. Regardless of these minor faults, he is near perfect, and will correct many of these present faults in the F1 progeny you will hatch, but they will still potentially be hidden on the females' genome. Be aware you may see the above faults in F2s as you begin to breed this line. 
Temperament is paramount. We do not compromise the docility of our birds just for their beauty. We see these as one and the same. Our birds are loving, affectionate, and for the most part, even the roosters live peacefully together. We do not compromise on this genetic necessity. 
Raised on an NPIP-clean, organic farm focused on health, vitality, and the highest standards for our birds' quality of life.
All orders receive two breeder's choice extras with each order. 
 
Hatching Concierge Service
As BCM eggs of this color are extremely difficult to hatch, for Local Customers only (from San Diego to Monterey, CA) we offer our hatching concierge service for purchased eggs that we hatch for you in our incubation suite. If you are interested in this service, please add a note to your ORDER NOTES section and we will reach out to you to arrange this. We will update the links for more information on our hatching concierge service as we approach our pre-order date of December 1.
 
Whether you're building your own breeding program or just want to enjoy some of the darkest, most luxurious eggs nature can offer, these hatching eggs are as close to perfection as it gets.
 
Our lines were chosen from the following original breeders, to whom we thank for their tireless work to perfect this beautiful breed:
 
Dark Egg Line:
HB Marans (Holly Williams)
High Garden Chickens (David Uribe)
Open Gate Farms
Sage Acre Farms
Wrather Farms
 
Important Notes:
Fertility is carefully monitored, but we cannot guarantee hatch rates due to shipping and incubation variables. 
Eggs are collected fresh, gently packed in our patent-pending silicone capsules, and shipped with care for optimal viability.
Availability is strictly limited and only available from March 15 to May 31 for interval number one on a pre-order basis – reserve yours early for guaranteed shipment. 
Shipping is included in the price of the eggs. We ship USPS priority shipping for most orders. If you are interested in upgrading to express shipping, please note this in your order notes and we will contact you to arrange the additional shipping fee. 
Local Pick-Up of Hatching Eggs are exclusively picked up from the Thousand Oaks location. If you choose the local pick-up option, we will contact you for your pick-up date on a first come, first serve basis. 
 
Maximum 1/2 Dozen Hatching Eggs Per Order