We’ve had our little brown and black hens for a year now, and they are still fantastic producers! The gray Sapphire Gem hens turned out to be poor producers after about a year, though, and had problems with weak shells, even with calcium supplements. We lost one of them due to being egg bound, poor sweet girl. So this year we got a couple of new chicks, not the grays for sure — these two are Dominant Coppers. They lay very dark brown eggs compared to the other hens in the coop. In the photo above, you’ll see the Dominant Copper egg at the bottom. They’re a little smaller than the other eggs, but every bit as tasty, and the neat brown shell contrasts nicely with our others.
These girls have a pretty sweet personality as well, and their feathers are gorgeous black with iridescent green sheen, and silky soft! So far they’ve been pretty good producers and have not had any problems laying. So far, I think I’d recommend this breed for a backyard flock.