Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome! - Page 5

Does anyone actually favor the clean legs even though it isn't included in the proposed standard?

RE: feathered legs:  I love looking at the BCMs and Wheaten Marans here, and I love the dark brown eggs, but I really don't want feathered legs in any of my chickens because they don't stay clean when they are out and about.  I've wondered why everyone on the Marans threads seems to want to follow the French standard.  Doesn't the British standard specify clean legs?

Question about my 3 Marans: I got GCM eggs from pasofinofarm this year - the 3 chicks that hatched are 3 months today.  Beautiful to me, with clean legs.  I'm crossing my fingers that I have 2 pullets and a cockerel.  Nobody has crowed yet!

One thing I have wondered about - in other breeds the pullets grow out their tail feathers before the cockerels, but of the 3 GCMs I have, one that I am sure is a pullet and one other have very short tail feathers even now, and the other, which I am pretty sure is a cockerel, has long straight tail feathers.  Is that what I should expect from the males vs females??

Thanks -

Thanks Don!

I do not show, don't know that I ever will but upon a trip to the county fair yesterday and seeing only leghorns, wyandottes, cochins, sebrights and OEGB's I may change my mind...lol.

I should also say that most if not all shows in the USA now use the comparison method in Judging now not the older score card method. I my self wish they would go back to the Score Card method.

There would be nothing against a group forming and going for APA acceptance of the clean leg English Marans. They have rules and guidelines that have to be followed for any new breed to be accepted into the APA.

Hi verlaj!

The folks that I know that have clean legged birds have them for the same reasons you have stated that you prefer clean legged birds. I believe that some folks breed toward the French standard out of respect for the breed as that is where they originally came from, I know I strive toward feathered shanks because of that reason. I do not breed because I show my birds but rather breed for conservancy purposes of the breed and to me that means breeding for all the special traits of this particular breed. One of the reasons that I try to breed toward the proposed standard is because I would like to see the breed promoted more and if a 4-H'er happens to come along looking for a Marans that they can show, I donate the birds to the kids or 4-H groups.

Do you have photos of the birds in question that you can share?? Can you see longer pointy feathers coming in around the saddle area? Are any of the long tail feathers starting to curve downward toward the top?

I myself like the look of the feathered legs. It can be a pain making sure everyone gets cleaned up when it rains and they get in the mud. I also am one of those that breeds to the French Standard out of respect for the breed. The clean legged Marans are cool too. Just simply because they are Marans

This is my main BCM cockerel, currently at about 6 months of age.  I hope the pics work...





I still have three of the younger BCM reserves, just in case, but Victor is my little champ.   He'll soon be introduced to an entirely new, entirely unrelated flock of POL pullets.

Ok, showing my ignorance here, what are "POL" pullets??

POL = point of lay

Oh, ok, thanks! For a moment there, I thought it was a new variety!   More coffee!!!!!!!!