The Best Black Copper Marans, Who has them?

[Chickenman01]

I would Like to know who are the top breeders for Black copper Marans, Type, egg color and all.
Let me know what you think?
Thanks, Brad

 

[DallasCriftins]

Eggs - not mine though first prize at last weekend Nationals iirc

 

[OrgChicks]

Stay away from LP/ Little Peddler unless you want to be totally ripped off. I have been round and round with Brenda Little until I'm just sick! I paid an outrageous $210 for a dozen "Fertile Hatching Eggs". She put NO PACKAGING on the top or between the eggs which were only rolled in paper. Then she sent them out USPS and only wrote "fragile" on the box. They arrived broken, cracked, dented, and a scrambled mess. She is refusing now to resend or refund my money. She keeps changing her story. I disputed with PayPal because she wouldn't respond to my emails. She finally responded ONLY AFTER I disputed with PayPal and sent her a copy. Then she said she would send replacement eggs. Then she wrote 10 days later that she wouldn't send eggs because of the PP dispute and acted like a victim, like she never knew about it even though it was already discussed in our emails. Then she wrote she wouldn't send replacement because the PP dispute was closed (I never received a refund). Then she wrote that I would have to close the dispute or she wouldn't send eggs. Then she wrote: "here's proof that PP has taken the money out of my account" and sent me proof of the PP DEPOSIT to her, not a withdraw. She has been nothing but lies, deception, fraud. She wrote that she has sent PayPal ALL the emails. I suspect she has selected a few to send to make her look good. Instead of being honest about it, I believe she is trying to manipulate PP into her favor so she can take my money and run. Like she clearly states on her site, she really doesn't want others to have her eggs (her excuse for charging so much). I had my heart set on raising Marans. After going through the ringer with Brenda Little's greed and fraud, I don't want to have anything to do with the whole lot of chicken breeders! I'll just continue to raise my variety for food egg sale. If you are looking for an HONEST breeder STAY AWAY FROM LP!

 

[GaryDean26]

I could name the handful of people that I have had the best success in sourcing stock from as I have worked with the breed, but the truth is that even the most capable breeders out there will tell you that their birds are not perfect.

Also every breeder has a different focus. If you wanting jumbo sized egg and get stock from someone that was breeding for dark egg color and keeping hens that only lay Large eggs if the color was darker you may be disappointed in what you get. Likewise if you want dark eggs and get stock from someone breeding for jumbo eggs and not keeping layers that don't meet the egg size requirement.

My best advise is to only buy Marans from someone that has been working with their current line for 3+ years. It takes time for the line to settle when passed from one breeder to the next since everyone makes there selection differently and the change in management can effect things like egg color, type, feather color, etc. I would find someone that has the same goals for the breed as you (i.e. don't get show line birds if you want top production or production line birds if you want top show birds, etc.) If possible someone in you area. Buying from a local breeder usually works out best.

Eggs - not mine though first prize at last weekend Nationals iirc

The eggs at the PCGB Nationals look awesome. Below are some eggs from my flock.

 

[GaryDean26]

Thanks for the input. which lines would give the best overall?

The Bev Davis, Wade Jean, Cottage Hill, and Little Peddler (LP) lines are the foundation lines in the USA. Others lines almost all are built on those four lines. All of the main lines have taken top prizes at the Poultry Shows and Egg Contest. The Wade Jean line has been play around with the most so unless you can find someone that got it early on you should probably pass on it. The Bev Davis line is type breed for egg color and as a result may lack in other areas such as hens that lack copper color in the hackles, etc. The main defect with the Cottage hill line is that the cockerels get white on their tail feathers after their 18 month molt. It is too early for me to say anything about the LP line. I am not sure how it is going to stack up with the other blood lines, but I won't get anything from that line until it is better established.

All the lines have pro's and cons as do mixed lines of Marans. Visiting a farm to see the birds and their eggs before buying is always a good idea.

 

[themaransman]

That's the light shining thru the coop...not one ounce of white on those birds.

 

[themaransman]

 

[GaryDean26]

I had to do quite a bit of digging to find out what Bluewater Ranch is. It is located on Bluewater Rd. in Livingston, Texas. Their foundation stock was a mix of multiple Wade Jeane strains and the Bev Davis line. The Flock owner is named Helen Byers.

In an Ebay Listing Helen indicated that she wins at every show she goes to and that she attend the Blue Bonnet Classic every year. The 2014 Blue Bonnet Classic was held last week end (1/4/2014)

There were 8 Marans exhibitors at the January 4, 2014 show. The show results are below.

Quote:
I didn't run into Helen at the show or see any of her birds but she may have been there with her Marans (???). I didn't see her listed in any of the show results that I could pull up from the past few years. I don't have a complete list and could have missed her though (???).

Helen appears to specialize in shipped eggs and has some positive feed back on hatch rates of shipped eggs and egg color. I would contact her directly to learn more about her Marans and request information on her flock.

P.S. I got lucky and had a young hen lay a clutch of really big and dark eggs at the beginning of her laying cycle in December. I took some of these eggs to enter in the egg show at the Blue Bonnet Classic. They are the dark ones on the bottom row.

 

[John 4 Jesus]

Hi there,
As the owner of Lancaster Fancy Fowl and after studying the Marans breed for a couple years now, pretty much since they first became popular, I would like to weight in on this discussion. So I would like to talk about the LP Marans, which we have recently started breeding and working with. I must say, I'm very impressed with this line and if you are looking for a good BCM specimen, these are really the original examples of the breed, all other lines have been established in the USA for quiet some time and have lost the pure connection to the original French BCM from whence they were derived. The LPs were gifted to Brenda Little by the French Marans club and she acquired the very finest of French stock (the original breed). Since then she has been maintaining their purity and breeding them right here in the US. Now if they are not the LPs, they are not truly the French Marans, but an Americanized version. That's simply my opinion.

So what may you find in the American WJ, BD, CH, lines? You may find the following common defects associated with the breed: poor egg color, white feather leakage, straw hackles instead of the true copper, and incorrect body type. However, because the LPs are so pure and recently imported from France, these defects are virtually non-existent and as a result the LPs stand out as a superb example of the true BCM. I hope this helps anyone who may have questions regarding the best bloodline of LPs currently available in the US. You can visit our website: lancasterfancyfowl.com to learn more.
Thanks & God bless,
John A.

 

[littlepeddler]

I think the pictures show them darker than they really are. Little Pullets Eggs












Taking order for hatching eggs for winter/spring 2015 now. http://www.littlepeddlersmarans.com/