Belgian Cuckoo Malines

I bought a pair of hens, one of which is the Malines. She’s not the prettiest of birds but boy is she a darling. Lazy as in difficult to get out of bed in the morning. She doesn’t lay often but when she does it’s a whopper. She layed an egg when I was sitting out there and after sounding a little constipated there was a thump as the egg hit the floor! God bless her.

I've only had my Maline for a few months. She looked full grown when I got her but she hadn't started laying yet. She is now but not every day. For such a huge bird I was expecting bigger eggs. She talks a lot (Ok, she squawks) but loud and often. I can't have a rooster where I live but she might at well be one. She doesn't mind being held for a little while and will eat treats from my hand. I love watching her walk with those large feathered feet. The males can weigh over 12 pounds.

This breed although a slow growing meat bird in reaching its weight potential can be worth the wait. Its downy type feathering helps disperse flavor enhancers throughout the body making the delectable chicken taste its known for. The term "dual purpose fits this breed well as it produces not only excellent meat quality, but also lays a fair amount of extra large eggs yearly. The availability of birds from this breed is limited but has grown in interest. I would not recommend this as a hobby breed but more to a dedicated cause breeder. This breed is worthy of saving and growing in numbers respective to its original use and heritage. Do not confuse this with the Marans cuckoo breed. They are unrelated. The Belgian Malines has several names based on Origin.

I have a cuckoo maran hen and she is one of my favorites, she always walks up to you and will fly up on my shoulder she is a great layer and a flock alpha female. Cukoo marans are all around good chickens