attn: marans people!

[kari_dawn]

So, I have been drooling over black copper marans for about two years now....they are gorgeous birds, and they lay amazing eggs. I finally bit the bullet and ordered three girls from a hatchery. They are supposed to be Wade-Jean lines (for that matter, I hear a LOT about wade-jean/bev davis lines. Why?) I do not know alot about the breed other than I really really wanted some of these birds!

Please don't eat me if I ask something dumb!

I suspect one of my marans is a rooster. His legs are much longer (though not particularly chunky like baby roos can be) than the other two babies, and he seems more roo-ish in behavior. They are about 3-4 weeks old right now. He does not seem to have feathered legs like the other two. I know it varies by individual, but are marans roos in general big crowers? I am allowed to have roosters, but I value my relationship with my neighbors. I live in the suburbs, and our homes have generous lots, averaging about 3/4 of an acre, but they aren't large enough to keep a roo from annoying my neighbors. I have been reading some marans threads here on BYC just to see what I can learn, and the term "mossy" keeps coming up, but I am not sure what that means. Can someone please enlighten me?

Hens are supposed to have a coppery patch on the back of their necks or no? According to the french standard (which seems to be the direction breeders tend to be sticking to), how big are these birds supposed to be? How much smaller/poorer quality are the american version? How big of a difference is there in egg color from the French birds to the American ones?

Do the eggs really lighten as the laying season progresses? If so, how to do you determine the darkness of the egg, and wether genetically, the dark egg will be passed on?

I am so sorry for so many questions in one thread, but inquiring minds want to know! Thank you so much for your patience, and bestowing your wisdom on me.

 

[This_chicks_place]

Not a Marans expert but they sound like answers I would like hear also!!

 

[geoff40]

A breed I've never heard of. I just googled it, those are the darkest eggs I've ever seen!

 

[fshinggrl]

It might help if you post some pictures!

 

[kari_dawn]

Quote:
Ha ha why do I get the feeling that you just wanna see pics?

 

[kari_dawn]

here is a pic of the bird I suspect may be a roo. This bird has the least leg feathering of the three. he/she is also the largest, and the leggiest. I do not expect to have high quality birds from a hatchery, but I still would like to know more about the marans breed. Like what is a "mossy" bird?

 

[justbugged]

You have a roo!!! You are right on with your feelings. He is very cute, and he poses very well. I have felling that he is trying to intimated me.

So if you bought these chicks from a commercial hatchery, the quality of the chicks is rarely anything you would show. But that doesn't mean that the girls won't lay nice dark eggs. The Wade/Jean/Davis lines is a sales pitch anymore. The 3 names are the original breederssion of French Marans. Those people imported the birds to the USA. So most if not all Marans in the US originate from those lines.

One of the breeders didn't like the feathered feet, and developed the clean legged version of the Marans. The French birds have feathered feet. The lines are so mixed that it's hard to know what you are getting, unless you buy Marans from a show breeder that is obsessive about their breeding lines. I for myself prefer the original French standard for the Marans. I know that others that prefer the US version.

Yes the hens will have like a copper collar around their necks. The Roos are gorgeous, with a lot more color.

I don't know what the term "Mossy" means. It could refer to the color not being very strong, or that the color blends to much.

I don't know what the difference are between the French and US birds are, except for the feathered feet. I do know that they are very closely related, and most of us probably couldn't tell the difference.

Yes the egg color does lighten during the laying cycle. The egg color is added to the shell just before the hen lays it. It is unlike the shell of a Araucana that lays and egg that has color all the way through the shell. The Marans egg is dark on the outside, but still white inside. It is also good to remember that a lot of BC Marans egg pictures are Photoshop'd to show a darker shell, than the eggs really are. I just isn't hard to say that the picture was from earlier in the hens cycle.

I hope this helps some. I am not an expert, but this is as true as I know based on what I have read from many sources.

 

[justbugged]

I looked again at your pictures. I don't see any copper on your stud muffin. It looks like he maybe just a Black Marans. I have know other people that thought they were getting BCMs, but bought Black Marans instead. They still lay very dark eggs, but they just don't have the gorgeous copper color. I will admit that I am partial to Blue Marans.

 

[danischi24]

He's a chick still. I'm sure he will feather in with copper. By the way, apart from a few hatcheries like Greenfire farms, most hatchery Marans lay normal brown eggs, not dark at all.

 

[justbugged]

A good BCM will have some copper showing as a chick.