Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[johnderosa1]

I have done side by side taste comparisons of all of our breeds.  My wife's favorite eggs are from the Banty hens that lay white eggs.  My favorite are the Marans with the Basque at a close 2nd.  Many of our eggs customers do the taste tests too. Those that report back almost always either say they like them all or that they like the big brown (i.e. Marans) eggs the best. 

We see meat spots in lots of our eggs.  I kept a running log on the dry erase board for a while of what breed every egg I cracked open was from and if it had a meat spot or not.  I found meet spots in the White Leghorn eggs, in the Basque eggs, in the Cream Legbars, eggs and in the Marans eggs.  I even found meat spots in the store bought brown eggs during that time and those eggs are candled.  The Marans eggs had meets spots in about 50% of the eggs, but most on them were so small that if you weren't watching for them they easily would be missed.  I am guessing that if you culled hens that produced 100% of their eggs with meat spots and breed those that were less prone to it that you could effectively reduce it in your flock.  It is something that I would consider working on 5-6 years down the road, but currently I am working on Egg Shape, Egg Size, and production rate.  I guess I would rather have a correctly shaped egg with a meat spot than an incorrectly shaped one with out a meat spot.  Everyone defines quality differently. 

Interesting observations. As stated before its only been the BCMs in my flock that produce eggs with meat spots. I agree with your goals on egg shape and size but i really have a difficult time giving eggs away that have meat spots let alone sell them. No one has ever complained but I want people to be thrilled to get my eggs. Yes, the birds i culled recently all produced eggs with meat spots. I think 26 out of 32 eggs on my last survey contained them. I am down to 2 BCM hens right now. One beautiful, large, typey and perfectly colored hen and one decent one with a decent egg color 6-7. i hadnt noticed any meat spots in the eggs of the latter but checked an egg yesterday that did. She is from a different source so i was hoping that i could use going forward but i dont think i will now.

 

[DMRippy]

Aloha my ne is Mia I'm from Kauai Hawaii I just started breeding marans and I was just wondering why one of my black copper pullets is all black with no copper markings. Is this normal or should I be worried

Here is my black copper puller eleets

I don't think anyone really answered your question..... it is VERY common for BCM pullets to lack copper. They should have it but I would say 75% don't have it. I only have a few with any copper. This pullet is now in my breeding pen and hoping to get more like her next year.

Aloha Mia,

The female should have some copper in her neck. Not like the rooster but still, should have some. Also, the leg feathering should be more heavy. Kind of hard to tell the rest of the stuff.

But Most importantly is egg color! Too many people lose sight of the single most important attribute to the marans and that is egg color!

We only have one hen from this particular line, but the eggs that they came from were dark. So she will be our main hen as far as Iʻm concerned. The roosters too.

All this SOP BS is in a distant second place as far as Iʻm concerned. Nevertheless, it is very possible to do both. Just be more selective.

Kden, Puhi

Not to split hairs here, but the most important thing is TYPE. So many are breeding just for egg color and that is why you can't find quality Marans because of a single focus in breeding. No reason you cant work on both but you need to pick your battles and mine right now is still working on getting my birds closer to the SOP..... egg color is coming along nice but that is not my main focus.

 

[GaryDean26]

... i really have a difficult time giving eggs away that have meat spots let alone sell them. No one has ever complained but I want people to be thrilled to get my eggs...

I just tell people that get eggs a few simple things about farm eggs. 1) We don't wash the eggs (We DON'T offer egg that are dirty though) 2) We store the eggs without refrigeration 3) the eggs are fertile 4) the hens free range 5) We don't candle the eggs so they could find meat spots.

On multiple occasions people have taken a dozen eggs and then call us a few days later asking if they could get more eggs because they were so good they already ate them all.

Meat spots or not, there is usually a strong demand for free ranged farm eggs. I eat Marans eggs every chance I get.

 

[Farmer Viola]

My DH noticed(since he eats the eggs most) that our Marans eggs always have meat spots in them. None of our other eggs have meat spots only our Marans.

Same here, not meat spots always, usually they're more like little dots of blood but still unappealing. Doesn't happen with eggs from other breeds on the same diet!

 

[Turkeytruff]

I had a couple of eggs last year that had meat spots. Culled one hen. This year I have not had any meat spots in any Marans eggs that I have opened. Admittedly I sell a lot but I do open some for cooking and baking.

 

[Brada Puhi]

Aloha,

We donʻt have shows in Hawaiʻi, so here, egg color is more important than type. But of course, both can be done.

Aloha, Puhi

 

[miakauai]

But wouldn't it be nice to have one here in Hawaii somebody should start one

 

[ochochicas]

I just tell people that get eggs a few simple things about farm eggs. 1) We don't wash the eggs (We DON'T offer egg that are dirty though) 2) We store the eggs without refrigeration 3) the eggs are fertile 4) the hens free range 5) We don't candle the eggs so they could find meat spots.

On multiple occasions people have taken a dozen eggs and then call us a few days later asking if they could get more eggs because they were so good they already ate them all.

Meat spots or not, there is usually a strong demand for free ranged farm eggs. I eat Marans eggs every chance I get.

This is really good advice! I'm was planning on making little business cards to put in my egg cartons - I'll be sure to add something about the meat spots. Since I don't eat eggs, I have not tasted mine nor have I inspected very many of the Marans' eggs. My neighbor says they are the best eggs he's ever eaten.

I also wanted to add that this thread has been very helpful to me. I got 3 Marans hens that are very nice birds and regular layers. Their eggs are gorgeous. I thought about getting a BCM rooster and having some chicks. However, after reading what you all have written, I realize my hens have a lot of faults. The person I got the hens from culled the "rejects" and now they are mine. That is OK though, because I really like them and they have a great life here! I'll leave the breeding to the experts.

 

[DMRippy]

I had store eggs this morning and one had a meat spot..... I thought they were supposed to check for that stuff before selling eggs at the store.....


My first Marans had meat spots when they first started laying but the cleared that up and I don't have them much anymore. No really idea why either.

 

[ochochicas]

I found this on the Eggland's Best Egg Facts website. It sounds like meat spots are more common than we might think, but eggs that have them are removed from the consumer market and don't make it to the store. It also says meat spots will "disappear" as the eggs age.

The American Egg Board website www.aeb.org offers the following information on blood spots - also called meat spots - occasionally found on an egg yolk. Contrary to popular belief, these tiny spots do not indicate a fertilized egg or the presence of a disease. Rather, they are caused by the rupture of a blood vessel on the yolk surface during formation of the egg or by a similar accident in the wall of the oviduct. Less than 1% of all eggs produced have blood spots.
Candling methods reveal most eggs with blood spots and those eggs are removed but, even with electronic spotters, it is impossible to catch all of them in the candling process, especially in brown eggs due to the darker color shell. As an egg ages, the yolk takes up water from the albumen to dilute the blood spot so, in actuality, a blood spot indicates that the egg is fresh. Both chemically and nutritionally, these eggs are fit to eat. The spot can be removed with the tip of a knife, if you wish.