Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[Pipe Dreaming]

I'm fearing the same thing about my hens. I'm pretty sure they started laying,and if the eggs I'm getting are indeed theirs, I'm going to be pretty disapointed. I was really hoping to see those dark eggs they're known for. I will have to try to observe the hens over the weekend to see if these darker eggs are theirs.

 

[marchick]

These are my three hens. I don't know which one is laying that lighter egg yet. I just wanted to see what you guys think! The first three pictures are the same hen and sorry the pictures make her look light.

 

[Sylvester017]

I'm fearing the same thing about my hens. I'm pretty sure they started laying,and if the eggs I'm getting are indeed theirs, I'm going to be pretty disapointed. I was really hoping to see those dark eggs they're known for. I will have to try to observe the hens over the weekend to see if these darker eggs are theirs.

This is one reason of many why I won't have dark egg layers any more. We homebodies who are not really quality serious breeders get too disappointed looking for that "chocolate" egg and only happens to a few lucky breeders. If my Cuckoo Marans wasn't so vicious and layed more than 2 or 3 number #4 egg-chart brown eggs per week I'd keep her since #4 color isn't really that bad but she was a pill and ate like a pig so we re-homed her.

 

[TNBielefelder]

Has anyone raised any BCMarans from greenfire stock? Just wondering how they turned out.

 

[tprice417]

Has anyone raised any BCMarans from greenfire stock? Just wondering how they turned out.

I have 6 hens and 2 roosters. They just started laying and the eggs are very dark. They are 24 weeks old.

 

[chickengr]

I have heard that BCM lay the darkest eggs, while other marans lay lighter eggs. I don't know if that is true.

 

[FeelsRightFarm]

Has anyone raised any BCMarans from greenfire stock? Just wondering how they turned out.

I have 5 hens and 3 roos, the roos are different ages as I got two batches of 10 from them, none are laying yet. I will try to get better photos, 3 of the hens have hardly any copper on them at all but they are all friendly and healthy. Funny enough when I first got them home they all followed my son around like he was their mama, I have never seen that with chicks before especially from ones we didnt even hatch, I'll have to find the video and post it.

Here are 2 of our hens and our biggest roo

I love this photo because of the way my bielefelders are posed in the background, funny!

 

[GaryDean26]

I have heard that BCM lay the darkest eggs, while other marans lay lighter eggs. I don't know if that is true.

You can get dark egg color from any variety of Marans. You also can get light egg color in any variety of Marans.

The bottom line here is that any breed that has a lot of color varieties will have one or two mainstream varieties and the rest will tend to be rare colors for the breed . The Leghorn for example has about a dozen recognized varieties in the world, but The white and brown variety are the mainstream ones. You will frequently see a white or brown leghorn on Champion Row at a large poultry show but are not likely to see a buff leghorns or a silver duckwing leghorn ever make its way to Champion row. The reason is that there are lots of people working on the white and brown varieties and their quality has improved. The other varieties have fewer numbers and fewer breeders. Their type is typically not as good and neither is their production, vigor, etc. They are often crossed with White's or Brown's to improve their quality, but you will never see a brown or white crossed with a red leghorn or mille fleur leghorn to improve it.

The same is true for the Marans. World wide the Black Copper Marans is the variety that has the strongest numbers. It is the variety that sets the pace in quality for the breed. Many of the flocks of other varieties were create from BCM lines. As the BCM variety improves it paves the way for the breed to improve. The Black Copper variety doesn't always win the Marans Egg contests but it is held to a higher standard. When I started with the breed I was told that for the BCM variety you needed to require #5 or darker egg from your hens, but that all other varieties you needed to require a #4 or darker. That was not a set in stone rule but shows the level that the BCM is held to in the Marans breed.

 

[chickengr]

You can get dark egg color from any variety of Marans. You also can get light egg color in any variety of Marans.

The bottom line here is that any breed that has a lot of color varieties will have one or two mainstream varieties and the rest will tend to be rare colors for the breed . The Leghorn for example has about a dozen recognized varieties in the world, but The white and brown variety are the mainstream ones. You will frequently see a white or brown leghorn on Champion Row at a large poultry show but are not likely to see a buff leghorns or a silver duckwing leghorn ever make its way to Champion row. The reason is that there are lots of people working on the white and brown varieties and their quality has improved. The other varieties have fewer numbers and fewer breeders. Their type is typically not as good and neither is their production, vigor, etc. They are often crossed with White's or Brown's to improve their quality, but you will never see a brown or white crossed with a red leghorn or mille fleur leghorn to improve it.

The same is true for the Marans. World wide the Black Copper Marans is the variety that has the strongest numbers. It is the variety that sets the pace in quality for the breed. Many of the flocks of other varieties were create from BCM lines. As the BCM variety improves it paves the way for the breed to improve. The Black Copper variety doesn't always win the Marans Egg contests but it is held to a higher standard. When I started with the breed I was told that for the BCM variety you needed to require #5 or darker egg from your hens, but that all other varieties you needed to require a #4 or darker. That was not a set in stone rule but shows the level that the BCM is held to in the Marans breed.

thank you for the information.

dou you know what colours were very first marans? I always prefer more natural breeds. I don't like all of those crossings in order to get different colours. I don't consider them the same breeds. I like BCM probably bc I like black birds. I do hope they are real marans with no other blood in them.

 

[GaryDean26]

In North America the first variety that made its way across the sea was the the Cuckoo Marans. The Fugate line of Cuckoo arrived in 1960 several other Cuckoo lines were brought over from Europe in the decades that followed. The Black Copper Marans has only been in North America for about 15 years. All the White Marans in North America were developed from sport whites from Cuckoo and Black Copper lines in the USA. The Wheaten Marans lines in the USA all decend for sports too. The Black Tailed Buff are breed from the Wheaten Lines, The Silver Birchen are breed from crosses of Cuckoo and Black Copper Lines. I am not sure on the Black Variety but it could also be breed from Cuckoo Black Copper crosses. I am also not sure about the blue variety some of the imports must have had some blues in with them. The silver and gold duckwing (golden Salmon) were started from sports from other lines. Some of the varieties that are not recognized by the French Maran Club like the Isabell color were created buy outcrossing Marans to other breeds and then attempting to breed them back to the standard. Out crossing ruins the breed in my opinion. I know a breeder that out crossed his Marans to increase vigor then spent 5 years trying to breed them back to the breed standard but could never get the darker egg color back so he got rid of the flock. If you want "real Marans" stick with the lines that are not outcrossed.