Black Copper Marans - How difficult are they to raise.

[Litewings]

I'm thinking of raising Black Copper Marans for their dark eggs. Are they any more difficult than other breeds? Also does anyone know of a good Marans breeder in NC?

Litewings

 

[tcbfan5]

I would actually like to know also if they are any harder to breed & raise. My husband wants them also. We've thought/talked about getting them.

 

[mothergoose1963]

I'm no expert on them--but I started raising some a year ago. I hatched most of mine and bought a few beautiful birds, too. The hard part is finding honest sellers--in my opinion. I learned that the hard way and some of my most expensive birds went into my freezer!

I had to start over and did my research this time. Since the price on these is so high, some people are selling and crossing whatever they can to make a quick buck. I'm not saying you need show quality birds--but people ought to at least honestly represent what they have.

Hatching went fine for me. I even tried that dry hatching method and it worked great. They have acted no different than any of my other chickens, either. I am sure there are otherw with more experience in these birds than I, but I enjoy them and think they are easy to keep and raise. Hope that helps.

 

[tcbfan5]

Thanks. That's kind of what i was thinking. In order to get nice dark eggs, you need good birds to start with. And i know they are a bit on the more expensive side, so the honesty of the breeder, & pictures of their Black Copper Marans will be key. But you did say

""They have acted no different than any of my other chickens, either"" & ""but I enjoy them and think they are easy to keep and raise.""

& that's also what i wanted to know.
Thanks Again!
Anybody elses input is also appriciated!

 

[mothergoose1963]

I found this old thread you might be interested in.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=46283

 

[hcammack]

Mine have been very hardy and easy to grow out! The difficult thing is to breed to the standard. The genetics of the dark egg gene are very difficult to work with and are complicated to breed towards. When breeding Marans its important to be very careful and it can get quite expensive to build a great breeding flock. I will reccomend Will Marrow as he has very high quality birds and is very friendly. His standards are extremly strict to select breeding birds !

Good Luck,
Henry

 

[NCchickenlady]

Quote:
I just picked up two Cuckoo marans (pullets) at a show
last weekend and I was worried as well about their hardiness. They are just 6 months old and seem to be doing ok. I really liked the breeder I got them from. He was honest and told me up front he keeps the darkest layers for himself and its very important only to keep the darkest layers! Mine are laying and their eggs are beautiful to me. I have no plans for breeding but i feel lucky I got in with this guys because I learned so much and appriciated his honesty. Hard to find these days...

 

[CHICKEN little 1]

I have a pair of Cuckoo Marans. The only thing I have had to watch in the last week is the Roo"s kone. As his is quite large,and a single. The weather here lately has been in the teens at night.I have a heat lamp with some cross ventilation for the coop. I noticed a small amount of discoloration on the tips of his cone. I've put some vaseline on them. Seems it's doing a good job keeping the tips from frostbite. As with all single kone breeds this is always a concern in colder climates.

 

[kinnip]

The only appreciable difference in behaviour I've observed is a predilection toward water related antics. They love the rain, they love mud puddles (great for those feathered feet) and they love to syphon the water out of their waterer and into the bedding. I have no idea how they accomplish the latter. I'll place a full waterer in there at night and by morning, it's empty and the floor is soaked.

 

[mountaintopchicken]

Terrible, just terrible. They demand that you strew fresh rose petals atop their feed every morning before they will eat, and they kindly request a little tipple of red wine before bed every night.

Kidding. My Marans did eat rose petals, though, when my rose bushes were blooming, and they are the only breed that touched them. And I have added some red wine to their water ( 2 tbsp / gal) and they seemed to appreciate it and lay more eggs (read about doing that on a French forum).

The main thing I noticed about them is that when they were growing they ate massive quantities of food - they ate as though they were broilers, almost. Maybe because they are dual purpose and can be used as meat birds as well as egg layers?