Black Copper Marans??

[LocoPollo]

I have noticed that black copper marans are very popular now, with eggs selling at an enormously inflated price. Why is that? What is so special about these birds? Lots of breeds lay dark eggs. They don't seem to me to be worth the hype at all. What am I missing? Is there some other reason these birds sell for so much?

 

[Southernbelle]

I think it's just the "in" thing right now. They are beautiful birds and the dark eggs are very popular. I like them, but I don't have any.

 

[LocoPollo]

Ok, that is cool. I just thought maybe there was something I was missing. If it is just a fad thing then that is great.

 

[klf73]

One of the reasons I *think* it is, is yes a few breeds lay dark eggs but are not as mild mannered as the BC Marans. Mine are still only chicks so I really don't know

 

[marymac]

I'm glad you asked, because I was wondering the same thing I can't believe people would spend so much on eggs and not know how they will hatch or how they will be treated at the post office. I would like to have some real dark eggs , just because they would be pretty, but I doubt they taste better than others. I hope someone else writes in and enlightens us.

 

[Guitartists]

Well, the reasons that I am interested in paying such high prices for them:

I think they are a beautiful bird and represent very nicely what I and DH think a chicken is

I love the dark egg and look forward to the challenge of breeding for a dark dark egg

I'm interested in helping promote the breed here in the US in the hopes that it will someday be a recognized breed here.

I like a challenge

 

[the simple life]

The reason for the high cost is that this breed was only available in France for many many years and was finally imported to the states.
Now that it is here the breeders have spent alot of time and money preserving and improving the breed.
Now that they are selling some of their lines the demand is high and the cost is too.
I don't think its a fad, I think people who are interested in heritage breeds do the same thing, try to get the best possible breeder lines and establish their own flock.
I personally am interested in preserving some of the more unusual breeds.
There are many other breeds that are only available in other countries,if someone was able to successfully import them to the states and worked on perfecting and preserving the breed and then opened the lines for sale, the same thing would happen.
I think some people may have jumped on the bandwagon just to have the dark eggs but I also think alot of people are truly interested in having this breed for what it is.
The marans are really nice birds and there are several other varieties of marans as well.
I think alot of people who have the coppers also have the other varities as well.
If someone is really interested in having a line of say blue orpingtons, they are going to do the same thing, try to get the best available stock from the most well known lines. I would not consider that to be a fad either.
I think the prices here are reflecting the availability of the stock, its been hard to get any of the original lines for many years, now there are some breeders selling them and not enough are available so the prices are high due to the demand.
Most breeders are not selling their stock at ridiculous prices, its the auctions that get out of hand because people want them so bad.
There are some people who only want them because they heard they are hard to get so they go on e-bay and buy them at very high prices but actually probably don't know that much about the breed. Now you have to be careful that you don't get taken advantage of.
While there are many honest sellers there are now some out there that are trying to make a buck off the buyers that do not know enough abou the breed to make an educated purchase.

 

[LocoPollo]

Quote:
That is VERY helpful! I feel much more clued in now! Kinda like I am thinking about paying a lot for Light sussex just because there are so few in this country, most being imported from australia or england.

 

[drom]

Supply and demand-they are on the rare side
They are beautiful birds
They are said to lay the darkest eggs of all the Marans varieties
They are gentle and easy to work with- mine come running when I call them and will let me pick them up
The roosters don't have spurs


Having said all that, there are a whole bunch of people who rushed to buy them this year simply because the eggs are expensive and they want to breed and sell the eggs to make a quick buck. It's not that simple to breed good birds who consistently lay really dark eggs so my guess is most of these folks will quit on it when they figure that out.
It's best to buy from a well known source with a well known blood line.

 

[Solsken Farm]

The simple life said alot of what I think. I don't think it is a fad either. This breed is challenging as the trait of laying a dark egg is not constant. Truly dark eggs are very hard to acquire. Many people are buying any stock and thinking they will make a killing selling eggs at 100 bucks a half dozen. However, those eggs sold for that price may not even qualify as Marans, becuase the eggs aren't dark enough on the egg scale.

There are excellent breeders selling eggs for $60-75 shipped. Most of them do not sell on ebay. I know of 3 sellers on ebay I would buy from, 2 I did, but not through ebay.

If you want a challenge, beautiful lovely birds with great dispositions and pretty eggs, find a good breeder. There are several groups on yahoo you can join and start learning.

Good luck!