Chicken Breed Focus - Marans

[gmfwlbrdr]

These are what happens when you put your black copper maran over standard Cornish,ive bred two diffrent ways Standard and bantam Cornish hens, , but same father roo ,the one blue lil one in there is a toppy game which his egg got in the same nest.

 

[ZORRO3061]

I breed Marans on a small scale. They are an excellent breed to have all around except if you need eggs every day from your small backyard flock. To make it clear on their egg laying ability, a good Marans quality dark layer (7-8 on the egg color chart) will lay less eggs then a lighter egg layer simply because it takes more time to transfer pigment onto the shell. Lighter the egg color the faster it travels etc etc. It takes time to get quality.

Yes this is important to mention. If you artificially (through feed for example) increase the egg laying percentage, you'll have less pigment per egg=lighter brown eggs.

 

[ZORRO3061]

My Black Copper

 

[Sweetman1205]

Mercury is my 15 week old French Black Copper Maran! She is beautiful!! And very sweet even though she's the flock leader and will remind the other girls if they step outta line! Lol i have posted pictures of her before and everyone said rooster!! Butttttt.......she is working on her first egg now! I can't wait to see it...she's very vocal at the moment! I thought 15wks was a little too early especially since my other birds didn't egg till almost 26 weeks!! Difference breeds tho...i will post her first egg when it arrives!

 

[Red Banks]

Mercury is my 15 week old French Black Copper Maran! She is beautiful!! And very sweet even though she's the flock leader and will remind the other girls if they step outta line! Lol i have posted pictures of her before and everyone said rooster!! Butttttt.......she is working on her first egg now! I can't wait to see it...she's very vocal at the moment! I thought 15wks was a little too early especially since my other birds didn't egg till almost 26 weeks!! Difference breeds tho...i will post her first egg when it arrives!

I believe "she" is a "he". She has laid an egg?

 

[Bantambird]

Let's see a side view, so we can scope out the tail and the cushion/saddle feathers.

 

[Red Banks]

Mercury is my 15 week old French Black Copper Maran! She is beautiful!! And very sweet even though she's the flock leader and will remind the other girls if they step outta line! Lol i have posted pictures of her before and everyone said rooster!! Butttttt.......she is working on her first egg now! I can't wait to see it...she's very vocal at the moment! I thought 15wks was a little too early especially since my other birds didn't egg till almost 26 weeks!! Difference breeds tho...i will post her first egg when it arrives!

Do the rest of your pullets LOOK like this one?

 

[chickengr]

Mercury is my 15 week old French Black Copper Maran! She is beautiful!! And very sweet even though she's the flock leader and will remind the other girls if they step outta line! Lol i have posted pictures of her before and everyone said rooster!! Butttttt.......she is working on her first egg now! I can't wait to see it...she's very vocal at the moment! I thought 15wks was a little too early especially since my other birds didn't egg till almost 26 weeks!! Difference breeds tho...i will post her first egg when it arrives!

at 15 weeks pullets have tiny combs and almost no wattles. I also believe it is a cockerel.

 

[Bantambird]

my Marans pullet

one of my cockerels.

 

[Red Banks]

my Marans pullet
one of my cockerels.

Beautiful..... these are on my wish list.