Does anyone have Marans??? ...wondering about their personality

[oliviad51]

I am going to be getting some Silver Cuckoo Maran and some Ameracauna chicks in the mail in a week or so. I have some Ameracauna hens but I was wondering about the Marans. I know they lay chocolate brown eggs..but does anyone have experience with them? Im just curious about their personality.

 

[shellz131]

just looked it up in my Meyer catalog...
origin . France
egg color .dark brown
disposition.calm,quiet and gentle
hope this helps

 

[oliviad51]

Thanks!

 

[chics in the sun]

There is a great thread on here for Marans. I just saw it under recent posts. I have one, and she is still a bit skittish, but she is so pretty, and sweet.

 

[Dora'smom]

I think it varies a lot bird-to-bird within a breed. I thought that the Cuckoo Marans we got would be on the calm and friendly side, but they were completely wild---totally loco. We named them Looney and Tooney, and they are just at point-of-lay now. They have red faces and are squatting at 20 weeks, but no eggs yet.

 

[MaggieRae]

Interested in marans for their pretty eggs, so I'm lurking this thread...

 

[TurtleChick]

i also think it makes a difference if you're getting hatchery vs. private breeder stock. hatchery birds are bred for egg laying and early maturing, mostly - while private breeders should be breeding for a "truer" to type bird, more uniformity in all sorts of things, including temperament. for instance, true ameraucanas vs. hatchery ee'rs - vastly different in looks and temperament. even lots of "purebreds" from hatcheries have a little mixing here and there - to improve maturation and egg laying i think. anyway! that's my two cents! and marans in particular, i don't know.

most important: have fun with your new babies!

 

[FRlEDeggs]

I have a Cuckoo Marans and she is a bit skittish, but calm

If you're getting Silver Cuckoo though you won't get those deep brown eggs they talk about

 

[crj]

I had 8 French Black Copper Marans. Out of the 8 I had 6 roosters. The roosters were so sweet my husband thought they were sick....... lol. I did have one that couldn't see well. Poor guy, would miss his mark everytime he tried to fly. We ended up culling 5 roosters. I still have a rooster and 2 hens. I love them. You can go right up to them and pick them up. They aren't flighty birds. Very sweet. The hens started laying eggs a few weeks ago. They lay the darkest egg of all the Marans. So far one hen is laying a great color but the other one hasn't quite figured it out yet. Her eggs don't have that coating on it yet. She maybe rushing the egg since she isn't laying them in the nest box. They may just pop out. Don't really know.

About 2 weeks ago we bought 3 Black Copper Marans and 2 Blue Marans. They are about 10 weeks old. They will lay dark eggs but not as dark as the French Black Copper Marans. They are a beautiful dark redish brown color. The eggs aren't consistant yet and are small. About the size of an EE's egg at this stage.

 

[oliviad51]

oh no! Thats the main reason I purchased the chicks was for the eggs! Is it possible that the place you got your chickens from, the marans aren't purebred?