I found you guys! We raise Marans for dual purposes. I like them best between 20-28 weeks. Sometimes we have them at 16 weeks depending on if it was a boy heavy batch or not. It just depends on how they're growing, how much space is available and how the boys are acting in their coop/pasture.
We keep them on 18% feed and transition them over to more pasture time after 10 weeks. We separate boys from girls at that time.
Marans have a thicker than average skin, which makes them good for baking. They carry a rich dark meat on their thighs/legs and tend towards having more of that than breast meat.
When we're growing out the boys and looking for the next breeding pen candidate, we're looking at width/depth to the body and fullness under those feathers. Each generation we see improvement.
You get the most flavor from a natural finishing, with grass and bugs and such. If they only have access to feed then you'll get a milder flavor.
The picture is a BCM cockerel at 20 weeks. He was built on the short/stout side but had side sprigs and other breed flaws that kept him out of the breeding pen. He filled the pan nicely though.
We ended up parting with the BCM line, they were more inconsistent than the B/B/S Silver line I have. The Silvers have been consistently stout and chunky.
There are a lot of different body types floating around out there and for dual purpose you will need to breed towards that thicker type. The hatcheries are putting out leaner birds built more towards that efficient layer type. The breeders who go towards the SOP will have better type but you'll need to keep an eye on laying productivity. Sometimes you get the wonderful table type from the boys but you might be waiting on eggs from the pullets after the 8 month mark. We try to balance type with utility, keeping an eye on how they grow, when they fill out, how they lay and when they start laying. Then we also have to balance that with the traits they're expressing, from feather colors and quality to comb characteristics and demeanor. Lot's of details to pay attention to.
Our line has slow feathering cockerels... the pullets will get feathers sooner than the boys, while the boys get really chunky and thick while still covered in fuzz with little stub tails at about 3-4 weeks. I sort them then, looking for the chunkiest to grow out separately so that I know who to make picks from later on based on early growth.
This guy so far is my strongest contender for the breeding pen next year.
