I got some French Black Copper Marans...*Pics added*

[lottastuff9]

which I am happy about, but I am a little nervous raising such "valuable" birds. My question is this- Are they really that rare? The lady was telling me that they are from the Wade Jeane line. I got a straight run of 6 peeps--I had intended on culling any roos that were included, but after doing further research I don't want to do that if these little fuzzies are indeed rare.

She had gotten a large quantity due to shipping requirements, thus sold some of the chicks so she would have a manageable flock. What do I do?

 

[math ace]

I find there are lots of sellers of French BCM out there - - - - however getting QUALITY BCM may be an issue.
Getting ones that are laying dark eggs are another.

I have also found that people say they have BCM with such and such blood lines - - - -
but they bought them from somebody who bought them who got them from somebody who got them from somebody else, etc. . . . .
In the meantime, they have been mixed with other blood lines that "name" alone does not gaurantee a good bird.

The best advice I have received so far is a buyer should see the parents and the eggs being laid by the parents before buying.
That will be a indicator as to the quality you can expect.

They are a HIGH demand chicken no matter what. You should be able to get ready of any BCMs you don't want easily.
Hope you enjoy yours - - - I am loving mine

This is your thread - - - so when you get a chance post of pics of your marans. I would love to see them

 

[math ace]

I can't believe more people did not respond to your question - - - so I will post and try to reactivate this thread for you. . . . .

I would be interested in reading others response to your question. . . .

 

[Rockpile99]

This is a relatively new breed to the US and is still in its infancy. As of right now one can only get the Black Cooper variey from a breeder. Hatcheries only have the cuckoo variety available. With this being the case, it is dificult to find this breed in certain parts of the country. The main hot spots for Marans of any type are the east coast, Florida for sure and California. Sadly I'm in Colorado and having a very difficult time finding affordable breeding stock.

Once you determine the sex of yor chicks you will should not have any trouble getting rid of unwanted birds. It takes a full year to be able to tell if your Roosters are of good coloring, they need to go through a molt to show their true colors, and then to tell if they have dark egg laying genes you need to hatch their offspring and wait for those chicks to start laying. So to really know what you have and the value of the birds about 12-18 months is necssary for a proper evaluation. A good rooster with proven dark egg genes can fetch a price in the $100's regardless of whose "line" it is from. I agree with the previous poster though, once the breed has left it's origns there is no telling what other lines have been mixed with it.


Here are some eggs I recently purchased from Ohio to get my Colorado Marans started: The white egg and penguin are there for color contrast

Good luck with your chicks! There is a great thread here about Marans also there are a few good groups on yahoo dedicated to the Marans breed.

edited because my keyboard is a terrible typist!

 

[lottastuff9]

Thanks for the thoughtful responses! I guess I will wait...wait...wait. I will try and post some pics in a little bit so that I can get your opinion on the true breed of these birds. The breed doesn't entirely matter, I just wanted the chicks, then came the info on the breed and I needed to re-evaluate things. Pics coming soon!

 

[lottastuff9]

This was the best I could do for the front, these little peepers don't like to be handled much yet.

See how they are RUNNING from my camera...I swear they are in a nice size brooder but they run like mad for the corner when I have to change water, food, shavings, etc. Silly birds.

I tried to get a good shot of a leg/foot for you because reading about the breed I understand it means alot.

Here is my fuzzy being shy.

So any guesses if these are Frech Black/Copper Marans?

 

[BlackBart]

I know of one fellow who brought eggs in from France, they were outrageously expensive. The birds are visually to the breed standard but I have seen darker eggs from North America.
Somebody in my area is selling day old unsexed FBCM chicks for $25 each. I have seen hatching eggs for $45 per dozen and chicks for $15 each from other breeders. I have seen hatching eggs from Gabbard and they were a 8 on the Maran egg color chart.

I think the breed is the next fad, like BLRW were last year. BLRW chicks are selling for $22 each this year. But the quality of the BLRW is suffering due to demand.

I hope people keep to the breed standard and with lots of dedicated breeders they should become not so rare. They are a gentle breed.

My FBCM chicks are blacker (more black) then those in the pics. Different lines most likely, mine are European lines not sure from which line.

I will try to get some pics but the hen is in ultra protection mode.

 

[lottastuff9]

I am so happy they are a gentle breed-hopefully mine take this trait whatever they may be!

 

[outback hatcher]

I love my fbcms

also my french wheaten marans

wheaten pullets

wheaten cockerel

 

[painthorse]

I am also curious about the breed. You see some on byc auctuon for 20$ then the next one is for 45$ and most come from out of state so there is no way to see the parents.I just took a gamble and bought some for 80$ a dozen[ please do not tell my wife] and the eggs are very dark.I bought 2 dozen production red hens from a man that was going out of buisnees and he gave me a black copper marans roo to go with them. I incubated 13 babies out and 3 pullets are a blue color in color a couple of black and 2 white chicks with a couple of black feathers on the wings. I have 14 days to go on the 12 eggs in the bator so I guess I'll have to wait to see if I got !!! on them.