Marans from McMurray?

[D'Angelo N Va.]

I have ordered them from McMurray and I have been ordering from them for years..I was however, very dissapointed by the morans egg color. My partridge Cochins laid a darker egg and they were friendlier. My one rooster is very very big and nice and my hens are nice, but I had to cull 4 roosters because each time I went into the hen house they attacked me when I would bend over to feed them.

 

[sciencechick]

I got a bunch of Cuckoo Marans together with a few other breeds from McMurray's last spring. I ended up with a lot of roos for the Marans, but the ratio was alright overall. I raised the roos for meat and kept one hen for myself.
She's a nice bird and lays terracotta colored medium sized eggs.
I've been very happy with McMurray's. All 25 birds were very nice and healthy and the customer service was great.

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

speaking of which...I just got my new McMurray catalog in the mail just now.

 

[geebs]

was the meat any better than any other chickens... I hear raves about it... Is it all hype????

 

[ipf]

Thanks all; that was very helpful! I think I'll take a chance and get a few. At least they come sexed.

 

[Byrdj]

If you want dark eggs typical of Marans and the color of the ones you see posted on BYC, you will be very disappointed. You will probably end up buying some from a private breeder next year.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

I just ordered some Marans from McMurray, not becasue I was expecting chocolate eggs but something a little darker (I hope) but we will see. This post kind of worries me now. But there was a place where I could pick hens so I ordered 4 hens. Last time I looked they were straight run so I picked them while I could. Now I looked again in the new catalog and it is straight run again. I ordered online.

 

[ipf]

When I look at the McMurray site, and click on cuckoo marans, it says you can order females, males or straight run. I just checked again.

Yes, I'd like to get some dark egg stock, but am wary of the inbreeding level accumulated by many amateur breeders. Also, it's complicated to get stock from the US through the border, and even more complicated as I live on a small island.

 

[Goose and Fig]

I started out with McMurrays "brown egg layer special" There were marans in there, and I was getting some really dark eggs. I decided to give some birds away and apparently I let the marans go. Couldn't tell them apart form the barred rocks.

I'd still get some from a breeder if it's an option. The only real benefit of going through a hatchery is that they are pretty good at sexing them. If you can't have roos you either go hatchery or buy started birds.

 

[geebs]

If it is anything like last year you better get your order in.. It was CRAZY hard to get eggs after Jan/Feb... The hatcheries were all on backorder...just to fill the orders that were already paid for... Everyone ran out of Marans, Barnevelder, Wellies... They were the first to dissapear... so get your orders in for the impending hatches....