Marans Owners -- anything "bad" about this breed?

[drom]

I just brought my babies home from BAYHORSEBONNE. She's very nice to work with.
I drove 928 miles round trip to pick them up! But she said I wouldn't be disappointed.

She picked them out for me herself from a group of about 18 of chicks she had.
I set up a mobile brooder with a heating pad. It took me forever to get home because I was worried about the temp in the box and kept stopping to check on them. As it turns out, I really didn't need the heating pad at all. They were plenty warm! In fact I was more worried about them getting too hot than too cold.

Here's one of the cutest in the bunch. He has some white feathers, but she says that's not a problem. I'm very excited. She says that her line comes originally from Wade Jean and Ron Presley's birds.

Here's another. I think this one will end up being a pullet, she's just a little smaller than the others. She's precious:

 

[onthespot]

oh man! I want some more chicks so bad. It is all I can do to keep from buying more eggs, but I am forcing myself to wait and see what color eggs my three pullets lay. I keep telling myself... wait, in a couple months you can have all the chicks you want. Do NOT bid on eggs, do NOT bid on eggs. I only go visit her when I am feeling STRONG and not pining for little CBM chicks. Some of mine had a lot of white like that but it molted out. I have only one cockerel with a white flight feather on his wing. A few have a couple white feathers on their feet. Most do not. You will have a BALL with those chicks. They are so tame and gentle natured. Do keep us posted with baby pics. I promise, we will not get bored. Congratulations on your new chicks.

 

[ginasmarans]

Is the squirrel tale defect where the tail goes up too far and over? Kind of like a leghorn's tale?

 

[tfpets]

I hope arklady or someone that knows what it looks like will post a pic or more info? Im curious too? Here is an excerpt from the Marans site:

THE SHAPE OF THE TAIL
Good Marans (cocks and hens) should always have a short tail, tilted 45° compared to a horizontal line, but is still acceptable until 60° maximum. It is the 45° slope which is required in the standard.
Beyond 60°, the tail then appears much too vertical and the back is very often too short, and the bird then lacks the minimum mass necessary for a good Marans.

To describe good tails in the Marans it is advisable to join together two essential characteristics, which are:

- main tail feathers well closed and shorter than average.

- sickles shorter than average.

SERIOUS DEFECTS TO AVOID

Admittedly strong and robust, the body of the Marans should never present a cubic conformation with a very short back, which is correlated with this shape.
The shape of the body should not be shown reversed or plunging in front.
The chest should not fall or drop down. The flat, tilted line of the back especially should not form the curved “boat” style sought in other breeds such as the Barnevelder, for example.

The geometrical shape of the body should not fit in a triangle whose peak is positioned at the level of the shanks. Indeed, this form is characteristic of the subjects known as “shallow,” i.e. that it covers a clear insufficiency in the volume of the abdomen on one hand and the chest on the other. Moreover, the triangular shape is often related to the presence of an incorrect short back, if not “boat” shaped.

The appearance of the Marans should not be high on the legs, which can thus give to the whole an undesirable image of possible fragility in the skeleton.

The tail of the cocks never shows the presence of large, curved, flowing sickles such as the Bresse, Gauloise, or Leghorn which require these. Beyond 60° the too-straight tails, called vertical tails, are often too long and are thus incorrect but especially “squirrel” tails (more than 90°), constitute an intolerable and very serious defect. They seem moreover often correlated with insufficient shape or robustness of the body, and sometimes associated with a plunging body or a too-short back.

I am looking for better shots of actual birds to go along with the drawing and description. New to the whole idea of conformity anyhow, curious right now to find out how my existing birds match up. I have a trace on their lineage, and is wasnt too shabby so far for some of them...

Hope this helps, I would like to see pics though? My rooster has 1 long feather and color issues, but I love him!

 

[Arklady]

My Red Cuckoo has squirrel tail.... so do a lot of my birds the hens though seem fine but I am still wanting to add a bird or birds that do not have that so that I can introduce the correct type as soon as possible before I get too far in the breeding program I am doing.

I have more to say but I really must get to bed. lol

Arklady

PS. Clean legs and feathered are both acceptable in the birds. I believe Americans like cleaned leg more than feathered.

I have both clean and feathered legged birds in my flocks.

 

[amazondoc]

re: legs --

I don't even have Marans, so take my words with several grains of salt -- but what I've read indicates that clean legs fit the British standard for Marans, while feathered legs fit the French standard. Personally, I prefer clean legs. I'm not fond of feathered legs or feet in any breed, aside from maybe bantam cochins.

 

[bayhorsebonne]

Hi All,

I just wanted to say hello and thanks for all the nice things you have posted about me and my birds.

I have been doing this for quite a while now and I have to admit, I am very proud of my stock and how they are coming along. It is always an ongoing project that I find very exciting and so much fun.... (except on Saturdays when it is time to clean the coops...LOL).

The best part about selling hatching eggs and hatching out auctions for people is the fact that I have been fortunate to meet so many wonderful people and to be able to keep in touch with them.

It is always a blast when someone sees the hens and/or one of the roosters for the first time, these are really good sized birds and because they are all I raise, I am used to their size and temperament.

Well, thanks for all the positive input and great pics you have posted. I really enjoy hearing that people are happy with their hatch and / or their birds.

Have a great week. Donna

 

[onthespot]

Hey Lady! Not sure how I missed this post. May I be the first to welcome you to BYC!!!

 

[denasfarm]

5 week old Marans Rooster Kimbo

5 week old Marans Pullets

What kind of quality do you see?

 

[onthespot]

wow, no mistaking that roo! Look at his comb already! He has lots of feathers on his feet. I wish I had room for more varieties.