Marans question

[HenHouse4Life]

Hi friends! I'm considering adding Marans to my flock. .. however, at first I thought I wanted FBCM. Now I'm considering the Birchen Marans. Do any of you have preferences in your experiences with either/or?

 

[oregonkat]

As my avatar shows, FBCM are my thing! I absolutely love these chickens, hens and roosters both. I have not owned any Birchen Marans but I do have a cuckoo marans hen now and she is brave and smart and I like her. Highly recommend FBCM, great eggs and very good meat too.

 

[HenHouse4Life]

SOP doesn't concern me too much. They would be a part of my mixed flock eventually. I've heard their temperament is wonderful and both breeds are simply gorgeous! I don't expect to get the real dark eggs (#9) on the scale , but I want eggs that you can tell are Marans eggs. Some websites I've visited are showing eggs that look no different from brown eggs I already get!

 

[mixedbreeds]

You will not be disipointed with the FBCM if you get them from a good breeder I wouldn’t get them from a normal hatchery though if you want dark eggs you might get lucky but probably not. Mine are from Greenfire Farms.

 

[Quacking Pigeon]

I’ve had a few black copper Marans and wheaten Marans. My dad got them for the colour of their eggs which is dark brown. Ours haven’t been laying that colour though because of the breeder we got them from.... Goulburn heritage poultry.

 

[HenHouse4Life]

As my avatar shows, FBCM are my thing! I absolutely love these chickens, hens and roosters both. I have not owned any Birchen Marans but I do have a cuckoo marans hen now and she is brave and smart and I like her. Highly recommend FBCM, great eggs and very good meat too.

I have heard that whichever breed (or both) that I choose that I should purchase from a breeder, not a hatchery. Thoughts?

 

[oregonkat]

I have heard that whichever breed (or both) that I choose that I should purchase from a breeder, not a hatchery. Thoughts?

Are you planning on chicks or eggs? There are several very good lines of FBCM out there, Bev Davis, Little Peddler being two, I cant think of the others at the moment but they are searchable, oh and of course, Greenfire Farms. If you are thinking of breeding these to the SOP then try to stay within the confines of the original lines but if this is just for the beautiful dark eggs and the lovely disposition of the fowl then dont worry about it too much. I tend to buy eggs from folks with the darkest colored eggs and I have not been disappointed but I have kept the roosters and hens that I have liked best, not necessarily the ones that would stand up to the SOP test.

 

[oregonkat]

SOP doesn't concern me too much. They would be a part of my mixed flock eventually. I've heard their temperament is wonderful and both breeds are simply gorgeous! I don't expect to get the real dark eggs (#9) on the scale , but I want eggs that you can tell are Marans eggs. Some websites I've visited are showing eggs that look no different from brown eggs I already get!

OK so the thing to remember about the eggs is that the Black Copper Marans lay the darkest egg of the Marans breeds. Occasionally you will run across a BCM hen who lays a medium brown egg getting no darker than a 5 - 6 on the scale at her darkest and the color does lighten further into the laying cycle. After molt the color returns to its darkest coloring and if you are very lucky you might end up with a hen that lays you an 8. 9 is quite rare and if you should end up with one then the first thing to do is to let ME know so I can get some of her eggs..... My BCM lovlies lay me about a 7-8 and one of my hens, Ebony, is absolutely pure black. No coppering on the neck at all. She lays the darkest of all my eggs. A solid 8. I have just hatched out several of her babies so I am hoping for more like her.

 

[HenHouse4Life]

OK so the thing to remember about the eggs is that the Black Copper Marans lay the darkest egg of the Marans breeds. Occasionally you will run across a BCM hen who lays a medium brown egg getting no darker than a 5 - 6 on the scale at her darkest and the color does lighten further into the laying cycle. After molt the color returns to its darkest coloring and if you are very lucky you might end up with a hen that lays you an 8. 9 is quite rare and if you should end up with one then the first thing to do is to let ME know so I can get some of her eggs..... My BCM lovlies lay me about a 7-8 and one of my hens, Ebony, is absolutely pure black. No coppering on the neck at all. She lays the darkest of all my eggs. A solid 8. I have just hatched out several of her babies so I am hoping for more like her.

Oh gosh thank you so much for all your help and thoughts! Maybe I'll just get some from you then haha!! I'm real excited to start the Marans adventure!

 

[oregonkat]

Oh gosh thank you so much for all your help and thoughts! Maybe I'll just get some from you then haha!! I'm real excited to start the Marans adventure!

If I felt remotely comfortable shipping eggs I would send you some but I hate the whole process of shipped eggs. I am waiting for the day when all I hatch are my own. You won't be disappointed by these birds. There is the Black Copper Marans breeding to the SOP thread on here where all the die hards go to put their heads together. There is a guy in Australia who breeds them and is doing all kinds of interesting project colors with them so it's worth a look see.