Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[seabreeze]

Thank you Village for answering!! I don't think I'll ever get the color genetics down on chickens!!

Are there any defining cholor traits on the BCMs that enhance darker egg laying? What type of BCMs lay the really truly, dark chocolate colored eggs? Most of the eggs I've seen usually are more terra cotta in color but the dark brown I've never seen. Thanks.

 

[VillageChicken]

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That's like dejavu... someone else on this thread had odd colors pop out in mixed golden and silver cuckoo chicks. Same source maybe?
IMHO I would not buy eggs from someone who has golden and silver cuckoos mixed in the same pen. They don't breed true in many cases, and your chicks can be a genetic mystery as well.

 

[VillageChicken]

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I don't believe there are any feather color associations with dark egg laying hens. The very dark chocolate colored eggs are usually just at the beginning of a hen's cycle. I have one BC hen who is very dark - mostly black, with a little copper, and her egg is darker, more chocolate colored than the other hens I have who lay a more terra cotta color. She's different in a lot of ways - she's the only one to go broody on me (she's sitting on a clutch right now). Clearly her genetic makeup is different. But I don't think she lays dark eggs because she's so dark herself. Folks on this thread also have mossy birds with too much brown mottling that lay nice dark eggs.

The dark egg genes are elusive. I think I've read that there are 14 potential genes that affect egg shell color. So it's just a matter of breeding the right combination. This thread is a good place to be though for finding people with integrity who have birds laying the dark ones.

 

[math ace]

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I've been wishing for a good broody for over a year now . .. Still waiting. Only had one BCM even think about it and she was a HORRID mother.

No EEs. No SPECKLED SUSSEX, NO PARTRIDGE ROCKS, NO WYANDOTTES, NO LEGHORNS have ever gone broody at my house.
Nothing at my house wants to settle down for motherhood. These are strickly PARTY GIRLS . . .

 

[math ace]

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That was soooo sweet VillageChicken

 

[jebrab]

Hi all,

I hatched 13 FBCM chicks yesterday and a few have a rusty brownish tint to them. The rest are correct..black with white and feathered legs. I am by no means an expert on Marans..but feel from this post, many of you are...so...is this typical or did I get taken?

Thanks so much for the info. As soon as I can take them out of the hatcher today, I will take pics and post them.
Thanks for the info!!!

Jane

 

[math ace]

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Don't worry about the brownish tint yet. They haven't got their will feathers in yet and many many many things are going to change over the next 8 weeks.
Don't judge the color of anything except legs and toes right now.

 

[Ivywoods]

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I don't think the brownish tint is anything to worry about. A few of my chicks looked like that, and one even had a very tiny brown spot on it's head. They all feathered out correctly. Maybe that is just a little of the copper showing early.

 

[snowbird]

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I don't think the brownish tint is anything to worry about. A few of my chicks looked like that, and one even had a very tiny brown spot on it's head. They all feathered out correctly. Maybe that is just a little of the copper showing early.

If one is only looking for marans to lay eggs and nothing else the brown down is fine. Now if you are breeding to SOP they will not work as when these brown tint chicks grow up they will have brownish colored lower half body feathers. We really need the black lower body feathers. Don

 

[jebrab]

Thanks everyone! What exactly do I look for with legs and toes? I appreciate all the help!
Jane