Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[snowbird]

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Hi

I started the Marans Chicken Club two and a half years ago to try to get a group of people together to try and get the breed accepted by the APA. We are now a proper club with officers, constitution and byelaws. As I said in the previous posting we have egg shows and have two chicken shows that the officers attend a year. There are other chicken shows all over America that people have egg shows and show their birds. We have a free yahoo group where people can ask questions and also a club site where paid members do whatever members do. We also have a web site with quite a lot of information on Marans and the club.

When we first started we did have one or two people that were disruptive but they moved on and now it's a peaceful group for exchanging information about Marans. It is our club that is working with the APA to get the birds accepted. There is room for more than one club and we should all work together for the sake of this wonderful breed of chickens.

Bev

Bev, you say there is room for more than one club for the Marans. There will never be more than one STANDARD approved by the APA. If the other group shows in an APA approved show they will be covered by the Marans Standard approved by the APA in the USA.

 

[Debbi]

Some judges need more than "very very politely", more like a brick in the head!

I was showing a blue Doberman for a gal, when the judge asked me to leave the ring because the "color" was a DQ. ??? The color had been admitted to the standard like 10 YEARS before! When I brought that point up to the judge, she had to admit she hadn't read the SOP for that breed in probably 20 years! Maybe the APA needs to call in their judging staff for some seriously needed updates and refresher courses!

If you are going to JUDGE, you need to at least pretend you know what you are talking about!

In fact, that may be part of the problem! If people are told their birds aren't winning because they HAVE feathered shanks, by a judge, people MAY be breeding for clean shanks? Maybe it's not the public that needs to be educated, but the judges!

 

[snowbird]

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Debbi, my point was that a APA judge does not have to talk to you about a class of chickens before or after judgeing. So you will need to be very nice or forget about doing anything.

 

[Debbi]

Don,

Like I said in my above post, the APA needs to EDUCATE their judges. No wonder there is such inconcistancy within the breed, when judges are telling folks their correct birds, are wrong!

 

[snowbird]

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Debbi, was your Marans entered as French Marans or English Marans ? Until a Breed is approved how do you propose to educate the judges ?

 

[BevDavis]

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Hi

There is an American standard that we are breeding to, it's as much to the French standard as we could get. The process is that we write a standard to breed to and then there are a few hoops to jump before the birds are entered for a qualifying meet. If the birds get through the qualifying meet and are accepted by the APA they can then be shown in shows and can enter for the show prizes. The 4H kids will then be able to go further with their birds than the local shows. The qualifying meet for black coppers in in Newnan GA at the end of February 2011.

Keep you fingers cross folks

Bev

Thank you Bev,

Do you know why then that my Marans were DQ'd for having feathered shanks? If the proposed American Standard is as close to the French Standard as you could get, then wouldn't they need to have feathered shanks? These were your birds I was showing Bev and I know they meet the requirements!

Hi

The judges don't know what the standard is, that is why it's a good thing to take the standard along with you and hand it to the judge.

Bev

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
Thank you Bev,

Do you know why then that my Marans were DQ'd for having feathered shanks? If the proposed American Standard is as close to the French Standard as you could get, then wouldn't they need to have feathered shanks? These were your birds I was showing Bev and I know they meet the requirements!

Hi

The judges don't know what the standard is, that is why it's a good thing to take the standard along with you and hand it to the judge.

Bev

Bev, it would be much better to have the host club give the standard to the judge when telling him or her they were judging the Marans. When they start judging there should be no contact with exhibitors of any kind until judging is over.

 

[BevDavis]

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Hi

We haven't had a visit that I know of for over week but did find a hole that had been dug under the fence, a trap was placed over the hole.

I didn't get a picture sent to me but I have a young male and will post pictures of him when he is a little bigger. I have done most of my breeding now and the older birds are in moult. As soon as I have something to show you I will, just the wrong time of year for me at the moment.

Bev

 

[Debbi]

Don,

I don't show, and don't have anything yet to show. I'm just saying, if they are judging, they surely SHOULD know the SOP, or proposed SOP beforehand.


Bev,

Yes, I agree. But don't you think it would be easier for the APA to educate the judges PRIOR to shows so folks don't have to run down a judge, possibly offending them, by handing them an SOP? I have never been to a chicken show in my life, but if it's not feasible to put a "display rack" of copies of the SOP at your birds' cages, how are these judges ever going to get to know the breed? Few people have time to wait or track down a judge to politely "ask" them to read the standard. I think the improvement needs to be within "the system", (APA). Has anyone brought this problem to the APA's attention? If not, I think it should be.. JMHO

 

[BevDavis]

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Hi Randy

I would try and find a male from a line that consistently throws feather legged birds and breed him to your females. Eventually the recessive gene will be bred out if you only use that male for a few generations.

Bev