Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Debbi]

Kim, Have you ever just used one as a roaster? Are the cockerels that age too tough for eating that way?

 

[DMRippy]

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Most folks on this site seem to have Black Coppers & Blue Coppers. More people have been getting into Birchens it seems. The rarest Marans is one that meets all the Standards of Perfection and lays super dark eggs.
There is a lot of knowledge on this site and a lot of pics to look at.
Welcome!

 

[DMRippy]

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[pinkchick]

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Yes and it was stringy and tough, however, I did some reading and asking around and it was suggested to me that I try penning them up in a small area where they cannot get tons of exercise for about 10 days prior to butcher and they are more tender. I think that it works better on cockerels that are less than a year old or even younger, but I haven't found anything yet that works better on birds older than a year 'cept boiling.

 

[Debbi]

Thanks Kim. I have no problem with Tacos, Enchiladas, or Soup!

 

[rancher hicks]

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Bev Davis has just about all. I don't think White are rare per se, it's just that White is not a popular color. I have Dels and they are dirty looking due to wet weather. Like a white care White birds show the dirt. My dels are great layers but not much to look at in the spring and fall when there is mud.

Seems to me Marans are kept for the Darkness of egg color and Black Coppers lay the darkest , I've read. I don't hear much mentioned of "per annum" eggs, nor "meat quality". When folks complain of no eggs , it could be due to the line being bred for other qualities than what we really keep chickens for.

It also seems to me that pretty birds are like fashion models. Nice to look at but not much use otherwise.

(of course there are exceptions in fashion models)

I chose birchens cuz I thought they were rare but they don't lay eggs as dark as BCMs. I think the web site for the Marans club says they are not yet recognized in France. I won't keep an entire flock of anything really, except my Dels I suppose.

They are pretty decent layers when they are in full production... and if one has the time, space and extra funding to raise them up to full maturity they are excellent meat birds. I cooked an 8 mos. old cockerel a couple weeks ago for my Halloween Party he was a very nice sized bird. Their dark meat reminds me of dark meat on a turkey and it is delicious. That one bird made 3 very large pans of enchiladas. Yummy!

Edited to add: I believe it says on the MCCUSA that they can lay on average up to 200 egg per year.

DW makes some really good Enchiladas. I'll have to tell her. Thanks,

Rancher

 

[Debbi]

For those of you here that may have missed the discussion on "Carnation Combs in Marans", I offer up these pics of a few of my birds that are expressing this problem. These birds will all fall into the above mentioned, Taco, Enchilada, and Soup category!

This is a much wider problem than is being talked about. Please be critical in assessing the combs of your roos AND pullets/hens. Hens with flopped combs tend to hide the problem, and also hide side sprigs as well. These faults will spread like wildfire if it goes unchecked! Thankfully, I learned what it was fairly early on, so I only wasted a year's time.

I did not have time to re-organize the pics in the link, so to get the gist of the remarks, view the pics from RIGHT to LEFT.

http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb161/qinghaus/Carnation combs in Marans/

 

[RedBugPoultry]

Just want to share my ebay mistake with people. Yes, this is what happens if you do not do your homework! I just hatched out another batch from another breeder and the chick not only look different but have a totally different personality.
This first cockerel shown was very aggressive as a day old chick and badly pecked several other chick's feet and tails.

These 2 little cockerels are the only ones that are showing the extra points at this time but since all 7 came from the same eggs I will be putting the hens in the layer's pen and the roos will probably be culled very soon. I really do not even want to spend the time raising them to eat at this point.

 

[RedBugPoultry]

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Funny we were posting these at almost the same time!

 

[rancher hicks]

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I believe Bev's site mentions sprigs in one type of marans I don't remember which but you can read up on it.