Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Ivywoods]

I just picked up the darkest marans egg yet.

I don't know what it is on the color scale, but I'm sure it is way up there. I'm very satisfied with it. I'm still waiting for my marans egg color chart to arrive. I only ordered it a couple days ago, so it may be a while before it arrives.

The more I read, the more critical eye I use when I look at my birds. I thought all of my hens were pretty good, but I'm beginning to see that they are not. My roosters have some very nice points, but I am not totally satisfied with any of them. The one with the best comb has too much copper. The one with the best color has a roach back. The one with the best confirmation has a bad comb. It seems each of them has some fault or another.

I may just have to find a really nice rooster to buy to put in with whatever hen or hens I keep for breeding.

 

[snowbird]

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I would judge her by what she laid during her peak lay cycle until molt and the duration of which she laid an acceptable egg consistantly.

I guage them by the color of their 1st 24 eggs and how long they will lay one color consistantly until molt, but it has to be a 4 or better. I have even set and incubated some of the lighter pathetic eggs that they have given me toward the end of their lay cycle, those birds are now laying (Bills dtr) and I am not at all unhappy with the results. I will not use a hen that will lay lighter than a 4- PERIOD! I dont' like setting the lighter eggs but if I have a good bird and I have crossed her with a nice dark egg gened rooster I am more than willing to give it a try.

As Debbi said......they have to lay at least a 4 to even be considered a MARANS. So, in my mind.........there is NO wrong egg color to be found between the numbers of 4-9.

I just checked the French marans site and see nothing about the #4 or better being mandatory. Sure would be nice to hear about where this started.

 

[pinkchick]

Don~

This is the way it has been explained to me from the get go. Even Bev I believe has it on her website somewhere stating the same thing. In order to be considered a Marans, egg color has to a 4 or better. Who knows where it started, but someone, something, somewhere made some people come to that decision and the rest is history. If someone hadn't come up that # system to set the Marans and other dark egg layers apart from other breeds because of their special traits (egg color), we wouldn't be here! Where it started doesn't matter but it is what it is and also the very reason that you yourself only set eggs that are no less than a #6.

Ohhhhhh......and please don't take me as being crabby in this post as that is not my intention and I assure you I am not.

 

[pinkchick]

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ummmmm.......pictures?????? You can't tease us like that!

Congratulations!

 

[Chef]

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Good luck on finding someone to sell you that bird your looking for. If someone has that bird your talking about I highly doubt it's for sale. I thought the same thing about 2 years ago and figured out there is only 1 way to find that bird you speak of and that is the old hatch and cull method. I have bought lots of "good" stock and it is still a major work in progress as it is for most of us. Keep that eye as critical as possible and hatch as many dark eggs as you can. I wish you the best of luck!


Chef

 

[geebs]

A hen CAN lay a #3 in the cycle and still be considered a marans... But that is an exception to her great lay of #4 or better.. They must demonstrate that they lay #4 or darker through the lay cycle to be considered a marans... Otherwise they are a marans type chicken.... not a true marans.. That is the French standard. If my #7 consistant layer threw out a 3 because of stress or changes... I wouldnt' cull her... that would explain the exception. She certainly demonstrates the the #4 or better...

One MUST start with the egg color to be a True marans.

 

[snowbird]

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Pink, when I see something that states someting is mandatory, it makes me ask like everyone else SAYS WHO.

 

[snowbird]

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geebs, I looked fast like on the French site and did not see anything about the #4 egg on the scale, what section is it in ? The only importance of knowing is that we know that it is down in writing somewhere. I use the #6 for my hatching.

 

[geebs]

I will find it for you... It is on the french site....It is an expansive site so I can see how it could be missed..

 

[ruth]

Well....you all know me by now.....I love to ask questions that seem to push the boundaries but sometimes I just can't help myself. Sometimes I read the "gospel" truth on breeding BCMs and it just doesn't make sense to my little pea brain.

Since you are all on the discussion of egg color, and many times I've read how most of you only set the "darkest" eggs......

Question is:

If you have your birds paired up and the hen lays anything from a 4 to a 15

- why set only the 15? In other words, if it's the same mama and the same daddy wouldn't the chick have the same DNA/genetic makeup regardless of which shade of egg it came from?????