Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Frizzll Farm]

Hello a few weeks I added three French Wheaten Marans hens and one Roo to my flock. They are looking great but what age should I expect them to start laying? I know with pure bred heavier birds it could take longer then the Red sexlinks I am used too! Thanks in advance!

 

[8machines]

If you are in the U.S. - they are Marans, and they have feathered shanks.

If you are in the U.S., and are referring to a Marans that has NO feathers on the shanks, it is not considered a Marans, in the harshest form of interpretation of the SOP.  A clean-legged "Marans" would be disqualified in a show.  That is not to say that a clean-legged Marans is not helpful for breeding - on the contrary. If I had clean-shanked hens with very good type and a cock bird that was HEAVILY feathered, I would put them together, in hopes that the offspring would be a "happy medium."

She is lovely, but is not a Marans.  She has a partridge pattern, white on her lobes, eyes are much too dark; all indicating she is not a purebred Marans.  Her hackles almost appear Wellsummer-ish.  she is probalby a Welsummer or Marans cross.

I hope to get about 10 chicks this next spring from you if you send to CA. JG''s, Marins, and the Plymouth. I will contact you on your websight.

 

[Turkeytruff]

Could I please get as much feedback as possible from those of you that incubate Maran eggs. I've got 70 on day 12 now and have heard they are tricky, I know I can't see anything but the air sack when candling. Is there anything special I should be doing? Thanks and hoping for some good info.

Hi Dave I only read this sporadically, just crazy busy right now, having culled 6 roosters and one huge turkey yesterday. Looks like no one is answering you so I'll have a go. Today must be about day 17/18, air sacs should be bigger and you should definitely be able to see them with a good strong candler. here's an example: http://maransofamericaclub.com/incubation.php
Fingers crossed all goes well for those eggs!

Wynette ,

Thanks for the Good timely info ....... i agree completely and have seen over the years exactly what you are saying and Your corrections (makes me smile everytime i see the word French used as part of their name) .
I literally have to change my feed to get my Marans to stop laying ....... i've shared many times what and how i feed for laying and health but just about everytime i am told this is not the way the scientific specialist say it's to be done and then they proceed to tell me how to feed correctly . I stopped after several times of being scolded . (smile)

Thanks again Wynette ,
Shannon

Please, please, please can you PM me or put up on the website what you feed your Marans? I would LOVE to know what your amazing feed is

 

[Wynette]

Shannon, goodness, no one should be "scolding" you for how you feed....it's a personal choice! Many folks think "good feeding" needs to entail organics, fresh greens daily, lots of free range, mixing your own feed...I think most people are shocked when they hear me say I feed commercial feed and give occasional dark, leafy greens, but rarely free range my flocks. I simply can't. I work, and we have PLENTY of fox on our property. I know that if I free ranged my birds, I'd lose some every day and I'm just not willing to do so.

My Marans are currently still laying, and are excellent layers. They are gearing down for the season right now, though. Many folks give supplemental light to force continued laying in the 'off' season; I do not do that. They need their rest to recuperate from a long season of laying & prepare for the next. However, anyone who does add light, I do not judge them. I just agree to disagree with them. To each his own.

dvoice, I thought I had replied to your incubation question, but perhaps I didn't. I don't do a thing differently with my Marans as far as incubation. I incubate them right alongside any other breed, with the same temps & humidity, and have no problems hatching them.

midnight - holy heck, those are some names! I can't imagine how you keep them all straight! I named my very first hatchery batch of chicks many years ago, but haven't done so since then. My husband, however, seems to think it's necessary to name the cock birds, so I let him do that. Mostly, their names are characteristic of things they do...my splash Giant cock bird is named "Thumper" because when he hops down from the roost (sidebar: for folks with heritage-bred Jersey Giants - please do not use roosts! It is a bit of a story about why this cock bird has one), he makes a very loud THUMP! My Black Copper Marans cock bird is simply "Noisy" as he's that one very special cock bird that thinks it's his duty to crow all day and night. My Blue Giant male is "Grumpy" as he gets annoyed each time I enter his pen.

 

[shotzy007]

Patsy Cline my Black Copper Maran, takes FOREVER to have her egg, sometimes I think she is too busy "controlling". the others around her.

I too feed Layena, with some greens and cottage cheese for dessert.

 

[MandyFitch]

I accidentally posted this elsewhere but I think I best get your opinions!

Last time I checked, I was told pretty unconditionally that all three looked like roos. They were four weeks old, I think, all with early comb development. Two have got big pink combs now so that's done but one has a comb that hasn't gotten any larger and it's yellowish. The color in these photos may not be right because I used an iPhone and I adjusted the shots so you could see the birds. All three are really unfriendly and very hard to photograph. I'm just focused on this one:




Here are all three, freaking out and hiding behind my BO. The only I'm hopeful about is on the left. The color in the shot is off because they are in a bad spot and I had to adjust the exposure, etc.

 

[DavidILoveYou22]

Hello everyone. My best friend and I have been searching for hatching eggs from one of the breeds we were looking for for our first show quality-birds (Marans, Ameraucanas, Cochins, or D'Uccles), and we eventually ran across an Ebay auction for Golden Cuckoo Maran eggs, right here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Golden-Cuck...63783?&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&autorefresh=true

Can anyone look at the pictures and tell me how good the birds are? We read over the SOP, and compared, and they seemed good, but since we know practically nothing of the birds and neither of us has ever even seen one outside of pictures on the internet, I figured a few more opinions would be good. Thank you very much!

 

[desertmarcy]

Hello everyone. My best friend and I have been searching for hatching eggs from one of the breeds we were looking for for our first show quality-birds (Marans, Ameraucanas, Cochins, or D'Uccles), and we eventually ran across an Ebay auction for Golden Cuckoo Maran eggs, right here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Golden-Cuck...63783?&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&autorefresh=true

Can anyone look at the pictures and tell me how good the birds are? We read over the SOP, and compared, and they seemed good, but since we know practically nothing of the birds and neither of us has ever even seen one outside of pictures on the internet, I figured a few more opinions would be good. Thank you very much!

How can there be a SOP for Golden Cuckoo Marans when they aren't in the Standard yet? Only the Wheaten and Black Copper Marans are in the APA SOP. Or are you talking about a proposed SOP?

 

[DavidILoveYou22]

I'm sorry, I meant the, like, body type and comb and everything.

The only faults me and my friend could notice seemed to be that the tail looked like it was held a bit high and the head shape was off, but we are both beginners to the show bird world, so we are probably incorrect.

 

[bbishop]

This is my maran rooster