Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[snowbird]

Picture Please

 

[Cockatrice6420]

Picture Please

 

[GarCan]

My French Copper Maran Cockeral. 6 months old

 

[cuckoo mama]

I have two cuckoo marans. They just started laying yesterday. Their eggs are the same color as my silver laced Wyandottes but with some dark brown specks on them. My question is do they normally start off light and get darker as they lay more or are my girls just going to lay light brown eggs? I really hope they will get at least a little bit darker. I know I have heard that the cuckoos tend to lay a lighter color than other marans but I was under the impression that they would be darker than a regular brown egg layer. Thank you so much for any help.

 

[scflock]

I have two cuckoo marans. They just started laying yesterday. Their eggs are the same color as my silver laced Wyandottes but with some dark brown specks on them. My question is do they normally start off light and get darker as they lay more or are my girls just going to lay light brown eggs? I really hope they will get at least a little bit darker. I know I have heard that the cuckoos tend to lay a lighter color than other marans but I was under the impression that they would be darker than a regular brown egg layer. Thank you so much for any help.

That is pretty typical of my cuckoo eggs, and they never get much darker. I bought them before I knew all marans weren't the same. For the really dark eggs you will need black coppers. My cuckoo marans are my favorite all around birds. Great dispositions, reliable layers, superb rooster, but for the "chocolate" eggs I had to get some BCM

 

[scflock]

This is a typical carton at my house: Top 2 and second row left are black coppers. Second row right and one below it are cuckoo marans. The rest are hybrid layers and EEs.



And early in the cycle the BCM will lay these

 

[sophiaw00]

@Alexandra33 I figured out why Daisy looks so much like Eperny...turns out she's a splash marans and not a blue andalusian which was a little disappointing since I love BA so much. It's okay though, more brown eggs for me & I still have my other blue andalusian so I'm happy

 

[Alexandra33]

@Alexandra33 I figured out why Daisy looks so much like Eperny...turns out she's a splash marans and not a blue andalusian which was a little disappointing since I love BA so much. It's okay though, more brown eggs for me & I still have my other blue andalusian so I'm happy

Although initially the discovery might be a slight letdown, you will be very happy with Daisy, sophiaw00.

She is going bless you with dark brown eggs for your cartons. Eperny is now squatting, so her first egg is coming soon; I'm so excited that I don't know what to do with myself!

Anyway, how did you find out that your girl was a Marans?

As a side note, Daisy truly does look like a carbon copy of my Eperny in that picture. Lovely!

-Alexandra3

 

[sophiaw00]

I found out the rooster I bought wasn't the breed I was told and since I bought these girls from the same source, I wanted to verify the breeds of my girls. She is the only one that was incorrect luckily, BUT it was an honest mistake. The lady I bought them from was wondering why she had one more andalusian than she was supposed too and even offered to trade Daisy for another andalusian that was already laying (since I still haven't gotten any eggs from my 24 week olds) but I declined...Daisy has made her way into my heart and she's here to stay lol. I've always known she didn't have the andalusian body shape (she is fuller, more hefty), I just assumed she was a bad representation of the breed but now I'm pretty positive she's a splash marans because she really does look JUST LIKE Eperny (btw, I love that name). Congrats on your soon-to-be first egg!




The blue bird is my other andalusian, Dixie Chick, who is very obviously a blue andalusian. She is by far my prettiest bird...I mean just look at her!

 

[Alexandra33]

I found out the rooster I bought wasn't the breed I was told and since I bought these girls from the same source, I wanted to verify the breeds of my girls. She is the only one that was incorrect luckily, BUT it was an honest mistake. The lady I bought them from was wondering why she had one more andalusian than she was supposed too and even offered to trade Daisy for another andalusian that was already laying (since I still haven't gotten any eggs from my 24 week olds) but I declined...Daisy has made her way into my heart and she's here to stay lol. I've always known she didn't have the andalusian body shape (she is fuller, more hefty), I just assumed she was a bad representation of the breed but now I'm pretty positive she's a splash marans because she really does look JUST LIKE Eperny (btw, I love that name). Congrats on your soon-to-be first egg!




The blue bird is my other andalusian, Dixie Chick, who is very obviously a blue andalusian. She is by far my prettiest bird...I mean just look at her!

However odd the situation, Daisy is absolutely gorgeous, so I completely don't blame you for not wanting to trade her back. All I can figure is that she was meant to have a good home with you. After all, they do have a way of becoming a part of our lives, don't they?

Dixie Chick is so stunningly beautiful!

If you don't mind, could you please let me know how she made it through the winter? I'm seriously considering purchasing a BA in the next order, but I will drop the idea if they truly are an anti-cold weather breed. Blue chickens add something special to your flock, which is why I had to have a couple to complete our "color collection" (an Olive Egger and a Blue Ameraucana).

Thank you for complementing Eperny's name, Sophia. I love Daisy's, too, because it sounds the way she looks, happy and cute.

My mother actually christened Eperny after a city in France that she visited once.

-Alexandra33