Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[desertmarcy]

I see I must have missed your post earlier. I know we had a conversation, I believe it was on here about how the leg feathering worked. I'm not sure I could direct you to it tho as its been quite a while back. My philosophy on making decisions what to cull is about what you want to choose to work on. If finances are a concern, where you are feeding the organic feed, I'm sure its a killer, I would sell the birds off as layers and in general select for the birds that are closest to what you would want ultimately.

I already culled the clean legged ones, do you mean cull or sell off the siblings that have good feathered feet since I don't know if they will throw clean legged offspring eventually?

 

[gilavina]

I already culled the clean legged ones, do you mean cull or sell off the siblings that have good feathered feet since I don't know if they will throw clean legged offspring eventually?

I think you did the right thing in culling those with clean legs. I wouldn't cull a feather legged bird for the fact that a sibling of theirs was cleanlegged, since leg feathering isn't an exact science and can produce birds with a variety of different feathering.

 

[rissamdc]

In some places it is good for the marans to have feathered legs. In other places it is not.

 

[Chickielady]

Marans are from France and should be as they were designed to be, which is feather shanked & toed.
If you want another bird for another area, than get one.

I for one love to see heritage breeds be what they were designed to be.

They work well that way.......and if you decide you want a different bird for your climes, than either creat one, or get another, but do not bastardize a beautiful breed..........make your own

 

[flgardengirl]

The English breed theirs without feathered shanks. The French and American standards call for feathered shanks so that is what people in those places breed to.
However, if they are your birds and you aren't trying to breed to the standard or sell birds that are being claimed as bred to the APA standard and just making a nice layer flock of dark egg layers for your yard then breed how you want, since you pay the feed bill lol.

I don't cull a non feathered shanked bird if it has everything else going for it and especially if I know that one of its parents has feathered shanks. Keep breeding the offspring back to a feathered shanked mate long enough and they will mostly all eventually end up feathered.
I don't say always, or never because you never know what can pop up in life Usually, if you mark the answer always or never on an exam question, it will be wrong LOL! Just goes to show you...

It really just depends on if it is a bird worth working with and what your particular breeding plans are and what you have to work with. If you only have limited good stock of a certain variety, and/or if it is hard to find good stock of that variety, then you need to set up a plan to get what you want from what you have.

 

[desertmarcy]

The English breed theirs without feathered shanks. The French and American standards call for feathered shanks so that is what people in those places breed to.
However, if they are your birds and you aren't trying to breed to the standard or sell birds that are being claimed as bred to the APA standard and just making a nice layer flock of dark egg layers for your yard then breed how you want, since you pay the feed bill lol.

I don't cull a non feathered shanked bird if it has everything else going for it and especially if I know that one of its parents has feathered shanks. Keep breeding the offspring back to a feathered shanked mate long enough and they will mostly all eventually end up feathered.
I don't say always, or never because you never know what can pop up in life Usually, if you mark the answer always or never on an exam question, it will be wrong LOL! Just goes to show you...

It really just depends on if it is a bird worth working with and what your particular breeding plans are and what you have to work with. If you only have limited good stock of a certain variety, and/or if it is hard to find good stock of that variety, then you need to set up a plan to get what you want from what you have.

Very good advice. Last year, I hatched out a lot of chicks---over a hundred--and NONE of them came out clean-legged, and all my original stock had feathered legs, which is what puzzles me this year with that one hen that is throwing clean legs. Ah, nature! Beautiful and unpredictable.

 

[rissamdc]

These are my Black Copper Marans.

 

[Peachesneggs]

Looking for Black Copper Maran Hens ready to lay or at least started pullets. I am in NE Indiana, near Fort Wayne. Anyone close who has any for sale.

 

[Peachesneggs]

Where are you located? I am looking for Black Copper Maran hens. I am in NE Indiana near Fort Wayne. Do you have any to sell?

 

[jeepgirl13]

Just a couple of questions from someone new at chickening. Lol. I adopted two blue copper maran rooster a couple days ago. They are three months old and very sweet. However, after reading a couple other threads on maran roos I have noticed people saying they get mean. I know any rooster can be mean, but is it a genetic tendency for these birds to get aggressive? My second question is are these birds naturally thin? The breast bones on these two are protruding. The feathers stick out around them. They also feel very boney. Other than being thin they look and act very healthy. A little timid, but healthy. Also is there anything special I need to know about this breed? Common health issues or special diets? Any input is appreciated. Thanks to everyone in advance.