Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Wynette]

I am just starting with BCM,, and i am attempting to get some information regarding the breed, and i will show. Have shown dogs, cats and horses, and love competition. going forward I did get my eggs off the internet,,!! I am very happy with the seller and the chicks look like Marans.. HOW do you know that what u are buying is what you get!! What i mean is they all say they have Wade Jean, Bev Davis lines , but how do we really know, as someone just starting out I want to make sure I have pure breed birds, please any suggestions,, ??

There is no way to "really know" - there is no registry for pedigree in poultry like there is for dogs, cats, and horses.
The best thing to do, IMO, is learn. Read. Ask lots of questions. Know what you are looking at & know what you are looking for. BEST of luck!!

 

[Lkanawha]

Thank you for replying.

Your question about the authenticity of lineage, is one of my concerns also. I can only go on the info that was given when I purchased the eggs. That's why I said, "supposedly" when giving the lineage of my birds. Love to know the answer to this dilemma also!

 

[forgetful]

Hello everyone! First time marans owner here. I have hatchery quality cuckoo marans that are almost two weeks old. I ordered a bunch of pullets and a cockerel. I can definitely tell them apart by now, but I pose a question. Aren't cuckoo marans supposed to be slow to feather? I seem to recall reading something about the extra time needed to make barring. These chicks definitely don't have perfect barring, and I don't expect hatchery stock to, but I thought they would still feather slower than the wyandottes I ordered also. The cockerel only has half his wing feathers, and the pullets have full wing feathers and are starting to get shoulder and tail feathers. They have not had a lamp on them what so ever. The weather here doesn't get below 75 at night. Is it their adult feathers that come in more slowly? Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[BLT79]

Here is my splash girl!

she's beautiful! how old is she? I have one that is 12 weeks old. so now I have a good idea of what she will look like!

 

[BLT79]

My 12 week old BCM's have just about lost all their feathers on their feet. Does this mean they are mixed? because there was a possibility of being mixes. They had a few white feathers on their neck when we got them, and those are gone now.
I think this one is Penny

and this one is Nugget



our Splash Maran, who is named Shelly aka Mother Hen. awesome chicken.

 

[familypendragon]

Hello everyone! First time marans owner here. I have hatchery quality cuckoo marans that are almost two weeks old. I ordered a bunch of pullets and a cockerel. I can definitely tell them apart by now, but I pose a question. Aren't cuckoo marans supposed to be slow to feather? I seem to recall reading something about the extra time needed to make barring. These chicks definitely don't have perfect barring, and I don't expect hatchery stock to, but I thought they would still feather slower than the wyandottes I ordered also. The cockerel only has half his wing feathers, and the pullets have full wing feathers and are starting to get shoulder and tail feathers. They have not had a lamp on them what so ever. The weather here doesn't get below 75 at night. Is it their adult feathers that come in more slowly? Any insight would be appreciated.

I believe it is actually just the opposite - I remember reading that the difference in the feathering of (for example) a Barred Rock and Cuckoo Marans was that the Marans was fast feathering which broke up the barring pattern making it grow out in less even patterning - thus "cuckoo". Someone correct me if I am wrong - I am very new I do have a Feather legged cuckoo marans rooster I inherited and he's quite a looker (well to my untrained eye anyway, LOL!)

 

[DMRippy]

cuckoo is a tad different then barring. barring is best if they are slow feathering. barring is a on off gene. it literally turns the color on and off. if you look at cuckoo feathers it is not a stop and start of color. it is a white gray black then gray and white. I have not really studied it beyond that but they are differnet. I have not seen slow feathering in my cuckoo's.maybe a little slower than coppers but not like my heritage barred rocks.those poor guys don't fully feather for MONTHS AND MONTHS.

 

[familypendragon]

OK, what are these? http://www.ebay.com/itm/NPIP-FERTIL...701?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a30187555

 

[mtadkins5]

OK, what are these? http://www.ebay.com/itm/NPIP-FERTIL...701?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a30187555

WOW!

 

[chickendeal]

WOW!

x2 but my splash roo has very little copper some in his tail and hackels and by very little maybe 8 total feathers I've never seen a splash roo like that