Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[chrissyr]

ello I have an 18 week old marans hen and she seems to be acting weird. She has always been a loner and stays away from the others. Lately she has been getting worse. It seems like she can't support herself anymore. She is very wobbly. Is she sick? Or could it be a birth defect?

I would post your question here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures . I'm sure you will be asked for more input on symptoms too. Hope your girl feels better. And if you don't get a response, look on related threads and post there. Sounds like she may need your help. Just not sure myself.

 

[Broad St Farm]

ello I have an 18 week old marans hen and she seems to be acting weird. She has always been a loner and stays away from the others. Lately she has been getting worse. It seems like she can't support herself anymore. She is very wobbly. Is she sick? Or could it be a birth defect?

First off, separate her from the rest of the flock. Put her in a cage so she can rest. Has she laid yet? She may be bound. She may be getting something more serious. Look her over top to bottom. Check her vent. Any other symptoms? Wheezing, sneezing, heavy breathing, discharge, how's her stools? Post anything you can think of. May want to post this on the medical forum too. What's her diet like? It's also getting cold and damp out and makes birds more prone to sickness. Big thing is get her away from the other birds until you find out what's wrong.

 

[maryhysong]

The genetics of egg color have not been worked on enough for any research results to be available, unfortunately. Typically in Marans, eggs do not begin lighter for the first 3-4 months and then get darker, it's actually the opposite that's true. There are definitely some pullets that lay a lighter egg for the first 3 or 4 eggs, but they should very quickly get darker, they should not take 3-4 months to do so.

I've never tried using a blue egg laying male over a Marans female, but have always been curious about the results of that cross for olive eggers. I normally pick out a few pretty easter eggers each year and pop a female or two into my Marans pens for my olive eggers.

Well if I"m lucky I might have some comparisons in 6 months or so ;=) A broody is currently sitting on 2 dark BCM eggs fathered by my EE boy and two very blue EE eggs fathered by my BCM boys. Fingers crossed for at least a pullet of each

I do have some pullets laying now that are EExWelsummer and EExWelsummer/leghorn along with some EExEE. They are laying everything from pale pinkish like a BO, blue, green, pale olive and a very dark brown. Love playing with the EE, never know what you get next. Getting excited, going to put one of my BCM boys in with one of my BCM girls and will hopefully have chicks by Thanksgiving.

 

[ChickPooh]

Since we are on page 4,696 of this thread, I don't think it would be possible to find what I'm looking for page by page.

I'm relatively new to chickens, so I'm hoping someone can shed some light here:

I have 2 marans, one went broody back in July, came out of it and started laying again. In the beginning of September, the other one quit laying and started molting. 2 or 3 weeks later, the other one quit laying and started molting.

I've heard they are very sensitive birds, someone even told me that they quit laying and started molting during summer time just because they were moved from one pen to another...

I was planning to buy 2 more French Black Copper Marans and have a total of 4, but is it even worth it??? So far my experience says they are too unstable and not reliable when it comes to eggs. I live in the NW.

Can anyone tell me their experience?

Thanks you in advance!

 

[maryhysong]

Since we are on page 4,696 of this thread, I don't think it would be possible to find what I'm looking for page by page.

I'm relatively new to chickens, so I'm hoping someone can shed some light here:

I have 2 marans, one went broody back in July, came out of it and started laying again. In the beginning of September, the other one quit laying and started molting. 2 or 3 weeks later, the other one quit laying and started molting.

I've heard they are very sensitive birds, someone even told me that they quit laying and started molting during summer time just because they were moved from one pen to another...

I was planning to buy 2 more French Black Copper Marans and have a total of 4, but is it even worth it??? So far my experience says they are too unstable and not reliable when it comes to eggs. I live in the NW.

Can anyone tell me their experience?

Thanks you in advance!

My EE and Buff ORpingtons lay better than my Marans, tho I do have one that is laying several eggs a week and has been for awhile...I think it will just vary depending on the bird.

 

[ChickPooh]

I guess I just wasn't lucky when I got mine (not from hatchery, but from a breeder that hatched them from eggs - Bev Davis line).

 

[Zanna]

Since we are on page 4,696 of this thread, I don't think it would be possible to find what I'm looking for page by page.

I'm relatively new to chickens, so I'm hoping someone can shed some light here:

I have 2 marans, one went broody back in July, came out of it and started laying again. In the beginning of September, the other one quit laying and started molting. 2 or 3 weeks later, the other one quit laying and started molting.

I've heard they are very sensitive birds, someone even told me that they quit laying and started molting during summer time just because they were moved from one pen to another...

I was planning to buy 2 more French Black Copper Marans and have a total of 4, but is it even worth it??? So far my experience says they are too unstable and not reliable when it comes to eggs. I live in the NW.

Can anyone tell me their experience?

Thanks you in advance!

I am in the NW as well and have been raising/breeding BCM for about 5 years now. I also have Delawares and New Hampshires. The BCM are not as heavy layers as my other breeds but that is the price you pay for those lovely dark eggs. My birds are all individuals, not breed specific as far as broodiness and whether or not they keep laying when I move them to different breeder pens, back to free-range, etc. Some quit for a week or two, some just keep laying no matter what. Everyone seems to molt at about 1 year from hatch date and I hatch almost year round so there is always a batch going through molt it seems! If you want lots of eggs and birds that do not go broody, Marans are probably not the best breed for you but I certainly would not call mine sensitive.

 

[Anfan]

Since we are on page 4,696 of this thread, I don't think it would be possible to find what I'm looking for page by page.

I'm relatively new to chickens, so I'm hoping someone can shed some light here:

I have 2 marans, one went broody back in July, came out of it and started laying again. In the beginning of September, the other one quit laying and started molting. 2 or 3 weeks later, the other one quit laying and started molting.

I've heard they are very sensitive birds, someone even told me that they quit laying and started molting during summer time just because they were moved from one pen to another...

I was planning to buy 2 more French Black Copper Marans and have a total of 4, but is it even worth it??? So far my experience says they are too unstable and not reliable when it comes to eggs. I live in the NW.

Can anyone tell me their experience?

Thanks you in advance!

This is my experience with my BCMs for the past 4 years. They are all individuals when it comes to hens. To say they are sensitive would not be best explanation. It is true that they will take time to adjust to a move just like people. The main thing is these birds are by no means prolific layers. They can't be compared to any of the true layer breeds because they were bred as a dual purpose breed of meat and eggs. That being said, they are excellent at either, but they get the job done. If you're wanting consistent egg laying you really only have two options. Increase your flock size in hens or change to a layer breed. But only Marans have the true chocolate egg.

 

[Wynette]

It always surprises me to see folks say their Marans aren't good layers; mine are among the best I have. The only thing that frustrates me just a bit is that my flock tends to lay VERY late in the afternoon to early evening. That I find odd. I also have found that they most definitely prefer a very dark nest box. When I moved their nest boxes to a different location, which coincidentally was darker, I began to immediately notice more eggs each day. It's the only thing that had changed; that was 5 years ago, and I've left the nest box in that same location!

(Incidentally, here in the U.S. they are simply "Marans" - not "French Marans".)

 

[DMRippy]

It always surprises me to see folks say their Marans aren't good layers; mine are among the best I have.  The only thing that frustrates me just a bit is that my flock tends to lay VERY late in the afternoon to early evening.  That I find odd.  I also have found that they most definitely prefer a very dark nest box.  When I moved their nest boxes to a different location, which coincidentally was darker, I began to immediately notice more eggs each day.  It's the only thing that had changed; that was 5 years ago, and I've left the nest box in that same location!

(Incidentally, here in the U.S. they are simply "Marans" - not "French Marans".)

most of my birds lay in the afternoon. not sure why. I have a few that lay in the morning but not many. my Marans lay pretty well but if I was selling eating eggs I would not want them as my main birds.