Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[ChickPooh]

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".)

What do you mean by "Marans" and not "French Marans"?

Also, thanks for all responses and comments. I don't have my Marans as my main source of eggs. My main source is my entire flock!

I have room for 2 more hens and I was planning to get Marans, but was a bit concern if it would be a smart move or not.

I decided to go for it and get 2 more.
On a side note: guess what I found on my nesting box yesterday? YES, one Marans egg!!!!!!

 

[ChickPooh]

Last Summer I had only 4 laying hens and lots of chicks from eggs that I incubated from March to May.

Not counting my Marans, I now get about 5 eggs/week from my Barred Rock and 5 to 6 eggs from one of my Ameraucanas. My Sussex lays about 2 to 3 eggs/week. And the other girls are between 4 and 5 months, so they are still not laying.

Thanks for all your input once again. I guess I still have a lot to learn about Marans...

 

[Runawaylobster]

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.

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

Mine too.... they are always busy when i get home from work and i have to wait until later if i want to get all the eggs.

i find mine lay well if I don't move them around alot or upset their routine or add and subtract birds from the pen.. once they get into
their groove they lay fairly well..

 

[katie1015]

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.

She has never laid yet. Her stool is very irregular, some times solid, sometimes very loose. When she goes to step on her leg foot she just falls. I felt up and down her legs but didn't feel anything.

 

[Wynette]

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?

Katie, of course i could be wrong, but this sounds like it could be Mareks to me. It's quite prevalent in the wild bird population.

I hatched 200 Marans early this spring and fed them the way the French do free ranging and then finishing with grains and milk for a few weeks,,,,,,the meat has been wonderful,quite a bit different than we generally produce here in the states. I hatched them from eggs like these in the picture,which has been about average for our birds.

Lovely, lovely eggs!

What do you mean by "Marans" and not "French Marans"?

In the U.S., they are simply called "Marans," not "French Marans." Some folks believe that "French" Marans are fether shanked and English are now, but again, in the U.S., per the standard, all Marans should have feathered shanks. So, they are simply called Marans.

 

[katie1015]

Wynette, she Doesn't seem to act sick and the other birds in the flock aren't sick either?

 

[Wynette]

Well, when you say "act sick" - I'm not quite sure what you man. Mareks typically invovles them not being able to walk, and usually presents as one leg being much weaker than the other, until they get to a point where they are so weak they simply can't walk at all. It's not a disease where they will be sneezing or otherwise "acting sick." It's prevalent in the wild bird population, and is spread by feather dander. Not all birds will succumb.

 

[katie1015]

Oh ok I didn't realize. Darn that seems exactly like my Hen. Can we butcher it and eat it without it getting sick? My mom is wondering.

 

[lindz8504]

Two of my BCM boys are almost as big as their Bantam cochin momma!

 

[katie1015]

I have made the decision to humanely euthanize my only splash marans :'( I hope her last day was special :/