Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[desertmarcy]

I'm sorry, I meant the, like, body type and comb and everything.

The only faults me and my friend could notice seemed to be that the tail looked like it was held a bit high and the head shape was off, but we are both beginners to the show bird world, so we are probably incorrect.

Yes you are correct, he does appear to have a squirrel tail which would be a disqualification if that variety was in the SOP. One of the females is also holding her tail high. I don't know how old the male is, but they should also have a nice wide bowl-shaped breast. His breast is very shallow. I can't comment on the color of the birds since I don't keep that variety. Just some thoughts, since you are a beginner to show birds, get a breed that is in the SOP so you can show and compete. Get a breed/variety that does not have a complicated color pattern that is much easier to breed correctly. The late and much loved Bob Blosl, over on the Large Heritage Fowl thread, used to post all the time about how beginners wanted fancy colored birds that are hard to breed right. Then they would get frustrated after a few years and give up. Since you are talking show birds, I assume you want to breed them right.

 

[DavidILoveYou22]

Alright. We were looking at some Black Coppers, but my friend liked these better. One of the reasons that she wanted to get these is because she has to get her mom completely on board, and her mom is all about the "pretty ones."
And yes, we do want to breed them right, although right now we are still experimenting with which breeds are easiest to find, which we like, and might not stick with this particular breed. We mainly just want to get some birds to show this season. How well do you think the offspring might do in a show?

 

[MidNight Wings]

Yes you are correct, he does appear to have a squirrel tail which would be a disqualification if that variety was in the SOP. One of the females is also holding her tail high. I don't know how old the male is, but they should also have a nice wide bowl-shaped breast. His breast is very shallow. I can't comment on the color of the birds since I don't keep that variety. Just some thoughts, since you are a beginner to show birds, get a breed that is in the SOP so you can show and compete. Get a breed/variety that does not have a complicated color pattern that is much easier to breed correctly. The late and much loved Bob Blosl, over on the Large Heritage Fowl thread, used to post all the time about how beginners wanted fancy colored birds that are hard to breed right. Then they would get frustrated after a few years and give up. Since you are talking show birds, I assume you want to breed them right.

We really are pretty new to anything show quality. (I'm the friend)
Do you have any suggestions? We thought about a solid color cochin because it would be easier to breed true.
Our biggest problem has been finding truly show quality birds, most owners seem to think any 'pretty' bird is show quality.

 

[desertmarcy]

We really are pretty new to anything show quality. (I'm the friend)
Do you have any suggestions? We thought about a solid color cochin because it would be easier to breed true.
Our biggest problem has been finding truly show quality birds, most owners seem to think any 'pretty' bird is show quality.

Yes, spend hours reading the Large Heritage Fowl thread from start to finish. Subscribe to The Poultry Press where the show people advertise their birds. Join the APA. Buy the APA SOP book and study it, especially the first 40 pages or so. Any bird that is not in the APA SOP can only win Best of Variety. They cannot compete beyond that for say, Best American or Best Continental or Reserve Champion or Show Champion. Find out where the shows are in CA, go to them and talk with the breeders of birds you are interested in. Breeders love to talk about their birds. There are a lot of beautiful breeds out there. Some of them have been lost to the big hatcheries and not worked with seriously and so need to be bred up (improved). For a beginner, a breed that is already in pretty good shape gives you a much better start with much less culling needed to get some good show birds. The Marans are not in that category. They need a lot of work still. The offspring are still all over the place, I don't care who you get them from. You need to grow out lots of birds to pick a few. It is very expensive and requires a lot of pen space and time. A good bloodline will give you more consistency in the offspring with less culling. A lot of it boils down to what you personally like. If a colorful bird is the only thing that will flip your switches, then go for it. Just know what you are getting into ahead of time. If you do not enjoy the birds you get, then what is the point. Different breeds have different personalities, too, just like dogs and cats. Some are calmer, some more flighty. That is where talking to breeders helps. Find out what the advantages and the disadvantages are to each breed you are contemplating. If you get a breed and find you don't like it, not to worry. They are edible

Nothing says you have to continue. Pick a different breed and start again.

 

[DavidILoveYou22]

Alright, thank you so much.

 

[KsKingBee]

We hatched about 50 BCM a few days ago and we are seeing some blatant differences in some of the chicks. We acquired the eggs from a friend that has had his BCMs for a few years now and he does not have any other kind of chicken on his property. His original stock came from a breeder/hatchery back East, supposedly they were about the only breeders around way back then.

One of the chicks has no white, clean legs, and the legs are black, no white toes. Should we expect there to be a few throwbacks from time to time? And is this chick of any breeding value, perhaps to balance heavily feathered mates? Or should we just cull it out?

There are a couple of other chicks that have clean legs, a couple with very little white, and one with a little more white than most, but the one above is our main concern.

Thanks for any information you can share.

 

[desertmarcy]

We hatched about 50 BCM a few days ago and we are seeing some blatant differences in some of the chicks. We acquired the eggs from a friend that has had his BCMs for a few years now and he does not have any other kind of chicken on his property. His original stock came from a breeder/hatchery back East, supposedly they were about the only breeders around way back then.

One of the chicks has no white, clean legs, and the legs are black, no white toes. Should we expect there to be a few throwbacks from time to time? And is this chick of any breeding value, perhaps to balance heavily feathered mates? Or should we just cull it out?

There are a couple of other chicks that have clean legs, a couple with very little white, and one with a little more white than most, but the one above is our main concern.

Thanks for any information you can share.

There are still a lot of inconsistencies in this breed so yes, you can expect that. If you are planning to breed to the SOP, then cull any that have clean legs. My stock all have feathered legs yet when I single mated this winter, one hen threw a large % of clean legged chicks. It was only one hen and if I had not single mated and marked the eggs, I would not have known that and might have thought it to be random. I simple stopped breeding her and moved her to the layer pen. From reading other posts, the chicks that are solid black do not turn out as nice.

 

[KsKingBee]

Thank you! From a previous hatch we have one 12 week old, may be a roo not sure, that has golden neck feathers. So far the only color is on the neck but the comb looks roo to me. I think the hardest decisions are the ones we make to cull.

 

[chrissyr]

Marans Egg questions: It seems all of my marans lay eggs that are hard to clean. The moment they are laid, the shavings stick to them like crazy!! I can't even wash all of the little shavings off. Is there a better product to use to line shavings? Any tricks you guys have? When I give them away, the don't look clean. Thank you

 

[MandyFitch]

What color eyes should are correct for a BCM? Also, does BCM mean specifically black, and if yes, is there an abbreviation for the blueCM?

Thanks!