Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[craychixlay]

I know, it does. But then the comb kind of stopped growing. It's the same one with the slower feather development.

 

[KerryP]

Hi kmfehrer2,

Mine definitely turned out to be a male. I wish I would have snapped a quick photo before I brought him to his new home this last Friday, but his comb was nearly double the size of female chicks who were older than he, and his waddles were coming out strongly. Also, he was nearly double the height of the females. You know with hens you can barely ever see their knees... but this guy, you could see his knees and probably about 1-2" above them. Point being - incredibly long legs. He was hands down a roo.

 

[kmfehrer2]

Hi kmfehrer2,

Mine definitely turned out to be a male. I wish I would have snapped a quick photo before I brought him to his new home this last Friday, but his comb was nearly double the size of female chicks who were older than he, and his waddles were coming out strongly. Also, he was nearly double the height of the females. You know with hens you can barely ever see their knees... but this guy, you could see his knees and probably about 1-2" above them. Point being - incredibly long legs. He was hands down a roo.

Awe that's too bad, I'm sure he will grow up to be a beautiful rooster! Did you have any more of the birchen/BCM cross? I noticed you're from pdx! I wonder if you got yours from the same place as I did?! Got my "girl" from a lady in pdx about a month ago!

 

[KerryP]

Awe that's too bad, I'm sure he will grow up to be a beautiful rooster! Did you have any more of the birchen/BCM cross? I noticed you're from pdx! I wonder if you got yours from the same place as I did?!

Got my "girl" from a lady in pdx about a month ago!

I'm actually heading over to pick up to more birchen/BCM crosses and 2 Lavendar Americanas from her tonight. She's in SE, and she's pretty great. Do you use her Union Point feed?

 

[kmfehrer2]

I'm actually heading over to pick up to more birchen/BCM crosses and 2 Lavendar Americanas from her tonight.  She's in SE, and she's pretty great. Do you use her Union Point feed?

Cool! Yeah I do actually! It's great stuff! Suzanne is a wonderful lady. I've gotten BCMs, the birchen cross, lavenders, and Olive eggers from her! So far all of mine are girls (fingers still crossed!) Hoping you get girls!

 

[KerryP]

Cool! Yeah I do actually! It's great stuff! Suzanne is a wonderful lady. I've gotten BCMs, the birchen cross, lavenders, and Olive eggers from her! So far all of mine are girls (fingers still crossed!) Hoping you get girls!

Suzanne is pretty darn amazing - I agree!! Keep your fingers crossed for me - I need girls!

 

[littledog]

Hello, could any of you Marans folks point me in the direction of a reputable breeder in the south Puget Sound region? I would like to buy 4-5 pullets or chicks. They don't have to be show quality, and color doesn't matter all that much, but they need to be healthy birds with good temperaments from dark-egg-laying stock.

My flock is just your typical backyard flock, but 2 years ago I was lucky enough to get a Marans chick from a coworker who didn't need an extra male, and he's turned out to be a completely awesome rooster. Ragnar is very protective of his hens, and has defended them from predators more than once when they range. Still, he's never aggressive towards people, and though we don't treat our chickens as pets or handle them too often (even though we love them) he's calm and tolerates us handling him and his hens when it's necessary.

So, I want to add some nice-quality purebred Marans hens to his family. His current flock includes various breeds including one of his daughters, so our goal is to be able to distinguish the eggs we want to eat from the ones we want to hatch. We currently have 2 chicken coops/yards and we're building a third, so the idea is to have one yard for Ragnar and his breeding flock, another for his daughters who will produce eating eggs (any of his sons we will eat) and the smallest coop will be for broody hens to hatch selected dark-colored eggs that we choose, to ensure we're not inbreeding.

I probably sound like a clueless newbie to those of you who are Marans experts or experienced chicken breeders - that's because I am a clueless newbie when it comes to chicken breeding. We've had a backyard flock for a few years now, including raising feed-store chicks in a laundry-room brooder, as well as letting a broody mama hen hatch and raise a few eggs. I'm sure you folks can cut me some slack though, and point me in the right direction, since my goal is to 1. Take good care of our chickens. 2. Breed our flock responsibly and not allow inbreeding 3. Learn more about the Marans breed and raising them. 4. Possibly end up with a nice-quality purebred flock.

Thank you in advance, for any clues you can give me!

 

[kmfehrer2]

Hello, could any of you Marans folks point me in the direction of a reputable breeder in the south Puget Sound region?  I would like to buy 4-5 pullets or chicks.  They don't have to be show quality, and color doesn't matter all that much, but they need to be healthy birds with good temperaments from dark-egg-laying stock.


My flock is just your typical backyard flock, but 2 years ago I was lucky enough to get a Marans chick from a coworker who didn't need an extra male, and he's turned out to be a completely awesome rooster.  Ragnar is very protective of his hens, and has defended them from predators more than once when they range. Still, he's never aggressive towards people, and though we don't treat our chickens as pets or handle them too often (even though we love them) he's calm and tolerates us handling him and his hens when it's necessary. 

 
So, I want to add some nice-quality purebred Marans hens to his family. His current flock includes various breeds including one of his daughters, so our goal is to be able to distinguish the eggs we want to eat from the ones we want to hatch.  We currently have 2 chicken coops/yards and we're building a third, so the idea is to have one yard for Ragnar and his breeding flock, another for his daughters who will produce eating eggs (any of his sons we will eat) and the smallest coop will be for broody hens to hatch selected dark-colored eggs that we choose, to ensure we're not inbreeding.

I probably sound like a clueless newbie to those of you who are Marans experts or experienced chicken breeders - that's because I am a clueless newbie when it comes to chicken breeding.  We've had a backyard flock for a few years now, including raising feed-store chicks in a laundry-room brooder, as well as letting a broody mama hen hatch and raise a few eggs.  I'm sure you folks can cut me some slack though, and point me in the right direction, since my goal is to 1. Take good care of our chickens. 2. Breed our flock responsibly and not allow inbreeding 3. Learn more about the Marans breed and raising them. 4. Possibly end up with a nice-quality purebred flock.


Thank you in advance, for any clues you can give me! 

Hi! I'm new to the Marans breed as well but have looked around this year when choosing my French black copper marans. Which Marans breed are you looking for? I know of two places that have them. One in WA and another in OR

 

[littledog]

Hi, thanks for replying! My rooster is Cuckoo Marans (most typical type in North America I guess) but from what I've learned, the Black or Black Copper type is good for promoting quality and consistency to a flock.
I don't care all that much about color, or the correct amount of leg feathering - I'm mostly interested with temperament and health.
Could you clue me in to the breeders you know in WA and OR? Thanks.

 

[craychixlay]

8 week black copper marans. Is the one on the left a roo?