Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[kmfehrer2]

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.

PM'd you!

 

[kmfehrer2]

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

My guess would be a pullet but it could also be a late bloomer cockerel! Hard to say! My BCMs and others I've seen on here are fast growing and you usually know by 4-5weeks as the boys comb and wattles are pretty pronounced by then. But there's always still a chance! Time will tell

 

[Red Banks]

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

I would say pullet.

 

[KerryP]

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!

Hey littledog,

I have a gal in Portland, OR who breeds exceptional quality Marans - both black copper and birchen. She has purebred of both, and a really great cross. Her birches actually lay darker eggs than a typical black cooper - they're pretty amazing.

 

[forgetful]

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!

Inbreeding is not as big a concern in poultry as it is in other animals. In fact, you will be able to breed darker egg laying hens by inbreeding if Ragnar has good color genes as well. You can determine that by breeding him with a hen that lays white eggs and hatching females from those eggs. If those hatched females lay a decent brown egg, then he has good brown egg genes. You can have a flock of dark egg laying hens, but a rooster with light egg laying genes will ruin any progress you are trying to make towards darker eggs

 

[BackyardMarana]

I have a trio of splash marans they lay nice dark brown eggs .I hatched out some chicks ,will they lay a darker shade of brown or the same as their parents ?

Like dark brown + dark brown = darker brown ?

 

[thendrick3469]

what color is he?

 

[BackyardMarana]

Thendrick how old is he ?

 

[littledog]

Got it, thank you!

 

[littledog]

Oops, sorry, that was in response to kmfehrer2.