Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[ruth]

Thanks Don - by the "white" stuff do you mean the bit of white downy fluff that's coming out of his tail? I've never looked down into the tail shafts to see if there is an undercoat and what color it is. So, see, this is helpful - I learn something new every day.

Edited to say: For critique sake, please keep in mind that this roo has been in a pen full of females his entire life- several years. He has never been pampered or groomed or kept separate so that he can be in "show" condition. I do not show my birds and probably never will - just don't have the time. I do love the breed however and want to perfect it as much as possible and breed to standard for those that do want to show, but, more importantly, for those that want a beautiful dual purpose bird that still lives up to its French origins.

My farm is open for tours and I can tell you, that without a doubt, the birds running around here that make heads turn and make people ask "What kind of rooster is that?" are always my BCMs.

 

[Wynette]

Ruth, I LOVE that boy's mahogany hackle color - it's just my personal favorite, and I wish I had more mahogany in my flock. I do not care for the straw...mine are all copper, and I do have one that I sent to another farm that's not quite mahogany, but darker than copper.

Your guy looks large - size can be lacking in some lines, so it's good that he's large, IMO. I could be wrong on this, so someone correct me if I am, but I believe the wattles should be double the length of the lobes; so, he'd get a point deduction for long wattles, but I don't know what that deduction would be. I noticed the white feathers at the base of his tail as well, as Snowbird did; males that I've had in the past would eventually develop actual white feathers when they started like this, so those are now culls at my farm and I haven't had issues with that in probably a year now. I would love to see what his tail looks like grown out/filled in; it looks to be squirrel tail to me, and feathers not quite long enough, but as you say - if he's been ranging for a good, long time & around many others, that could be a misperception. Also, his shank feathering is too sparse, but again, I think you said he has them, they're just...gone now for some reason. When I look at his overall conformation, he "appears" to be a bit taller that I woudl like for his frame size, but again, that could easily be just the angle of the pic. I think all the stuff I mentioned (sans the white) is minor stuff, though! His comb has too many points, as indicated, but it's a small deduction, and it seems that everyone (myself included) is having trouble with that - with all of us working, that'll go away soon as well! Overall, he's a nice boy! Thanks for sharing pics - it's a great idea that you had!

 

[lnfcef81]

sounds like fun, and I don't know anything thing about showing, just stared with chickens recently. I can't wait to get some good pics. of mine!

 

[Debbi]

We finally got some blessed rain here today! The builders got the corner and gate posts cemented in, door made for the run, and tomorrow I may have the coop/run finished!!

The chooks will go crazy!! I now remember how much these are creatures of habit. When I made them the larger cage until the coop got done, they freaked out! Running into the wire, they couldn't get over the fact it was open! Good old Fuglee led the group towards calm and sanity. He just started scratching on the floor, and the pullets all followed suit. It was just like he threw a switch! They'll have to really get a grip tomorrow. Outside, new big house, new feeders and waterer...oh my. I know where I'll be for most of the day

 

[snowbird]

Wynette, I have never heard or read anything about the Wattle being no more than double, I do not think it is true. But I have been wrong before.

 

[ruth]

Thanks guys for the comments. It helps me to know what we're looking for. I need to go find some old pics of this same roo a couple of years ago. I just found some pics from last year, and if it's the same roo, he does have a long and full and "squirrel" tail but I need to go look at pics from when I bought the flock. They were already a few years old when I bought them. I turn them all loose every few months and put others in the pen so that no one has to stay caged year round. There were several in that flock I bought from Jessee and this was just one of them.

By the way, concerning the shank feathers - I have noticed with all of my BCM that they shed them or lose them or eat them or break them off or something.....cause what starts out as nice feathering ends up just stubs and tiny quills. May be the downside to true freeranging.

I do need to go back and reread those posts about feather mites in the tails cause my roos are losing their tails too. I thought that was due to molting.

 

[snowbird]

Ruth, this time of year I would not worry about the shank feathers as they molt them just like the other feathers, the missing tail feathers are probably from the molt also.

 

[geebs]

Snowbird: What line are you working on and what color? Have you shown any yet? If so do you have any pix you can share with us? I agree about the little things... Tackle the harder stuff first.. The things that have to be there and correct. DQ's etc...

I am having a great day... Geebs has been through the ringer this week... It is nice to come here to chill... I love reading everones comments and ideas.. You guys have been my rock without even knowing it... Thanks! BYC chummies

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
geebs, I have BC, Wheaten, Cuckoo and a few white. Ihave Wade Jeane and Ron Presley line of BC. I might show Marans in the fall but no guarantee since I have all the others that are better quality. If I do show Marans it will be at Columbus as I will be there for the ABA National.

 

[ruth]

When I first saw what a BCM egg looked like, I knew I just had to have it to add to my colorful egg basket. At the time I only wanted eggs of every color and I wanted those nice dark eggs. I didn't even know what a BCM looked like much less what French standards were or proposed APA standards. I'm only now trying to learn, along with many others, as to what the standards are and trying to understand the differences from a judging/show standpoint.

So this is helpful to me. From what I've gleamed so far, this particular bird's coloring is "mahogany" and not copper; the comb has too many points; the tail is a "squirrel" tail; the legs are missing feathers; he shouldn't have white down/undercoat at base of tail; and his wattles are too long? Other than that he's a nice size and body type, he doesn't have much else going for him.

I can't swear to it, but I think this is the same roo when I bought them last year. You can see his tail, and if it's the same roo, I do believe that is what everyone is referring to as a "squirrel" tail but you can also see that he did have feathers on his shanks.

Thanks for the comments - it's been helpful. I'll learn even more if others put up pictures that we can compare. I'll also post some of another roo some other time for further comparison.

Edited to add: I found one more pic from last year that I also think is the same roo. You can see that his color seems to vary but I'm going by the comb. All the roos seem to have different combs.