Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[ruth]

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Hey, glad to find this post but where's the picture of the bird you're discussing? I think I know what you are talking about. I have a few hens that have the copper going down the chest and no where else on the body (other than hackles). When I first started reading about "mossy" I thought that's what everyone was talking about but now I've learned it's not mossy but still didn't quite know what to do with them.

I'm guessing now I should put those hens with that beautiful roo I posted a while back that was solid black body with black fluff and undercoat, and dark mahogany hackles and coloring - and a perfect 5 point comb. I had thought him too dark to use and the hens to much color on their chest but now I'll set up another breeder pen.

I've just bought leg bands and plan to actually start "working" my line and recording and keeping offspring.

Ruth, I don't have a pic of her - she's in my layer pen (a cull....or so I thought). I'll try to get a pic of her this weekend & post on Monday.

Well, here's one of mine. I was going to pull the few that had this "lacing" on their chest out of the breeding pen but based on what Don said, maybe I could breed them to this guy - he's got a really dark black body.

A suitable mate???

 

[ruth]

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Debbi, soon as the standard is approved by the APA and more people go to see the marans at shows and even show the Marans you will see more proper colored Marans. The APA and ABA judge will also have to be educated on what the standard says, the proper way to help educate the Judge is show what the standard calls for and it will help all concerned. Anyone showing at the Feb. show only take your outstanding Type and color birds as they should be uniforn to be approved. I have not seen very many good birds in type and color being showed.

Great advice!

Walt

I have a question about all the posts about how the color doesn't show up till they are much older, and even after their first molt. But I have not found that to be the case with my birds. I can tell at about 4 weeks old which will be mossy, which will have solid black chest, which will have too much red in chest. Here's an example - little guy is about 6 weeks. I can tell he will have a five point comb, a black chest with a few specks of color, and nice copper coloring in hackles. Though I have a few variations of color and comb points - for the most part I get little replicas of all the big birds, the mamas and the daddys. I've yet to get any "surprises". But I've often wondered about the comments that they don't get color till they are older. Does everyone else have birds that stay black till they are almost grown and then color just shows up????

Edited to add: Now there is that little bit of white at the tip of one wing feather but I think I've read that's "normal" and will fall out. This guy has no white fluff or white undercoat - all black.

 

[shesaredroan]

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Christine, I'm totally with you, and this is what I've been breeding toward. If I had the room, however, I'd have a pen that is ONLY for dark egg layers, and I'd throw conformation & breeding toward the (proposed) standard right out the window, because I have a few girls that lay an awesome egg, but are not acceptable breeders. The biggest problems with this breed began when a few folks had some super dark layers and just bred them indiscriminantly - just for egg color. If you read back in this thread and the older Marans thread that is now closed but still online here, you'll find a ton of info. on this. I think this happened mostly because there was no standard to follow; now, there is a proposed standard (which I and others have posted a few times in this thread and the other, but if you can't find it, PM me and I can direct you to it - it's posted on the MCC site on the web), I for one feel like the type is getting better and better, and "most" folks are breeding to type AND egg color. I still, personally, don't find a thing wrong with breeding just for a pretty egg, but that's not something that I do - I simply don't have the space.

Thank you Wynette. Yes, I found this thread right after it started and have been following it almost daily. (This thread moves so quickly if I don't check in everyday I have a LOT to catch up on.) I have read on here about the old Marans thread but not sure how to find it. After Bev came on this thread I looked up the MCC site too. So much good info from so many people who are willing to share and explain their knowledge, thoughts and experiences.
I've had and loved quarter horses since I was a teenager, through the years I've seen some qh breeders 'work' on different traits of the breed, (stand a stud that had poor conformation just to make a few bucks) so I understand some of the problems the marans folks are working with.
I didn't know when I started raising chickens 10 years ago (got 'em to eat the grasshoppers that had been plaguing central TX for 3 years) that it would change my life.........likewise I didn't know when I stumbled onto the BYC website back in May of this year, that it too would change my life.

 

[BevDavis]

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Hi

What birds did he come from? It could be that you have a silver birchen splash. Let me know what birds you have and the egg color and I'll let you know which ones to breed from.

Bev

I will double check my hatching record but I believe that he came from the same pen/breeder that the hens I uploaded came from. I got 2 batches of eggs from that breeder. I kept 3 blue hens, 1 splash. I sold another roo earlier on. The eggs were a nice dark color...I may have a picture of the eggs somewhere. Do you think those hens (well they may) carry the same genotype? The hens are a few pages back. Do you want me to re-post the pictures?

Hi

If the picture was of the blue and splash pullets then I would wait until they are a little bit older to see if any color comes through. One of them might be a birchen and if it is then I would breed the male to her. If not you could use one of the hens, they may not be showing the color but carrying the gene. In any case, you should get some birchens from the cross and might even get a male carrying two sets of silver if the hen used is a silvwer birchen.

They looked nice birds.

Bev

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
Great advice!

Walt

I have a question about all the posts about how the color doesn't show up till they are much older, and even after their first molt. But I have not found that to be the case with my birds. I can tell at about 4 weeks old which will be mossy, which will have solid black chest, which will have too much red in chest. Here's an example - little guy is about 6 weeks. I can tell he will have a five point comb, a black chest with a few specks of color, and nice copper coloring in hackles. Though I have a few variations of color and comb points - for the most part I get little replicas of all the big birds, the mamas and the daddys. I've yet to get any "surprises". But I've often wondered about the comments that they don't get color till they are older. Does everyone else have birds that stay black till they are almost grown and then color just shows up????

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x204/chicklady/youngbcmroo1-1.jpg

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x204/chicklady/youngbcmroo1a.jpg

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x204/chicklady/youngbcmroo1b.jpg

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x204/chicklady/youngbcmroo1c.jpg

Edited to add: Now there is that little bit of white at the tip of one wing feather but I think I've read that's "normal" and will fall out. This guy has no white fluff or white undercoat - all black.

The only thing I can see really on the hen is a little shafting in the chest, all you have is extra copper in the chest and you will run into this when you have birds that colored real nice in the hackle. In my experience the male you show would work just right with females colored like this one.

Hope everyone remembers that on parti colored fowl breeding the best to the best will not necessarily produce top show fowl. Just like WALT , said about the tail angle, breed one a little high to one a little low. This is old time poultry breeding and has nothing to do with Genetic Formulas.

 

[snowbird]

Ruth, It is much easier to breed a proper colored female from your normal or over colored females, all you have to do is breed a male over them that does not have any copper in the chest.

If you use the darker colored females you must use a copper marked male over them to get any kind of good marked female. Just do not breed the Brown breasted males as you will be another bunch of junk. These are just like any other breed of fowl you have to find a middle ground. If you try breeding White or Black you will not have as much trouble. You will still have the Type faults that you have to worry about.

 

[Debbi]

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Don, What about the use of a lighter colored hackled roo with proper pattern, bred to really dark and sparsely coppered hens? What would you get there? I'm not talking "straw/wheat" colored roo, just a lighter copper.

 

[Ivywoods]

OH MY! Looks like I've got some reading to do. 293 pages to this thread.

I am new to FBCM's. I just got a batch of chicks in March. They have all been healthy and I haven't lost any of the 28 I started with. I sold several trios but I still have a selection of 8 roosters to pick from for my girls. I have no idea what the standard for BCM's is. These boys are all so pretty. The roos are running loose in the barnyard under the protection of our two great pyrenees livestock guardians. All the pullets are in a temporary coop.

I also got some black jersey giants and buff orpingtons about the same time. The BJG's and the BO's are all laying, but so far none of my FBCM's are laying.

DO they typically take longer to start laying than other breeds? Where would I find a copy of what is considered to be the standard for FBCM's?

Thanks in advance.
Susie

 

[Debbi]

Susie, welcome to the Marans thread!! The proposed standard is still being worked on for the Marans. Go to: http://www.maransusa.org/ to see the General standard, then to the column on the left, find the "color varieties" and see the standard proposal for that color. Evidently, this breed takes longer to mature to the point of lay than most others. Some say 20 weeks, some are still not laying at 30 weeks (according to some here). My oldest BCMs are now just 13 weeks, and although a couple of pullets are turning red and checking out nest boxes, I think they are just joking with me! These are my first Marans, so some of the more experienced breeders can tell you when their POL (point of lay) was for their Marans. Hang in there!

 

[Organics North]

Wow I don't think I can absorb all that was written in the past 24 hours....!!!
Just needed to say a special thanks to Pink.... for the blue you wrote.. It will help me immensely.....
ON