Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[snowbird]

Quote:
I can say in all honesty that I really like the lighter blue color, I think he has a really good broad back and it is even long. I like the comb not being so large. This male would be good to use over some of the darker females that have been on BYC. Very Nice. Don

 

[geebs]

I agree that it is very hard to find good starter stock. Most people that have a good start on their breeding program are holding onto them for dear life. It seems that most of what is available is not good quality. Perhaps if we want the breed to improve as a whole, we need to be able to purchase from those people that have better birds than most.

I totally agree with you​

 

[Ivywoods]

Quote:
They may not be totally uniform, but they sure are a beautiful color. It's pretty hard to get perfectly matching eggs with a small flock that may not be the most prolific layers.

I think a lot of people would envy those egg, Ruth.

Regarding the discussion on the standard, from what I've seen there is a lot of variation in the black coppers. I'm kinda new at this, but I would attribute a lot of it to the fact that they are a new variety here and have been in such great demand for those great colored eggs that there are a lot of birds out there that have been rather indiscriminately bred.

There are, however, those on the other side of the coin that are trying to improve the breed and take out a lot of the variation so that all conform closer to the proposed standard. I hope they are successful at this. It is such a beautiful bird. I enjoy mine very much and hope to learn enough here that I can improve my own small flock, moving them closer to the standard "of perfection."

 

[fowlman01]

Quote:

yeah.. but your freezer would be empty

Already is. We can't bring ourselves to even "cull" the Cornish Crosses we bought this Spring. We buy our chicken already fried at the Texaco station here in town.

I was an avid hunter when I was younger, but now I have a lot of trouble killing a bird. I never have trouble selling them at the local feed store.

I have looked at your birds and you have a fine flock. Being a poultry snob, I can pick any bird apart.....even a show champion. There are no perfect birds and only rarely one that is close to perfect. Showing is not for most people and I am very aware of that, but I think people should breed to some standard or the breed will go by the wayside. Pick almost any thread on this site and you read about people crossing breeds. If there is no Standard..US, French Russian, whoever, how do you keep the breed looking like a Marans?

Technically an Araucana could be DQ'd for laying a green egg, so it is not just Marans that have an egg color issue. Breeding for egg color only may have influenced the Marans as well....and not in a good way in terms of body type or color.

Lots of people raise chickens just for their own pleasure and I endorse that, but there is a responsiblilty of a few to keep the gene pool going. Kind of like the seed people do.

Walt

 

[fowlman01]

Double post.sorry.

 

[ruth]

Quote:
Ruth, If you are showing these you should take the one on bottom out as it is a different length. My understanding and from watching them judge the eggs is that they should be uniform in color and shape. On eggs you are showing you should do an egg index so they will be close in size and shape. Don

I know but they're all I've got right now. Well I have a fourth one but it's really big so I can't use it cause it makes the other three look small. They are the last four eggs they laid before stopping for the season. I've saved them for two weeks hoping to get some better ones but I guess they'll have to do. Maybe the competition won't be too stiff this time of year.

 

[Lotsapaints]

I would like to buy eggs or chicks from someone who has been breeding them for 5+ years and hatching ones out that look like the proposed standard too......and not pay 10.00 an egg or 75.00 for a young bird I'm happy to sell my culls to somebody who is going to either eat them or the eggs....that's why I wanted to raise DUAL purpose birds so the Marans have the most culls of any breed I have and to me the ones that lay light eggs are worthless except to eat.....I'm not throwing in the towel just more determined to get my hands on a few nice ones and when I have some that breed true I sure want to share them with other people who are trying to do the same. I have plenty of friends to buy the layers who are not good enough to be breeders of any of my breeds. There are so many people on the meat bird thread looking for a meat bird that isn't a commercial cornish/rock cross that when I get my Dels and New Hampshires bred up I should have buyers for those. To me there is nothing wrong with a cull that lays 5-6 eggs a week or a cockerel that weighs 6lbs at 18 weeks.....I have a cull Golden his comb lops over and @19 weeks he weighs 7.6 lbs now that's the kind of cull to have...

 

[flgardengirl]

Quote:
He is nice and stocky. He is gonna be a big boy. He has copper in all the right places. His hackles are a tad bit light but I have noticed that a lot of the lighter blue coppers hackles are lighter than the darker blues which makes sense. I bet he will moult out those white feathers. Alot of mine are moulting now too. I like him

 

[ruth]

I do want to go on record as saying that, come Spring, (or whenever they resume laying) I will begin a "serious" breeding program - aimed at producing BCMs that meet APA proposed standards. I'm all for breeding to standard. But I have to wonder, how much will these "meets APA standards" chicks have to sell for since there seems to be such a limited supply? When those of you who have been trying to perfect the breed for years finally get it right and produce all "show quality" birds and start to sell, how much will you have to charge for all that work? I know, I know, I've got lots of questions.


BUT.....on the other hand. I have many, many more customers who want a bird that's "close enough" and which lays the beautiful eggs. They don't want to pay a fortune for a "show quality" bird. I guess for that market, I can offer a lower priced chick. I will always offer birds to meet that demand/market because, if not, it's like saying "well I got mine but you can't have yours".

It's kind of like the Northshore of New Orleans where my other home is/was for the past 20 years. At one time you couldn't give away the land over there. People used the Mandeville area for boat/hunting camps. Then they built the Lake Pontchartrain bridge - the longest bridge in the world - 26 miles - from New Orleans, across Lake Pontchartrain, to Mandeville. Mass exodus began over the last 20+ years. Now land sells at a premium - $60,000 plus per acre and up. Subdivisions are jammed packed with multi-million dollar homes built right next to one another. NOW - they have a popular bumper sticker that says "Pave our Lake" and numerous Homeowner Associations that want to block any new development and require everyone else who moves there to own at least 20 acres (even though the people proposing these new rules own a postage stamp of a lot). My point was the same when I attended one of those meetings my own "subdivision" had in an effort to stop development - everyone there causing a riot owned less than an acre but wanted any new home owner to own at least 5. I was the only person there (and I owned 8 acres) that was not in favor of a minimum land requirement - why - because it was a great place to live and more people should be allowed to enjoy the woods and the way of life we had and send their kids to the top public schools. I thought it seemed to be a "I'm living here but don't want anyone else to"mentality.

I hope this doesn't come across in any kind of "ugly" way - I'm just trying to express how sometimes those that have something don't really want others to have the same thing.

I know I've read/seen/heard show people that won't allow their animals to be bred - or won't sell their best animals - because they don't want anyone to beat them in the show ring. If they were really and truly all about perfecting the breed, they'd allow other breeders to take a shot at the brass ring.

Again, not trying to start a fight or pick on show people - just trying to say there are many others out there just wanting in on the fun. Who knows, the next top Marans breeder could be someone lurking out there in the wings, quietly learning and breeding and they will be the ones who win the ribbon or perfect the breed - it would be a pity if they had not been able to get their hands on starter stock.

It's been a great day of discussion and I've really enjoyed it.

 

[Debbi]

Holy cow! See what you can miss in four hours or so?!

I think the SOP and breeding towards it is kind of like the question, "What came first, the chicken or the egg?"

On the one hand, people have bred these birds to be of a certain physical type AND lay a dark egg. Without the standard, no one would know what to aim for. On the other hand, if there is no (USA) standard, then who knows what they are breeding towards, so there are no birds to fit the standard. Catch 22? In my mind, I started because of the eggs, but the breed also intrigued me in their physical appearance. For me, if I have to feed it, it may as well be a good specimen of the breed rather than a poor one. To try to improve conformation and egg laying function from one generation to the next, and hopefully, to obtain what I like. I may or may not ever show, but I'd like to know I could if I wanted to.

Ruth, Lovely eggs, and your birds could go anywhere and do you proud!