Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[jim-pav]

Good morning everyone. I'm a newbie here just joining BYC this year. Happy New Year btw...

I was wondering if anyone had an opinion on buying black copper marans chicks from Meyer Hatchery.

The reason I'm asking is because I placed an order for 4 of these hens arriving the first week of April. Then I do some research online and see there are like bloodlines that are from my understanding better lines. Please forgive me if I don't word things correctly.

I see some eggs for sale from a Jean Wade line. From my limited understanding, this line produces darker eggs. So, maybe I made a mistake in ordering 4 hens from Meyer Hatchery. I've read that the eggs are darker at the beginning of a hens cycle vs. the latter part.

Anyone think I made a mistake? Does anyone think you'll get darker eggs from buying and hatching eggs from the Jean Wade line or even other notable lines?

I'm not looking to breed them. I'm just looking for nice dark eggs.

Thanks everyone.

Jim

 

[geebs]

Hatchery birds as a rule don't get the attention and careful breeding that a quality breeder would give and the egg color is innately hard to maintain... that being said... enjoy what you ordered and by all means... 4 is never enough... Wade jeane is a good line of dark layers...not the only line but one of the good ones... Presley is another and Davis is another.

 

[Lotsapaints]

I haven't seen anyone on here post that they have ordered any from Meyer's we have looked at the pictures they used and thought the rooster showed Wheaten coloring..if you're just wanting eggs they will not be as dark as some of the eggs you see posted I bought hatchery Cuckoos and less than half of them lay better than a 4..the eggs might be darker than my Cuckoos they should still lay well if they are not dark enough for you maybe you can find a breeder close who will have culls that would work for a backyard family just wanting dark eggs. I sell mine that are laying dark eggs but not good enough to breed but the eggs are still pretty and they taste good too.

 

[Mountain Mel]

During our last cold snap I had quite a few that froze after I had gathered them & put them in the grain room for storsge. From now on if it is gettin' that kinda' cold I'll be bringing them into the house. After the cracked eggs had thawed in the fridge, I opened 'em on up & made omelettes with them. They were great! I could tell no difference in taste or texture.

 

[Mountain Mel]

Lotsapaints, last year I ordered Broilers, Cuckoo Marans Welsummers, Columbian Wyandottes, and Polish from Meyers. Considering that they were hatchery stock and shipped to the West Coast from Ohio, I felt like they turned out very well. Overall, my bird loss from start to finish was 1 in 5. I lost 1 bird out of every 5 that I ordered.

 

[berkeleysprings]

ive not heard of anyone getting myrer hatchery birds good or bad ,,,,bc are the very most hardest color and type to meet sop (love my grammer )....who knows you might just hit the jack pot and get some great birds or u might not lts like the loto ,,personaly i went the easy route and went with
stright no color added
wheaten a few years back because they are less screwed up than black copper except egg color needs work , the tail needs work the comb needs work mabe wheaten isnt a easy one at that , point is its all a crap shoot and most of all enjoy your new birds



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[math ace]

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Jim there are some breeders on here that have very dark eggs. They have entered them in chicken shows and won. If all you want dark eggs, you will be better off getting them from someone who can show you that the chicks are coming from dark eggs. Try Ruth and Illia on BYC. Who ever you buy from should be able to show you some pics of their eggs.

 

[jim-pav]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I appreciate all the info you gave.

For now I guess I'll stick with the 4 bcm hens coming in April from Meyer. Maybe in the future when I have some experience with egg hatching I'll go with some of the premium maran eggs from the presley or wade jean lines.

Like you said, it'll be like hitting the lottery. I'll luv 'em either way though.

Cheers!

Jim

 

[sewandgrow]

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So sorry Debbi.......Feel better soon. I had a friend that suffered them.

 

[Debbi]

Thanks all! Clusters are a seasonal (episodic) headache, for me it's thankfully not the chronic type! End of Dec-Jan, I have them almost every other night, then go all spring and summer without them, and then in Sept. they start again for another month or so. They are hideous, and usually reserved for men, but lucky me, inherited them from my Dad.

I can almost set my clock by them, coming at 1:30am. Half a month more to go, and I should be done...till fall.

Geebs ~ the chickies, all two, are doing well. Blue Butt is getting big and feathering out well! Yep, looks like a boy

. The other one I call "Bump" is another Fuglee deformed chick, but doesn't seem to be in any pain, and is getting around well and keeping Blue Butt company. I'll be darned if I have to do another Pip thing!

Pip, the little ingrate, has become a nasty Son of a gun! He had better do well with the pullets when I seperate them, and produce nice chicks, or his arse is going to freezer camp!!!

I placed an ad for two of the cockerels for free, and a woman has a girl in 4-H interested. I made it quite clear these are NOT show quality, but would pass on the dark egg gene for some olive eggers. Two cocks gone would be lovely right about now!!!

Pink ~ Did you get my return PM?? Ready again!