Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[gilavina]

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Haha...indeed! All I know is that my hens will love me if I have more space to grow them snacks...little treat hogs that they are!

 

[Bravo]

Ok, so I have a question for all of you.

Do you notice a difference in taste from your Marans eggs compared to eggs from other birds in your flock? If so, can you describe the taste?

I co-own a small breeding flock in the country hours for me so when I get eggs they go straight into the incubator. This last time I had a few that weren't "worthy" so I told my husband he could eat them. Without any suggestions from me, he insists they taste SO much better than the eggs from the other birds in that same pen. I'm not an egg person (when I do eat eggs they are scrambled up and smothered in hot sauce) so I wouldn't want/be able to taste the difference.

My husband has culinary training so I want to believe him but I'd feel more comfortable with a majority endorsement LOL

 

[math ace]

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I do not think my marans tastes any different than my other breeds. . .

I would contact who ever you got those great tasting eggs from and ask what they feed their birds. . . . Odds are whatever they are feeding them is effecting the taste of the eggs and making them richer tasting. .. . The yolks may of even been more orange in those eggs.

My neighbor just came over the other day to tell me he is noticing a difference in our eggs. I told him that is because the lawn is greening up and the birds are getting to eat bugs and grasses. . . . Wa La better tasting eggs.

 

[Bravo]

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LOL thats what I first thought too. I also had a few EE and production red eggs that came from the same pen that I couldn't fit in the incubator. He had hard boiled about 4 eggs which were a mix of these.

I just cant understand how the color of the shell would affect egg taste...maybe I need to do a blind taste test on him

 

[VillageChicken]

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NO kidding!!! Where is she??? Hope all is ok for her?

I sent her an email but it didn't go through and was bounced back to me....I saw her post a couple weeks ago on the Marans Club but haven't seen any action since then. I will try to give her a call if I can locate her phone # again. I always misplace that notebook with her # in it. She wanted me to go to the show in Stevenson with her later this month it would be a blast! I will let you know if I hear from her. I know this is a busy season with her kids and her horsie groups so I am hoping that's where she's up to.

Hey, isn't it you that's 'dex at the office, or is that someone else? Just put the number in the 'dex and you won't need the notebook.

 

[seabreeze]

I've had people I've given Marans eggs to, come back and say they are the most delicious eggs they've ever eaten! One of my friends is a gourmet chef and asked me if I'd consider shipping him some eggs down in Temecula, CA when he heard I had Marans. He prefers serving them to customers because of the bright orange yolk BUT also the density/texture of the yolk as well as the egg white seems a tiny bit more *together*, i.e., doesn't run out as far in the pan when its cracked into a hot skillet. My Leghorn eggs are delicious as well but I think its all the free ranging both types of birds get but the Leghorns went from deep yellow to bright yellow-orange now that I shifted them to an area where more bugs abound than the universe holds!!

...not really but sure seems like it!

 

[gilavina]

just walked by the incubator and am hearin the first peeping noises....probably some of my bantams, but it means hatchings started!

 

[marquisella]

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For me, Marans eggs just taste better. All my birds eat the same, etc. and the Marans actually have a taste. The others, need more salt & pepper! LOL

Sue

 

[seabreeze]

OMG Vicki, I forgot to even check for peeping in our bator? They are due tomorrow but I've been so dang busy washing ultra hairy dogs in cold Oregon weather for our national specialty tomorrow, I forgot all about those exciting first *peeps*. Oh, and selling off my steers and one pregnant heifer! Steers are sold but heifer is still on the market due to calve in a couple of weeks.

Sue, I agree, I really do think my Marans eggs taste better and I eat a lot of eggs! My sexlinks run a close second along with the Leghorns. Laffin' over your comment about more salt n peppa!

 

[sewandgrow]

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Dh rigged me up an homemade incubator out of an igloo cooler. I have been hatching in it since last November. I have had some really good hatches - - - even on shipped eggs. The only negative thing is there is not enough room in it for an auto egg turner. So, I am the egg turner for each egg. Each hatch we have fine tuned and perfected something. . . . The first 18 days are a piece of cake. The last 3 days is where we keep making changes. We are perfecting a hatching set up where the eggs can be separated and circulation not be blocked.

So, Dh wants to build another incubator that is big enough for the auto egg turner. . .. BUT I have some other projects for him to do first

I need the chicken coops FINISHED for all the chicks that I have already hatched. I've made temp chicken brooders - 2 are finished and in use. I am working on the third one. These I do pretty much by myself. . . . BUT the COOPS . . . . Those I will need him to LEAD and I'll assist

Lisa,
I have been using these bird feeders to keep them separated at lockdown. They are metal expanded steel that is powder coated & they are working great. I can fit 5 or 6 eggs in each with plenty of room to hatch & move around. The last ones I separated I put 5 in one all 5 hatched & are doing great & 4 in each of 2 more & got 3 hatches out of each. I put a strip of the rubberized shelf liner in the bottom, clip the top on & mark it with a sticky label & leave it alone during lockdown. They stack too.

I have more loaded & in the incubator now.