Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[flower]

One additional comment on Standard..........when folks in this country are working toward a standard, they are working for an accepted US Standard of Perfection, not European, South American or Australian.

 

[gilavina]

Quote:
indeed...i just stated it as standard and should have clarified further

 

[gilavina]

Quote:
The egg color makes the birds a Marans, but that is just one part of it. The color is not separated from the standard of how a Marans looks and what characteristics make up the breed. You can choose to breed any way you like, but it will not remove the standard of acceptability or the heritage of those that produced the breed itself. This is where defining your goal with them and advertising them appropriately so someone doesn't accidentally mix them into a program where they are working towards standard is essential. Does that make sense?

yeah that makes sense. the BCM are from show quality lines.
I found the only pic of the Birchen rooster when he was younger. This was taken a few weeks ago. No that is not blood on him, and sorry the picture is dark. He really did have black pigment all over his face. He just finally looked normal. Has anyone seen this??
So should i just advertise as chocolate egg layers? i always show ppl my setup and that they are just true farm chickens... just really fancy ones...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/fo...6571_100000431044175_1088560_1379105750_n.jpg

yeah i would think labeling them as such would work....

ive seen a few here and there with a darker face til the start reddening up...i would think its melanizers at work. perhaps someone will pop in and give you a more detailed answer. im feeli pretty crappy and think i better get some more sleep if im gonna beat this flu

 

[chevgrl]

Quote:
I just had a thought where I can find some samplings of my different project birds already online here that shouldn't be too much work for me in my present state....give me a moment

ok....these are just in the project phase so still need work, but I'm getting there

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=549997&p=14 post 133

I missed this link earlier! Noving them blues!

 

[Ivywoods]

Since the BCM's have just recently been accepted by the APA, I think the best thing for someone wanting to learn more about breeding"good" BCM's is to read the APA standard. Also, the general information about chickens in the "Standard of Perfection" is something everyone wanting to breed toward a standard should read. There is so much to learn. I've learned a lot from reading these threads on here,

but I've also learned a lot from the APA standard. Unfortunately, sometimes misinformation is given on here.

I don't think people mean to do this, but there are misunderstandings.

The BCM's have been in the "project" stage here in the U.S. for a few years, until last fall when they were accepted. All the marans varieties are a work in progress. To be able to go out and buy eggs or chicks that meet an "ideal" is somewhat unrealistic. Breeders have put a lot of time, effort and money into trying to produce a standard type that reproduces true.

It is understandable that some of the starts people have in this breed have been less than perfect. Heck, even in old, well established lines some of the "crap" still pops up.

I guess one of the points I am hoping to make here is that it's going to take more time and effort to produce marans that we are consistently happy with.

The issue of misrepresenting what you are trying to sell to someone is a totally different issue, and I don't wish to get into that right now.

It is maddening as well as heartbreaking.

I just hope everyone, especially the newbies are not discouraged by less than perfect birds. There are a lot of good ones out there and the best thing to do is educate yourself as much as possible and plan to do some culling.

Right now my hat is off to some of the folks on here who understand genetics so much better than myself. It's something that I've just never taken the time to learn in much detail at all, but I think I'm at the point where I could benefit by learning as much as I can, or at least "buying the books" so I can refer to them when my memory fails me.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
Well said!!

 

[HeatherLynn]

So if a person is looking for quality lines to bring into their own flock for the purpose of working on the quality of their own birds where do you look. I hear so many negatives about eggbid and ebay. I am sure there has to be some quality sellers on these but no great way to tell these from all the others. I have been haunting the marans of america club website and it does have lists of breeders. Its a fairly small list and some of the names I have heard the best about are not listed. I feels like 8 hour drives to look at birds and eggs are to be a permanent part of my future if I am determined to find quality breeding stock.

 

[stoopid]

Yes, I'm going thru the same thing... and joined MCCusa. That's why we are here. To sort things out.

 

[gilavina]

Quote:
Have you checked out Marans Chicken Club USA yet? There are quite a few people on there...and lots of people on here network with each other on here for hatching eggs, chicks and etc.

 

[chevgrl]

Quote:
Well said!!

Very well said I agree... I don't mind if there are flaws in my chickens and what's the point in buying chickens that completely meet the standard. The work is all done. The discouragement for me lies simply in humanity and the dishonesty of some human beings. I hate to be taken as a fool.