Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

The only male I currently have is their Dad. He was supposedly Davis line but he was a Craigslist special that I grew out with 14 others from the same person and culled down to only him. Here he is last summer. He is now 2 years old.



This male is the reason you got the U-shape back on some of the pullets
 
IMO who cares if someone such as myself enjoys the breed and "Working with crap so as you say" who is to judge i am not claiming to be a show person i have done it 2 times, , i wish i live did the states to have all the different lines you guys do but i dont, so i have to work with what i can get and personally i think my bcm roo is much nicer than some i have seen on her at least he has some meat on him i can eat my çull birds" 99% of the people that contact me want birds who lay dark eggs and thats the extent of it ..........so thats what they get they are not interested in SOP or showing a chicken is a chicken to most people..... i love my birds , think they are beautiful and work with what i can thanks for your input wynett
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i was not offended.
Hey Triple J
Another Canadian here... I am hoping to meet BarnGoddess at the APA Show in Woodstock this October, are you in Ontario?... I happen to have gotten some "groceries" while on vacation in Nashville this summer.. My Marans (thank you Donna) have a great build, body shape and I did not keep any with DQs.... The only issue I am finding with them is lack of copper... I am not really too worried, as I think I have a fairly good foundation to work from with.
Here is to hoping us Canooks can get together and work on our Marans.
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I live in Canada and I am making the effort to not work with "crap". It hasn't been entirely impossible. A MAJOR part of it is educating one's eye so that they learn how to properly evaluate their stock. That applies to type especially. At this point even my cull birds have great type and size so they still make a great meal early on. In fact, I have some folks saying they prefer my clean legged culls because they also like to use the legs and clean legs are easier!!!!!
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I have the folks contacting me wanting dark eggs only but I also have folks looking for show stock at this point. I think it behooves us to at least be educated enough to know the value of what we have so we can be forthcoming and honest when selling "Marans" and moving forward.
 
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As much as I'm diving into all the genetics -- BOTH of these posts just bring up more questions for me. I have a Black Copper cockerel that is breaking my heart. He has SO much going for him but he is LOADED with white under his hackles, and I do mean LOADED. Otherwise, not a white feather on him. He is beetle green black and copper. Type and size are tremendous, really nicely feathered shanks without even a stub on the middle toe, really nice comb, eyes, and ears, copper is nice but lacking (he's over-melanized). Shanks are light by Don's standards but not criminal in my opinion.

I have decided I am going to try this boy but I would love to understand the white feathering better .... <sigh>
 
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Patricia, he really isn't bringing a lot to the table. He isn't the end of the world but his back is short and his tail is too upright. His "type" is really not what we are going for. (Remember, type is the real biggie.) If I had to, I might try him and then let his sons grow out long enough to see if you can get one that is a lot less U shaped. Then cull hard. Nice thing about Marans, if you aren't afraid to cull, they are rarely disappointing on the table. (I don't think he'll help you with copper either though. In my opinion, you will still have over-melanized ladies from this guy.) Sorry, Zanna! I'm slamming your boy but since Patricia is asking ....
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Patricia, he really isn't bringing a lot to the table. He isn't the end of the world but his back is short and his tail is too upright. His "type" is really not what we are going for. (Remember, type is the real biggie.) If I had to, I might try him and then let his sons grow out long enough to see if you can get one that is a lot less U shaped. Then cull hard. Nice thing about Marans, if you aren't afraid to cull, they are rarely disappointing on the table. (I don't think he'll help you with copper either though. In my opinion, you will still have over-melanized ladies from this guy.) Sorry, Zanna! I'm slamming your boy but since Patricia is asking ....
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Slam away, all for the sake of learning or I would not have posted the pics! Appreciating all the input good or bad. The pair were the best I had after two years of culling so gave it a try, lots learned.......... I'm in this for the long haul.
 
As much as I'm diving into all the genetics -- BOTH of these posts just bring up more questions for me. I have a Black Copper cockerel that is breaking my heart. He has SO much going for him but he is LOADED with white under his hackles, and I do mean LOADED. Otherwise, not a white feather on him. He is beetle green black and copper. Type and size are tremendous, really nicely feathered shanks without even a stub on the middle toe, really nice comb, eyes, and ears, copper is nice but lacking (he's over-melanized). Shanks are light by Don's standards but not criminal in my opinion.

I have decided I am going to try this boy but I would love to understand the white feathering better .... <sigh>
Barb, I suggest that you do not use the Marans with the white Hackle undercolor as it will just multiply the gene in your Marans. In the BC I had I found that the light leg male was more subject to produce the white undercolor.
 

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