Marans?

[hoping4better]

I am curious what distinguishing features there are to indicate a chicken is Marans? I have a few black birds that I can't put my finger on the breed (possibly black marans?), and I have a few that I assumed were barred rock mutts, but looking at the cuckoo marans - maybe it's one of those especially a little one that has feathers running down the outside of its feet and outer toes.

So, how can I tell that it's a Marans or not?

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

Cuckoo Marans look similar to barred rocks, but have a messier, darker sort of striping. They have white/pinkish feet. They can have light feathering on the outside of the leg (French lines) or not (English lines). They have straight combs.

It's unlikely that you stumbled on good Marans without knowing it, but stranger things have happened I suppose. They're still relatively valuable and not SUPER common, but lots of us on here have them.

Post some picture and I'm sure you'll get plenty of opinions on what you have.

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

And are they black, or are they cuckoo? Cuckoo is black and white striped. Sort of...

 

[Debbi]

Read up on Marans of all color varieties here. Pics of your bird(s) will help a lot!

http://www.maransusa.org/

 

[hoping4better]

I would've posted pics, but the camera's not working right now. So I was curious about distinguishing features hoping I could figure it out. I'm sure I don't have 'good' lines as I am 99% certain my birds are all mutts, but I'd at least like to have an idea of what kind of mutts.

A couple of the darker ones I've got have the dark black/brown feathers coming down their necks into a pretty solid black body. Are there breeds other than black cooper marans with this coloring?

 

[hoping4better]

Just answered my own question while reading . . . black with brown feathers in the neck could be black sex-link. That's probably more likely for mine. Bummer . . . but hey they should be great producers right?

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

Quote:
You can get a similar pattern on Black Sexlinks. Really any red bird crossed with a black one or a barred one CAN give you that. It just depends on how the genes sort out. When you get pictures, put them up! We all have all kinds of mixes, and love to guess at other peoples.

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

Quote:
If you are interested in eggs, then yes, they would be GREAT!

My one Cuckoo Marans is gorgeous, from great lines, lays a DARK egg (cuckoo's don't usually lay that dark) and she gives me 15-20 eggs a year. That's it. My production birds lay that in 2-3 weeks.

 

[Debbi]

Again, check out the web site.

http://www.maransusa.org/varieties/brownredphotos.html

 

[Illia]

Black Marans aren't very common. Now, Black Copper Marans, some good characteristics of them are a large, heavy size, feathered shanks, grey and pink/white colored legs, red colored neck feathers, and usually a deep voice.

Cuckoo Marans, the easiest thing to tell apart with Barred Rocks, is that they have pink/white legs. Barred Rocks have yellow.