My marans aren't marans????

[pokey]

they don't look like mine either. too light and the barring in mine is a little closer i think.

 

[Katy]

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The eggs start out dark and get lighter thoughout their laying cycle.

 

[Katy]

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Actually when a pullet starts laying, their eggs are going to be the darkest they're ever going to be. That's been my experience over the last 6 years with mine.

 

[TheKidAndDame]

They look like mutts to me. They do have the right leg coloring but the barring and the contrasting neck feathers look off. I have hatchery stock but my eggs are still significantly darker than my RIRs.

 

[asher]

They don't look like the marans that I had, either.

Check out what marans look like on feathersite and you'll see the differences in coloring/barring.

 

[MissPrissy]

They look odd with the light head and dark body. They look like a mix of something. The head shape seems off to me too.

I have a few hatchery marans and their eggs now are much darker than when they started laying.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

They do not look like any Marans, I have seen, but many breeders breed solely for egg color and when you do that odd color patterns can slip in.

Where did you buy your Marans?

-Kim

 

[tfpets]

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Your Marans hens are different looking than any Ive seen so far, but I would also like to see pics of the eggs? Just how light are they? They may be Marans, or mostly Marans, but they could still lay a suitably dark egg sometime? Mine arent laying very dark eggs right now either, alot of issues here and it's getting late in the season.

Hope you get good news? Maybe their first eggs just arent getting "painted" very well yet?

 

[Arklady]

I think your Marans look wonderful, as pullets yes they do start laying the darkest they can because the tunnel that delivers color is new never having had an egg pass through before.

The coloring of your hens is because those have a pattern that can either be the pattern for Birchen Marans which come out of Cuckoos or their direct opposite which would be the coveted Black Copper Marans both have the same color pattern, both come out of Cuckoos.

The rooster which shows the black tail feather plus the white saddle feathers, shows inclinations to being of the Birchen Variety. I suggest many of the people on here should be reading up on the varieties of Marans colors on the French Marans site.

http://marans-club.club.fr/varieang.htm#varietes

I have read these pages many times and learn something new every time. Egg color has been worked on to the detriment of the conformation and colors of the different varieties. I myself am working to get a Birchen Rooster, at this time I am getting more Silver Cuckoos than Birchen but I do have that Birchen pattern cropping up in my Marans.

They look lovely and their size is very nice. I had roosters up to 12 lbs. The size of your birds shows they have great breeding and I look forward to swapping eggs with you!

Arklady

Breeder of French Cuckoo Marans

 

[KAKBucks]

Thanks Ark,

I got the birds from a breeder in SE Ohio who was getting out of the business. Being new to chickens and not intending to breed at the time I picked up the chicks I didn't think to ask him where he got his stock or anything like that.

Sorry it took me so long to respond. And sorry about the links. I'll have to look at how you did that because any time I try and post pics it has just had the link to photobucket, so I tried the html code. I thought it had worked

I'm more brain dead than usual this week. Too much going on. Hopefully I'll have a few more brain cells to use next week when things have settled down around here

Kendra

PS Thanks everyone for helping