I will never have Marans again.
I hatched out BBS, Cuckoo, Golden Cuckoo, Black Copper and a few Blue Copper...all from different breeding lines. Low hatch rate in comparison to the other breeds I have hatched, but worst of all were the personalities. Aggressive, mean and nothing I want again.
In fact I had one juvenile pen that had 6 Black Coppers both male and female, they decided to pick on one pullet and by the time I found her at chore time, the others had gotten her cornered and pick her in the head so bad she had a big whole and was almost dead. She just made a terrible noise like a sick chick. She survived after weeks of being in our "hospital" crate in the house, I can't believe she made it. The other pens of Marans were just as nasty and got worse as they got older.
I had one Golden Cuckoo pen that had 1 roo and 5 hens...the roo named Rufus was the meanest of them all. All I had to do was get close to the pen and he would start flopping at the fence to get to me. If I circled around the outside of the pen he would keep it up as long as I was near. Always had to carry something so when I went into the pen he had something other than me to attack. Holding him, trying to make him submit or spraying him with the garden hose was all in vain. Even a kick in the head a couple of times did nothing to deter him. He was chicken and dumplings not long after that started.
So, no matter how much I love those egg colors, ixnay on the Marans for moi!
