Wrath's Marans

[2ndTink]

@2ndTink was poking fun, she knows I can't process my birds. The couple people I have that do, want around 20 weeks.

So... mine are old enough to taste test...

 

[Tstraub]

@2ndTink was poking fun, she knows I can't process my birds. The couple people I have that do, want around 20 weeks.

Well if they’re on your feed bill I would aim for 20 weeks as well. But I’m cheap. Gotta make the most efficient use of feed and housing here

 

[2ndTink]

Well if they’re on your feed bill I would aim for 20 weeks as well. But I’m cheap. Gotta make the most efficient use of feed and housing here

Do you have any information on weights, taste, texture etc on the various processing ages of Marans?

 

[wrathsfarm]

This was just a simple Google search I did for curiosity.....so be aware of accuracy.

 

[Tstraub]

Do you have any information on weights, taste, texture etc on the various processing ages of Marans?

I don’t have a lot of first hand knowledge of standard breed Marans. 2 1/2 years ago(before I knew any better) I bought 12 BCM hatching eggs off Craigslist because they were the cheapest I could find within a reasonable driving distance. I put them in a home made incubator and 8 of them hatched.

By the time they were 4 weeks old I realized I was way overcrowded on several breeds of chickens. So I re homed 4 and kept 4, 2 pullets and 2 cockerels. I butchered one of the cockerels at around 6 months old and put it on the grill. I assume I cooked it too fast for it’s age because it was extremely chewy. Flavorful but not good texture.

The 3 I kept grew up with lots of faults body type was off colors weren’t right, eggs were infrequent, small, and honestly not very dark in color.

I attempted to hatch eggs several times over 2 years and never succeeded. I hatched dozens of olive Eggers from the cock bird so I know he isn’t the problem. Eventually I did make soup birds from the girls. I gave them every opportunity to prove their worth but they didn’t have it. They did make good soup meat and wonderful bone broth.

I just haven’t ever butchered a full Marans at prime age so I can’t really speak to how good they are compared to anything else. I do plan to eventually get some better stock. I have talked to @wrathsfarm about getting some of his but timing hasn’t worked out yet. When I’m ready the girls I want eggs from are off lay. I’ll get there but I’ll be patient about doing it the right way.

 

[wrathsfarm]

I don’t have a lot of first hand knowledge of standard breed Marans. 2 1/2 years ago(before I knew any better) I bought 12 BCM hatching eggs off Craigslist because they were the cheapest I could find within a reasonable driving distance. I put them in a home made incubator and 8 of them hatched.

By the time they were 4 weeks old I realized I was way overcrowded on several breeds of chickens. So I re homed 4 and kept 4, 2 pullets and 2 cockerels. I butchered one of the cockerels at around 6 months old and put it on the grill. I assume I cooked it too fast for it’s age because it was extremely chewy. Flavorful but not good texture.

The 3 I kept grew up with lots of faults body type was off colors weren’t right, eggs were infrequent, small, and honestly not very dark in color.

I attempted to hatch eggs several times over 2 years and never succeeded. I hatched dozens of olive Eggers from the cock bird so I know he isn’t the problem. Eventually I did make soup birds from the girls. I gave them every opportunity to prove their worth but they didn’t have it. They did make good soup meat and wonderful bone broth.

I just haven’t ever butchered a full Marans at prime age so I can’t really speak to how good they are compared to anything else. I do plan to eventually get some better stock. I have talked to @wrathsfarm about getting some of his but timing hasn’t worked out yet. When I’m ready the girls I want eggs from are off lay. I’ll get there but I’ll be patient about doing it the right way.

We'll get you figured out by Spring, my friend.

 

[Tstraub]

We'll get you figured out by Spring, my friend.

Yep, now that I started the Bresse flock I don’t know that I’ll be doing a lot of Marans SOP breeding but definitely want to make some room for some nice dark layers in the breakfast egg crew

 

[wrathsfarm]

Yep, now that I started the Bresse flock I don’t know that I’ll be doing a lot of Marans SOP breeding but definitely want to make some room for some nice dark layers in the breakfast egg crew

Wonder how a Bresse/Marans mix would process out? I know nothing about Bresse, so just spit balling.

 

[Tstraub]

Wonder how a Bresse/Marans mix would process out? I know nothing about Bresse, so just spit balling.

They are both dual purpose breeds so I would guess that the first generation hybrid would probably do pretty well because of all the hybrid vigor. F2 and beyond would likely be all over the place in consistency as all of the genes mix together. They are both French breeds so maybe they have some common ancestors but I haven’t really seen anything stating that they do. It just seems like back then the probably use what was available and the two regions are only like 400 ish miles apart.

 

[Tstraub]

Bresse are dominant white so I think a Ayam Cemani rooster and White Bresse hen will make a version of a Zombie. Not as common as using a leghorn but a similar look