Marans

just got them but so fatr the most docile chicks Ive ever owned

I live in the suburbs and have a small backyard. I have 2 chickens: a Marans and a Barred Rock. My Cuckoo Marans, Orca, is a very sweet, medium-sized bird. I get a large, dark brown egg from her every day, and a double yolked egg weekly. She isn't the biggest people-chicken, but she isn't too shy either and willingly eats out of my hand. I would highly recommend this breed for backyard flocks. I got her when she was 3 months old, so I don't know what they are like as chicks.

My marans have the most interesting crow. I hope I have a hen in this batch of chicks. I want dark terracota eggs!

We have only had our marans for a short while, however they are already very friendly and have there own very different personalities. We have a cockerel and two hens and they are all very friendly. We have hatched them our self and they were easy to look after, they are hardy and need and we have never had a problem with them. They are a brilliant bird that I would recommend to anyone.

would love to have some chocolate colored eggs to our collection of pink, brown, cream, and green, and blue eggs.

Love mine they are the best I have ever raised. They do go broody often. When not broody they lay about 4-6 eggs per week. They make amazing mothers. There egg shell are very durable/think. I love there dark eggs. But the darkness of the eggs will get lighter when they start to age.

this is a very good chicken and for me, i think i would say it is 5 stars. it always wants to be the leader, and it makes a good one. it treats the ladies nice, so if you want chicks this is a good chicken for you

I have a Bev Davis Line Cuckoo Maran. She lays a very pretty dark chocolate speckled eggs nearly every day. She is a little bit flighty but will occasionally eat from my hand. She is very friendly with the other birds but because of this she often gets bullied.

really really good all around farm bird.

There is a lot of hype about the special eggs. All fresh, free range eggs are wonderful. These are on a whole other level. To eat one of these French Black Copper Marans eggs, freshly laid, should be on everyone's bucket list. Wow! My favorite chicken (I have had a number of breeds) is a FBCM hen named Button. She is as friendly and curious as a kitten. It is true they go broody a good bit. Some individuals are more broody than others, still they make excellent mothers so I feel this makes the trait worth it. I never want to be without them in my flock. I must add I am baffled by the statement that the roosters can be aggressive. The two I have had are not aggressive with anyone or anything (except each other). The one I have now even accepts my chicken friendly cat in his run area.

Prettiest Hen I have

i got these bcm hatching eggs by fluke. Im sure glad i did now the ones i have are very big, my one male is very friendly and is becoming more a pet. I butchered some of the other males and had most of the weigh in at 5lbs after butcher. cant wait to do more of this breed and mix some of my amaricanas with him.

I love my marans. The marans are a regal bird with the most beautiful eggs I've ever seen! I am just entranced by these gorgeous eggs! Plus the eggs are better tasting than any other egg I've ever tried! Creamier. I scoffed at this statement before I tried them but I am a believer now (my husband can't taste the difference, however he can't tell a store egg from a fresh one).

About half my hens do go broody (not at the same time luckily) but I like that and they are not the best choice if you want a hen that is a heavy egg producer (I average 3 a week from ea hen). I do get eggs in the winter but it definitely does slow down. Their coop is insulated (gets below zero here) and I do provide some supplemental light in winter.

My next door neighbor had white Marans when I was a child. These birds were much cleaner than our Leghorns, they thrived in the muddy pasture and often hatched chicks. I got interested a few decades back and have every color in the book. They are just plain fun. If there wasn't so much out crossing and false advertising from people trying to make easy money we could have a great breed in the Marans. Unfortunately the Marans craze created a lot of unethical people, who hatched and sold all sorts of substandard stock. Now it is what it is.

I just bought a pair of French Black Copper Marans this spring to see if they were as wonderful as my Cuckoo Marans. I havent owned the French Black long enough to see if they will come up to me like my Cuckoo Marans. The hen and rooster are very sweet of the Copper variety so far. The hen lays a egg right on time and isnt slow to lay like some have mentioned. I ordered a new batch of French Copper Marans for this summer to sell fertile eggs next year. My Cuckoo's will walk up to me and let me pet them, they lay really well in the winter. I had two Roos of the Cuckoo's and they were sweet birds also.

We have three from this amazing breed. We have the french standard with the feathered legs and toes. Our two pullets are very friendly. The male however can be somewhat aggressive but overall I wouldn't trade him for the world. If you want deep dark chocolate colored eggs go with the Maran breed! The only drawback I've seen is wishing they would lay a few more eggs than they do. The average in laying eggs for us is 3 per week per pullet at this time. The maran egg is highly sought after by top chefs!

My cuckoos didn't start laying until almost 3 weeks after my speckled sussex, and my sussex are a week younger. Since they've been laying, I get about 5-6 eggs a week from each of the 3 and one of them gives me a double yolk egg 1 or 2 times a week. For my needs, this is perfect as it's only 2 of us and it gives us enough to share without being overwhelmed with eggs. We got chickens primarily as bug control and they have been awesome! I like the personality of my marans-friendly without being terribly pesky. I can handle them all easily and they come when they're called. Not skittish at all but not pushy either (my speckled sussex can tend towards being pushy about treats and pets). The eggs are absolutely lovely as you can see in this pic. They are even darker now that they've been laying longer. They're larger than the sussex eggs too. In all, I think these birds are a great addition to my flock and I really enjoy them.

i want this

I have raised quite a few of these birds, and am really impressed with them. They are very quick to mature, and are one of the friendliest birds I raise. They are known for their rich chocolate colored eggs, though not all strains lay super dark eggs. The roosters are mature by 4-5 months and are pretty good meat birds. I recommend this beautiful breed, coming in a wide range of colors, for your flock!