Marans Owners -- anything "bad" about this breed?

[Arklady]

I hatched a solid black Marans Hen out of a silver cuckoo so beats me lol.... As for Black copper I have a RED cuckoo that is giving me great colors. I do want some fresh Dna and KUKBucks has a great birchen subject. Her birds do not show the Squirrel tail problem that is so bad in my flock.

Definitely getting eggs soon as is humanly possible!

Arklady

 

[onthespot]

Arklady, thanks for all your input and genetics info. Is that red cuckoo roo with his photo on the home page your bird? He's something else! I never saw that color before.

 

[tfpets]

Can someone show the squirrel tail defect, and what the tail should look like?

 

[ninjapoodles]

Quote:
I'd love to see what you get. Maybe we can visit sometime (you're not THAT far from me)!

 

[Arklady]

No that is a golden cuckoo pullet...

This is the roo....

Arklady

 

[denasfarm]

I ordered these CMarans from Ideal. They are 1 month old today. I took these pics tonight in the dark so they look a bit sleepy and a bit surprized. The first pic is the Roo, the 2nd pic is the Roo and his 3 pullets (I hope)I will get better pics tomorrow.
The roo is obviously lighter in color and has a larger comb.
What do you all think?

 

[tfpets]

I am just starting explore the Marans, and they are very interesting. Your birds look like happy birds, and I definitely see a Cuckoo rooster and three Cuckoo hens!

I am learning that Marans come from a number of sources, and for the backyard poultry owner, just wanting pretty eggs, you have good enough Marans. I dont have any from Ideal and dont know their source or lineage. Chickens seem to be like dogs, where you need the proper lineage to be the real deal, or you could just have a "mutt." It seems anything but birds with a traced lineage (not a lost heritage) are just a watered down American version of the Marans, bred and sold to the general public for pretty eggs and birds.

If you are wanting to get into serious breeding of Marans, be warned.

An opinion so well stated in a previous post by Arklady: Hatchery Marans I would not own a hatchery Marans if you paid me because they are only selling the name not a good quality Marans. I spent two years investigating bird lines and going from one site or another till I found someone who had the Line I thought would serve me best. If you don't know whose line the birds ORIGINATED from then you need to find out. Some lines are INCOMPATIBLE with others.

If all you want is pretty eggs then hatchery Marans are for you. But if you think *THINK* you might become a serious breeder of Marans, DON'T buy hatchery Marans.

The Marans. Great birds.

 

[Arklady]

I'll go you one better.... I met a gal on byc and she ordered 100 Marans chicks from Ideal and out of that one hundred only 20 were good enough to use for breeding. Now thats saying something. She culled and culled hard. It broke her heart...

But the simple fact is.... She COULD have saved her self some grief by buying quality birds from someone else. Like me. I got mine from Bill Braden he has had a closed Npip flock for years, he has lots of different birds but he is high.

If pretty eggs is all you want those hatchery birds are good but for me.... it wasn't good enough I wanted something I could build on. A good foundation.

Arklady

 

[denasfarm]

How can I tell at this young age if they are worthy?

I have raised and shown Am Bulldogs for years and know exactly what a great bulldog should look like,and have owned (still own) dogs from the BEST lines out there but have gotton out of breeding and showing dogs due to my husbands health.

Chickens are another thing. I am sure I can learn it! I dont know if I want to "show" birds but I sure would like to have NICE birds and not puerbred mutt birds.
Now with my Silkies I am learning what shape they should be, how many toes, feathering etc...but I wouldnt call anything I have a GREAT bird yet.

Since I am just barely starting with the Marans, Mainly due to the fact that I am 3rd generation French immigrant myself I thought it would be nice to have a french breed. (stupid logic) but as good as any reason. Pretty eggs to boot.

Can anyone post "perfect" Marans to look at on here? Front, side, Feet, Close up and etc...? Most everyone seems worried about egg color more than bird type in this breed. Shouldnt both be of importance? In Dog breeding You never expect to have a full litter of show quality pups. If you get one champ in a litter you are doing great.
Are Birds different?

I noticed ArkLady has clean legged Marans on her site Where mine have Feathered Legs. What is the rule on feathering? or is that an American addition?I believe Ideal advertised the Feather legged birds as the "REAL' Marans.

 

[tfpets]

Okay,

If a person is interested in having "good" stock right now, who would you recommend?

I see the most common lines, Fitch, Presley, Bev Davis....and I know they are the best, and I can get eggs from them (at the usual risk) but are there other breeders of suitable stock out there that are still of good reputation, perhaps that breed or combine their lines with a good outcome but are still respectable...so a person can have good stock, but be able to say where their birds came from, you know? Maybe even BYC members with good lines/stock could be recommended?

I am wondering if I should join the Marans Breeders Yahoo group for more information, as my interest in the breed is genuine? I am finding that out of the 25+ varieties of chickens that I have, that my Marans, such as they are, are really great birds!