marans

[grandma12703]

Went to the small animal auction in the area Sat. and am happy to say I came home with 35 chickens. Total cost was between .25 and .35 per chick. They are several weeks to a month old so well started. I ended up with a small box of white rocks, blue cochin (beautiful), black australorpe, and marans. I had never heard of the marans but they are pretty little chickens. I think they are about a month old and look hardy. Can't wait to see their eggs as I hear they are deep deep brown almost burgundy. I feel for people, though as the drought is causing many to sell whatever they have due to lack of feed and grass. It is a buyers market if you have the ability to provide this winter. We bought several more sheep, a few more goats, geese, and chickens and spent $300.00.

[Cliff]

Originally Posted by grandma12703

Went to the small animal auction in the area Sat. and am happy to say I came home with 35 chickens. Total cost was between .25 and .35 per chick. They are several weeks to a month old so well started. I ended up with a small box of white rocks, blue cochin (beautiful), black australorpe, and marans. I had never heard of the marans but they are pretty little chickens. I think they are about a month old and look hardy. Can't wait to see their eggs as I hear they are deep deep brown almost burgundy. I feel for people, though as the drought is causing many to sell whatever they have due to lack of feed and grass. It is a buyers market if you have the ability to provide this winter. We bought several more sheep, a few more goats, geese, and chickens and spent $300.00.

If they are pure marans and of a good line they lay very dark eggs. If they are outcrossed at all they lose the egg color. Surprised you haven't heard of them they are all round the best homestead bird you can keep imo. For me the egg color is just incidental, their other qualities are what are really important.

They were originally developed in France as a gourmet meat bird, and they really are. They have a dark sweet rich flavored meat. Again, only if they are pure marans, the meat quality is lost with outcrossing like the egg color is. They have a large heavy carcass, with some color varieties being larger than others. They aren't short rounded birds like people are used to for meat. They have a bigger longer carcass, not rounded and puffy.

They are calm gentle birds. I never had a mean rooster in 10 years of raising them. They lay well. They set and are good mothers. They're good foragers.

They're just a good sustainable farm chicken. The meat is excellent and the eggs are cool We originally got them for the egg color too, back when they were just becoming available from breeders. Didn't take long to realize how good they were as a true dual purpose homestead bird. Not many of those left these days, the old dual purpose birds have been bred down to be scrawny things in the name of feed efficiency.

[grandma12703]

Thanks for the info. I am really excited to see these grow out.

[imthedude]

Originally Posted by Cliff

If they are pure marans and of a good line they lay very dark eggs. If they are outcrossed at all they lose the egg color. Surprised you haven't heard of them they are all round the best homestead bird you can keep imo. For me the egg color is just incidental, their other qualities are what are really important.

They were originally developed in France as a gourmet meat bird, and they really are. They have a dark sweet rich flavored meat. Again, only if they are pure marans, the meat quality is lost with outcrossing like the egg color is. They have a large heavy carcass, with some color varieties being larger than others. They aren't short rounded birds like people are used to for meat. They have a bigger longer carcass, not rounded and puffy.

They are calm gentle birds. I never had a mean rooster in 10 years of raising them. They lay well. They set and are good mothers. They're good foragers.

They're just a good sustainable farm chicken. The meat is excellent and the eggs are cool We originally got them for the egg color too, back when they were just becoming available from breeders. Didn't take long to realize how good they were as a true dual purpose homestead bird. Not many of those left these days, the old dual purpose birds have been bred down to be scrawny things in the name of feed efficiency.

i've thought of adding a few marans to my flock. how is their production and winter hardiness? will they completely shut down production in the cold months?

[Dusky Beauty]

I badly want some black copper marans (and will have by next year) and I was thinking about grabbing some fertile eggs for wheaten and blue splash marans for funsies. They are fantastic chickens.

Did you get cuckoo marans, or a different variety?

[grandma12703]

Originally Posted by Dusky Beauty

I badly want some black copper marans (and will have by next year) and I was thinking about grabbing some fertile eggs for wheaten and blue splash marans for funsies. They are fantastic chickens.

Did you get cuckoo marans, or a different variety?

That is what they told us they were.

[Sanza]

Marans winter very well and they were the first birds out of the chicken coop every day in -30 temps. They are the best all around chicken I've ever had and I also never had a mean rooster.

[MO_cows]

.35 for month old birds??? Somebody lost money on those, big time.

[grandma12703]

Originally Posted by MO_cows

.35 for month old birds??? Somebody lost money on those, big time.

Definately, it was kind of sad. I felt sorry for alot of folks selling right now because of the heat and drought. I saw some sanaan dairy goats go for $10.00 each. They were thin but that is still sad. NZW rabbits for .50 to 1.00. Like I said if you had the way to keep them it would definately benefit you to have bought at this sale. I saw way too many good does, ewes, and gilts go to kill buyers instead of farmers.

[Cliff]

Originally Posted by imthedude

i've thought of adding a few marans to my flock. how is their production and winter hardiness? will they completely shut down production in the cold months?

Every breed practically shuts down production while they're molting. You can avoid that by using lights in the coop so the shorter daylength doesn't trigger molting but imo you'll burn the hens out fast doing that. They need the rest from laying while they grow new feathers to protect them from the winter cold. We don't use lights any more and egg production naturally starts back up in Jan. when the days start getting longer.

All the marans I've had have layed as well as any other dual purpose bird.

[Dusky Beauty]

I've gotta find one of these auctions.. I really do <_<

[chickenista]

I really must ask..
do those pretty Marans chicks have a white spot on their heads?
Are they a dark grey/black or are they a lighter, more silvery grey?

I ask this because at auctions, chicks going for that price are young roosters.

It is too early to tell on the other breeds, but the Marans can be sexed at hatch.
Roosters ahve a white spot on their heads adn as they grow, they are a light grey.
Hens have no spot and they are very, very dark. Pretty much black.

[Hollowdweller]

I love marans. The cuckoo cocks are lighter than the hens as chicks.

Mine some of them have really dark eggs and some only slightly darker.

I figured they'd only be so-so layers but mine have laid great and are very mellow birds. Good size too. Mine have feather feet most of them.

[mamagoose]

I have a black, blue and splash, my first Marans. The blue started laying in June, but stopped in July. (I'm not amused by that.) The eggs are beauties, though. I'm guessing heat is the issue. The blue was hatched in December 2011 and the splash is from mid-February 2012 and she hasn't started laying. The splash is gorgeous and I don't even like white chickens! She has *black* eyes and blue shanks and feet (feathered). I enjoy her more than the blue as she's quite a looker, but I understand splash are not recognized by the APA. I have a very nice black roo penned up away from the girls right now and he is not polite to me, but I attribute that to his living quarters. I am anxious to raise chicks from this trio.