PORTERFIELD EXOTICS
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Marans Chickens |
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PORTERFIELD EXOTICS
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 Cuckoo Marans
Some Nice Dark Brown Marans Eggs |
Marans chickens were originally developed in
Marans, France. The exact development of them is not known. It
is believed they were the result of English fighting cocks brought to France
by sailors being traded and crossed with French laying hens, later a bit of
Chinese oriental breed blood believed to be added in. These birds were
then selectively bred for the big red brown eggs. Marans eggs are
judged on a scale of 1-9 (scale pictured below) with a 1 being a white egg
and a 9 being almost a black. To be considered a true Marans the egg
must rate a 4 and a 5 - 7 rating is more desirable. The occasional and
rare 8 - 9 eggs are considered exceptional and the birds that lay them are
highly prized by their breeders. The eggs are normally the darkest at
the beginning of the laying cycle and become lighter as the cycle continues.
The French standard calls for a feathered leg bird while the English
standard has bred the feather legs out of the birds for a cleaner bird and
cleaner eggs. In America there is a limited gene pool on the Marans
but both French and English birds are available. Those who seek them
for egg production tend to choose the clean leg English lines and those
wishing to better develop the original French lines tend to choose the
feather footed birds. This bird has seen a recent explosion in
popularity in America where it is not uncommon to see hatching eggs from
good lines selling for over $20 each at online auction sites.
There are a number of very dedicated individuals that are working diligently
with this breed and a lot of speculators as well who hope to cash in on the
increasing popularity so buyers beware. The Marans chickens are a
heavy breed dual purpose bird and come in a whole variety of colors.
Some colors include cuckoo, black, black copper, wheaton, white, blue,
birchen and more.
We currently have Cuckoo Marans in both clean and feather leg varieties. We hope to add some other colors soon and intend to breed to both French and English standards depending on the stock we obtain. We are currently on waiting lists for hatching eggs from various well respected breeders of Marans. |
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