Here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure, this lets you, the customer, actually see what you are promised from your purchase other than buying blind.
Brief Summary of the Marans Standards (French)
The American Poultry Association (APA) has not yet recognized the Marans breed. This is not so much a negative circumstance as it is an indication of how rare and precious this breed is in the USA. Breeders across the country are working for recognition by entering their birds in regional and national poultry shows. Knowledgeable folks seem to believe that the French standards of perfection for the breed will ultimately be accepted on this side of the Atlantic. I, like many others, am trying to breed my Black Coppers Marans to the French standards.
You may visit the Marans Club of France to see how the French breeders describe the ideal Marans. It is unlikely that many breeders on either side of the Atlantic have absolutely perfect flocks in which all specimens meet all of the standards, but these are the qualities that all careful breeders are constantly working to attain. Below is a brief overview of some of those standards:
Eggs: Large and very dark. A true Marans’ egg must be at least a 4 on that scale. Any hen that does not produce eggs that are at least that dark at some point in time during her laying cycle is not a true Marans.
The ideal rooster has strong body that is “fairly long and wide, especially near the shoulders.” The shoulders are high. His neck is “long, fairly strong, tending to curve in on top towards the skull.” The hackles (the “cape” around his neck) are “made of many long and abundant feathers covering the shoulders well.” The back is “long, flat,” and “slightly concave towards the rear.” The ideal rooster’s saddle is “large, slightly raised but not rounded.” His breast is “strong and large,” his abdomen is “well developed,” his wings are “short” and “kept close to the body,” and his tail is “strong at its base, quite short,” and “fairly up without going over 45º.” His head is “average size, slightly flat and long.” He wears a single comb “of an average size, with fairly rough texture and sharp edges.” His ear lobes are “average size, red, and long.” His eyes are “bright with a red-orange iris.” His beak is “quite strong, slightly hooked and horn-colored.”
The Marans hen is smaller than the rooster “with a large, strong, and more rounded body, a straighter back line, a well-developed abdomen, and a fine, straight” comb (or no comb at all?).
The French refer to our “Black Copper” variety with the French equivalent of “Brown-red.” Although they provide a great deal more detail the Black Copper rooster is black with copper-colored hackles, shoulders, and saddle. The hens are mostly black with glints of copper in the hackles.
When it comes to trying to envision the ideal standards for the Black Copper Marans, these pictures are really worth at least a thousand words.
The American Poultry Association (APA) has not yet recognized the Marans breed. This is not so much a negative circumstance as it is an indication of how rare and precious this breed is in the USA. Breeders across the country are working for recognition by entering their birds in regional and national poultry shows. Knowledgeable folks seem to believe that the French standards of perfection for the breed will ultimately be accepted on this side of the Atlantic. I, like many others, am trying to breed my Black Coppers Marans to the French standards.
You may visit the Marans Club of France to see how the French breeders describe the ideal Marans. It is unlikely that many breeders on either side of the Atlantic have absolutely perfect flocks in which all specimens meet all of the standards, but these are the qualities that all careful breeders are constantly working to attain. Below is a brief overview of some of those standards:
Eggs: Large and very dark. A true Marans’ egg must be at least a 4 on that scale. Any hen that does not produce eggs that are at least that dark at some point in time during her laying cycle is not a true Marans.
The ideal rooster has strong body that is “fairly long and wide, especially near the shoulders.” The shoulders are high. His neck is “long, fairly strong, tending to curve in on top towards the skull.” The hackles (the “cape” around his neck) are “made of many long and abundant feathers covering the shoulders well.” The back is “long, flat,” and “slightly concave towards the rear.” The ideal rooster’s saddle is “large, slightly raised but not rounded.” His breast is “strong and large,” his abdomen is “well developed,” his wings are “short” and “kept close to the body,” and his tail is “strong at its base, quite short,” and “fairly up without going over 45º.” His head is “average size, slightly flat and long.” He wears a single comb “of an average size, with fairly rough texture and sharp edges.” His ear lobes are “average size, red, and long.” His eyes are “bright with a red-orange iris.” His beak is “quite strong, slightly hooked and horn-colored.”
The Marans hen is smaller than the rooster “with a large, strong, and more rounded body, a straighter back line, a well-developed abdomen, and a fine, straight” comb (or no comb at all?).
The French refer to our “Black Copper” variety with the French equivalent of “Brown-red.” Although they provide a great deal more detail the Black Copper rooster is black with copper-colored hackles, shoulders, and saddle. The hens are mostly black with glints of copper in the hackles.
When it comes to trying to envision the ideal standards for the Black Copper Marans, these pictures are really worth at least a thousand words.