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Bev's work with Marans has centered around breeding the best quality poultry possible. Because lines historically have been limited in the United States, there has been limited genetic material to work with in developing the breed and its various plumage colors. Bev's ultimate goal is to breed each variety to the French Marans standard. But for the time being, some varieties lack features of the French standard, such as feathered shanks. |
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Top row: do not qualify as Marans Bottom row: qualify as Marans |
One area Bev does not compromise is egg color. She will not sell a variety until it has developed the ability to produce a #4 colored egg, the hallmark color to define the egg as from a TRUE Marans. Egg color varies across individuals, across the age of the laying bird, and even across an individual season for a given laying bird. But unless a variety is capable of producing #4 eggs (or above) at some point of their laying cycle, Bev will not consider them true Marans. |
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Use care when purchasing "Marans" from sources. No matter how beautiful the color of bird, if the flock is not producing #4 or better eggs at some point of the laying cycle, the birds technically DO NOT QUALIFY AS MARANS, PERIOD. (According to the French Marans standard) A "new variety" of Marans is NOT Marans until the flock produces the hallmark #4 eggs. |
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When you look to add Marans to your flock(s), insist that you add quality, which means that you add TRUE Marans. Anybody can claim their birds are "Marans" but "the egg color needs work." If the flock cannot produce #4 eggs at some time, they simply are not Marans, regardless of the breeding. This is how the French begin by defining the breed. They MUST produce a minimal egg pigment. |
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So look carefully when you go to invest in your new flock members. Never buy "Marans" without verification that the flock can produce #4 eggs. This does not mean that every egg produced will be #4, but rather that the flock has DEMONSTRATED that they can produce #4 eggs. |
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