Black/Copper French Marans

I like a lot of things that are french, french funiture, french cooking and french wine.  So when I found out about the French Marans I had to investigate.  This breed is very rare in the United States which is why I chose to raise them.  I liked their characteristics and I wanted to contribute to strengthening the breed in this country since they can no longer be imported from France.

They have large to extra-large dark brown eggs.  The eggs have been described as Godiva Chocolate eggs. As you can see by the photo above they are quiet-a-bit darker than the average brown egg which sits in the center.  These eggs can be and are several shades darker than the ones in this photo.   It has been said that top chefs like the eggs because of their rich buttery taste. I for one have to agree!  Their taste is fantastic.   Their egg color is unique however and are so dark because they have a special gland that kinda spray paints them as they are layed.  Apparantly this gland is not found in any other breed that I'm aware of.  Anyway it makes for beautiful eggs.  (I feel a craft project coming on!)    

 The breed is very docile and grow to a medium size as far as chickens go .  They are a great dual purpose bird.  There are two standards being breed  in the USA, if you have the kind that have feathers on their legs  they are the french standard and the Marans without feathers on their legs are american standard.  There are several different colorings in the Marans breed.  I chose the black/copper because they are known for laying the darkest eggs.  

I'm hoping I have a broody hen(which means a hen who will want to set on eggs long enough to hatch them).  I'm wanting to see if they can hatch their own chicks.  So many breeds don't have broody hens these days because most people want to hatch the eggs themselves to have a greater number of chicks to survive and sell.  I for one would like to see the hens take care of their young.  I think that characteristic will help the breed survive in the long run.