The Marans, italic=no, is a breed of chicken from the port town of Marans, in the département of Charente-Maritime, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaineregion of south-western France. It was created with the localferal chickensdescended from fighting game chickens carried from Indonesia and India. Those original Marandaise fowl were "improved" for the table through recombination with imported Croad Langshans. A favourite at poultry shows, it is a dual-purpose fowl known both for its extremely dark eggs and fine meat qualities.
History
The Marans originated in Marans, France, and were imported into the United Kingdom in the 1930s, and were later imported to the U.S. in the 2000s.
Characteristics
There are 9 recognized colours in the French standard: cuckoo, golden cuckoo, black, birchen, black copper, wheaten, black-tailed buff, white and Colombian. Black copper and cuckoo are the most common of these. Other colours not officially recognized also exist. They should have orange eyes. The shanks are usually slate or pink, the soles of the feet should always be white as Marans have white skin, not yellow. Though the original Marans could also be feather-legged birds, British breeders preferred the clean-legged version, and thus feather-legged Marans are now mainly found in France and the United States. The Australian Poultry Standard recognizes both feather- and clean-legged. The American Poultry Association only recognizes feather-legged. Some Marans have a gene that makes the shell up to 10% of the eggs weight. This is useful for unfertilized eggs, as its density typically prevents contamination and viruses from getting inside. Although the shell thickness does have its advantages, it does increase chick fatality rates by 5% to 10% depending on its variety. Eggs typically do better in higher humidity environments. Marans eggs change in color yearly, dark brown in cooler months well a lighter shade of brown in warm months.
Use
Marans hens lay around 150–200 dark brown eggs each year depending on the variety. Marans are historically a dual-purpose bird, prized not only for their dark eggs but for their table qualities as well.
