Marans Chicken: Characteristics, Temperament, Origin

Marans chicken is a desirable breed because of it’s rich chocolate brown colored eggs. It is a dual purpose breed and raised mainly for it’s unique egg color and beautiful appearance. It was developed in France in the mid 1800s in the town of Marans.

This breed bears it’s name from the town name Marans, where it was developed. Marans chicken was developed by using the local feral chickens descended from fighting game chickens carried from Indonesia and India.

The original Marandaise fowl were improved for meat purpose through recombination with imported Croad Langshans.

Marans chicken was first imported into the United Kingdom in the 1930s. It is originally a feather legged breed. But a clean legged variety of the Marans chicken was eventually developed in England through breeding with certain English and French breeds.

It was recognized by the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Perfection in the year of 2011.

Marans Chicken Characteristics

Marans chicken is a dual purpose breed and known for both of it’s fine meat qualities and extremely dark eggs. They grow large enough to be used for meat production as well as for eggs.

On an average, Marans hens produce about 150-200 eggs per year. There are many color varieties available of Marans chicken. The recognized colors in the French Standard are Black, Black Copper, Birchen, Black-tailed Buff, Columbian, Cuckoo, Golden Cuckoo, Wheaten and White. Cuckoo and Black Copper are the most common of all these breeds.

Black Copper Marans appears in black with copper feathers on the neck. And Cuckoos are of barred feathers, giving a black and white speckled appearance. There are also some other colors exist which are not officially recognized. Such as Blue, Blue Copper and splash.

This breed 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. They have red colored single comb and red wattles.

The English standard of Marans chicken calls for clean legs, the Australian standard recognized both feathered and clean-legged, the Marans Club of America only recognizes feather-legged birds and the French standard calls for feathered legs.

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On an average, Marans roosters weight about 3.5-4 kg and hens about 2.5-3 kg. There is also a bantam variety available of Marans chicken (male about 1100 grams and female about 900 grams). Photo form Wikipedia.

Behavior/Temperament

Marans chickens are a fast growing breed and extremely hardy that will thrive in almost all climates. They are generally docile and quiet in nature and pretty active. They are good foragers and do well in free ranging system.

They are also tough and disease-resistant. But they can be lazy and get fat very easily if raised in confinement. So it’s best to keep them as free range as possible.

Marans chickens are very friendly and are easy to look after. Neither the roosters nor the hens are aggressive. Hens are good layers and lay rich chocolate brown colored eggs. They go broody and hens are great mothers. See full breed profile of Marans chicken below.

Breed NameMarans
Other NameFrench: Poule de Marans
Breed PurposeDual Purpose
Breed TemperamentFriendly, Docile, Easily Handled
Breed SizeLarge
BroodinessAverage
CombSingle
Climate ToleranceAll Climates
Egg ColorRich Chocolate Brown
Egg SizeLarge
Egg ProductivityMedium
Feathered LegsYes/No
RarityRare
VarietiesBlack, Black Copper, Birchen, Black-tailed Buff, Columbian, Cuckoo, Golden Cuckoo, Wheaten, White and some other colors are also exists but officially not recognized.

The Good

  • Very beautiful chicken breed
  • Dual purpose breed
  • Good layers
  • Good for quality meat
  • Colorful eggs
  • Rich chocolate brown colored eggs
  • Friendly
  • Docile
  • Not aggressive
  • Quiet
  • Easily handled
  • Bears confinement well
  • Good foragers
  • Good for free ranging
  • Very hardy and can tolerate almost all climates
  • Disease-resistant

The Bad

  • Pretty rare
  • Poor winter layer
  • Some varieties don’t lay dark chocolate colored eggs

Is Marans Chicken Good for You?

Marans chicken is good for you if you…….

  • Prefer producing colorful eggs instead of common white and brown eggs.
  • Want to have some beautiful chickens.
  • Are willing to raise some large size dual purpose breed.
  • Want to produce quality meat as well as dark colored eggs.
  • Want to raise some friendly chickens which are easily handled.
  • Want to raise some fast growing chickens.
  • Are looking for some chickens which are good for confinement.
  • Want to raise some chickens which are good foragers and good for free ranging.
  • Are looking for such chicken breed which can tolerate almost all climates and disease-resistant.

Frequently Asked Questions

People ask many questions about Marans chicken. Here we are listing the most common questions about this chicken breed, and trying to answer them. Hope you will find your answer. Don’t hesitate to ask us if you have more questions.

Are Marans chickens good layers?

Marans are pretty good layers. Although, they are not among the top egg layers. Generally, a Marans hen lay between 150 and 200 eggs per year.

Are Maran hens aggressive?

No, Maran hens are not aggressive. They are generally docile and quiet in nature. They are generally very good forager and go well in the free ranging system. The roosters are also not aggressive.

What color eggs do Marans chickens lay?

The Marans hens generally lay deep chocolate brown colored eggs.

Which Marans lay the darkest eggs?

Black Copper Marans lay the darkest eggs.

How many eggs a year does a Maran lay?

Marans hens generally lay between 150 and 200 eggs per year.

Is Marans a hybird?

No, it is not a hybrid. But Hybrid Maran is also available.

At what age do Marans start laying?

The Marans hens generally start laying eggs at age between 4 and 6 months.

Are blue Marans good layers?

Blue Marans are not among the very good egg layers. They are actually dual-purpose birds and very good for both meat and eggs production.

Are Maran chickens noisy?

Yes, they are pretty noisy (but not too much).

How long do Marans chickens live?

Average lifespan of Marans chickens is around or up to 7 years.

What colors do Marans come in?

Marans are generally of Black, Black Copper, Wheaten and White color.

Do Marans lay green eggs?

No, Marans generally lay brown colored eggs.

Do Marans eggs get darker?

Marans eggs color is at it’s darkest during the cooler months. And the egg’s color fades when temperatures increases during the summer.

Are Marans difficult to hatch?

Yes, sometimes Marans eggs can be difficult to hatch (especially the darker ones).

Do Marans lay eggs in winter?

The Marans are quiet cold hardy, and they may not lay much eggs in the winter months.

How much do Maran chickens cost?

Exact price of a Maran depends on numerous factors and can vary from place to place. Although, you can expect the price between $6 and $8.

How do you tell if a Maran is a rooster?

The main differences between the cuckoo Maran rooster and hen are size, head spot, color, feathers, comb, and behavior.

Are Marans heat hardy?

Marans can not tolerate extreme heat. But they are very cold hardy birds.

Are golden cuckoo Marans rare?

Yes, Golden Cuckoo Marans chickens are very rare breed.

What are Cuckoo Marans?

Cuckoo Marans is a dual purpose bird and is known for it’s deep chocolate brown eggs (though some eggs may have some speckled dark pigments in the egg shell).

What do Marans eat?

Marans are just like many other chicken breeds. They love to forage outside for grubs, seeds and bugs. However, you can also feed them with commercial poultry feeds.

Are Marans feather legged?

No, not all the Marans are feather legged? The Black Copper Marans have lightly feathered legs. But the Cuckoo Marans are clean legged birds.

How do you breed Marans for dark eggs?

You should only select the darkest brown eggs to hatch to improve the color of Marans eggs.

What are Marans good for?

Marans are dual-purpose chickens and they are good for both meat and eggs production purposes.

When were Marans fully feathered?

Generally, most of the chicks are fully feathered by their 6 weeks of age.

What color eggs do Mystic Marans lay?

Generally the Mystic Marans lay beautiful dark brown eggs.

Are Marans good for meat?

Yes, Marans are very good for meat production.

What are the main characteristics of the Marans chickens?

Marans chicken is a dual purpose breed and known for both of it’s fine meat qualities and extremely dark eggs. They grow large enough to be used for meat production as well as for eggs. On an average, Marans hens produce about 150-200 eggs per year. There are many color varieties available of Marans chicken. The recognized colors in the French Standard are Black, Black Copper, Birchen, Black-tailed Buff, Columbian, Cuckoo, Golden Cuckoo, Wheaten and White. Cuckoo and Black Copper are the most common of all these breeds. Black Copper Marans appears in black with copper feathers on the neck. And Cuckoos are of barred feathers, giving a black and white speckled appearance. There are also some other colors exist which are not officially recognized. Such as Blue, Blue Copper and splash. This breed 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. They have red colored single comb and red wattles. The English standard of Marans chicken calls for clean legs, the Australian standard recognized both feathered and clean-legged, the Marans Club of America only recognizes feather-legged birds and the French standard calls for feathered legs. On an average, Marans roosters weight about 3.5-4 kg and hens about 2.5-3 kg. There is also a bantam variety available of Marans chicken (male about 1100 grams and female about 900 grams).

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