About Our French Silver Cuckoo Marans 

Breed Origin: France
Uses:  Utility, sex-linked dark egg layer. 
Weight: Hen: 3.2. Cockerel: 3.6kg
Hen Colour: Black, Dark Cuckoo, Golden Cuckoo, Silver Cuckoo (Standardised), Black-Tailed Buff, Brown Red (Copper Black), Copper Blue, Silver Black (Birchen), White, Wheaten, and Columbian
Egg Colour: Dark Brown 
Av egg weight: 65g
Egg Quantity: 200 per Annum

Temperament:
Our French Cuckoos are extremely hardy 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.. 

. About our birds:

Our breeding flock is about 10 birds and some others live with our laying flock. We hatch all our stock on the farm for each new season from the best birds that meet the breeding standards. Our original birds came from other Marans specialists to ensure the correct breed standards. 

 Useful to know:  

Marans are named after their town of origin, a place called Marans, in France. 

The early breeders in the late 1800’s were more interested in breeding for dark brown eggs than they were for appearance, so a couple of different types emerged. One type has feathers on its legs and feet. Today, these are called “French Marans.” English Marans have legs clean of feathering. It is hard to get the very dark eggs and as a bird ages the egg colour tends to get lighter.

Choosing a light coloured male and darker coloured hens allows you to sex the chicks much earlier on in their life. The males will take on the lighter feathering as passed down from the cockerel, and the hens will have much darker feathering.

The French Maran’s have feathered legs and lay dark brown eggs. They are not prolific layers but egg quality and colour are worth the  compromise.