CUCKOO MARANS BANTAMS.
Stock will be available from May 2022. Sorry I no longer sell hatching eggs.
Marans are an astute, lively and tidy chicken. Cockerels are handsome posers, looking at their best when showing off, strutting their stuff at their hens. Cockerels can be protective over their girls. The hens are reasonably independent and are happiest roaming free range. They are reliable egg layers of beautiful dark brown eggs and can be quite fastidious about always laying their eggs in the same place. Marans bantam hens don’t usually go broody, but we have found that the few exceptions have proved to be the most excellent broodies and fantastic protective mothers. We have shown a number of our Marans and they usually do very well. The birds that we have shown are just ones picked out of the flock at random, not any particular birds.
Marans bantams were created in the UK by Mr J Henry Fines. He did it by down sizing from Large fowl Marans. He started by buying 6 Large Fowl eggs in 1936/37 from Greenways estate owned by Lord Greenway. It was Greenways Estate farm manager J S Parkin who introduced the original Marans by bringing chicks in from France in 1929. Mr J H Fines had originally purchased for developing table birds and brown egg layers. In war time one of his Marans hens had gone broody under a hedge. She came out just over 3 weeks later with a brood of chicks which turned out smaller than normal. This gave him the idea to fill a gap in the market creating the bantam variety, of which he did. By 1954 he went on to win at Olympia with his Marans bantams. He became a Fur and Feather Judge, always happy giving advice to fellow members.
A nice bantam pullet by J H Fines Some of his quality stock A proud J H fines with a quality bantam cockerel
Jacksmere Marans
COPPER AND BLACK FRENCH MARANS – Large Fowl.
A relatively new breed to this country, they are an attractive friendly bird. The females have a more sedate gentler nature than their Cuckoo Marans cousins. They also look totally different being more stout and plumper looking, they also have feathered legs, an undesirable trait in Cuckoo Marans. The males are rather striking with their Napoleonic stance, looking typically French. They are very proud looking and watchful over their hens.
We are looking to improve blood lines, so no Copper and French Black Marans to sell this year.
WHEATEN FRENCH MARANS – Large Fowl.
No surplas stock or breeding plans for 2022.