I've been wanting to breed this type of chicken since I first started researching owning chickens. My first attempt at even owning them ended up with two roosters, one of which got into the dog pen andis now in freezer camp. I got four more from the feed store this year (we think three of them are girls). Finally I found someone who is selling them at a reasonable price. I've seen a dozen hatching eggs go for over $100. 6 chicks can easily gor for $150.00. Anyway - I didn't pay anywhere near that and now have a friend trying to hatch 18 eggs for me of a variety of colors. Possible color varieties I have are Cuckoo (color of my current Marans), Blue, Black Copper, Wheaton, Black and Splash. We'll see who hatches out! I'm soo excited.
Interesting, why are they so expensive? Really good tasting eggs? Really good tasting meat? Really pretty to look at?
ReplyDeleteThe cost is attributable to two main factors. 1- The Marans ('s' is silent) is a rare breed in the US. It is originally from France where it is easy to find, but due to US regulations importing poultry is cost and time prohibitive, so we can only work with the stock that is already here. 2- There is only one other chicken breed that regularly produces eggs as dark as the Marans.
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