There are many kinds of maran chicken, and blue copper maran chicken are one of them. There’s no doubt that these blue chickens are good birds that you should have in your backyard.
Are blue Marans made of copper blue? What do you know about the Maran breed of chicken? You’re in the right place because I’m going to tell you everything you need to know about these birds.
Based on the history in the James Bond book and the study I did, this article talks about the blue copper maran. Many things will become clear only after you keep going.
History of the Blue Copper Maran
The town of Marans in France is where the blue copper hens come from. This may be the reason why people in France call them “French blue copper Maran.”
It’s possible that sailors who were looking for new trade routes brought the copper Maran.
breed to France in the early 1800s.
The Maran chicken was good at laying eggs and was able to provide a lot of meat, so local
chicken owners quickly adopted them.
Farmers raised maran chickens on both small and large fields until modern breeds like production blue chickens came along and beat them in terms of egg production and age.
It’s not clear yet when the copper maran chickens came to the US. Even so, the American Poultry Association now recognizes this breed.
Characteristics of the blue copper Maran
The chickens are medium-sized birds with feathers that are close together and feel a bit like silk when you touch them. It is dark brown to copper colored on the head and has a feather of blue Maran hens. The rest of their bodies are blue.
Their tails are thin and not very wide. It points backward instead of up, as the tails of some chicken breeds do.
Both their wattles and combs are a middle shade of red. On some females, the comb may be long and hang off to the side. The beak is a bit thin, and the dark eyes are big and stand out.
They have feathers on their grey legs. A female bird has a small spur that grows on one of her legs to show that she is a female. Each leg has four well-spaced toes.
A blue rooster has a bright copper head and feathers, and it’s back, breast, and legs are blue. This blue color can reach the tail, which is a color between blue and dark blue.
Maran roosters have a big comb with clear points. Their red wattles are big, and their earlobes are medium-sized. Their skin is white, but in some types, it may have black spots.
Though some blue copper Maran don’t have copper on their heads or feathers, the blue color is there instead. Splash blue copper Maran are the name for these kinds, and they are very rare.
Temperament Of Blue Copper Maran
The chicken is pretty quiet and tame. However, this trait might be different from one bird to the next because some might be mean. They will never hurt you or your kids. So, getting them as pets is a good idea. These chickens move around a lot and are very graceful.
They will come to you a lot if you call them “food chicken names” once they get used to you. When you call them for tasty foods like grapes and artichokes, this is what will happen.
Mixing Of Blue Copper Maran With other Chicken Breeds
You can mix these chickens with other types as long as they are calm, but you will need more than one chicken feeder and waterer to make sure that all of the chickens get equal chances to eat and drink.
You want a tough bird, right? This is the best option. There is a good chance that the blue maran will do well in almost any temperature and type of soil.
Their big single combs will get frostbite in the winter, even though they are hardy. Put your birds in a heated chicken coop right now and give them chicken scratch to keep them warm.
Cover the combs with Vaseline jelly, and don’t let the birds go outside. They need to be very careful with their feathered legs because chicken poop and mud balls will stick to them and be hard to get off, making it hard for them to walk.
Pick good straw or sand for the coop so that it doesn’t get too wet, which could lead to mud and other problems.
If you let the blue maran chickens roam free, they will do well. They like having a lot of space to run around and eat different kinds of food that they find on their own in addition to the crumbles and pellets you give them.
Some breeds do better when kept inside, even though they like to roam. The chicks can be easy to have sex with when they first hatch because these chickens are sex links. You can also use vent sex to tell the difference between genders, though it’s not always accurate.
Egg Production Of Blue Copper Maran Chicken
When chicken are happy, their best thing is their eggs. The chicken eggs are very different from other chicken eggs.
When they are 5 to 6 months old, Marans pullets start to lay eggs. At this age, they often hang out near nesting boxes while they look for the best spot to lay their eggs.
Some chickens may wait more than 6 months before they start to lay eggs. But it will depend on how well you take care of them.
The eggs that Marion’s chickens lay are dark brown. That sounds amusing! The eggs that the blue copper chickens lay are dark brown, but the shade of brown can vary from bird to chicken.
The eggs that blue copper chicken lay are not as dark as those that black copper chicken lay, though.
Like the Swedish flower hen, these birds will give you 150 to 200 of these tiny prizes every year. Most of the time, blue copper maran won’t go broody. If you want to hatch the eggs without an incubator, get Hampshire chickens or Bantam Cochin chickens to do it for you.
Because they are sex linked, the little chicks will not be pure blue Maran like the black star chicken. Instead, they will be a mix of different main types.
To buy blue copper maran chicks, you can go to a reliable hatchery like Hilltop Farms or the Cackle Hatchery.
Meat production
Would you like a bird whose meat and skin are white and whose pin feathers are less noticeable? Grab this bird. It can give a good amount of meat and is medium to large.
The length and width of their bodies are about the same. The breasts are big and full, and the legs have a lot of mass.
Some people say that these chickens have a lot of meat to bone ratio, which I agree with because the breasts and legs are very meaty.
This bird will be easy for the chicken plucker to handle. It’s big enough for this gadget to pluck effectively.
Health issues
As I already said, Maran chicken breeds are tough. So they don’t get most of the diseases that other chickens do.
It’s good to keep the chicken coop warm in the winter. These birds have big combs that will get cold wounds.
The fluffy legs will need some dry things to sleep on. Any wet dirt will turn into mud balls that stick together when they dry.
Lice and mites, which are common ectoparasites, are very dangerous and can kill or hurt crops. Small amounts of diatomaceous earth can be very helpful. Sprinkle some of this powder on the floor of the chicken coop and at the base of the feathers.
Thread and gape worms, which live inside plants, are also very dangerous. They stick to the walls of the intestines and feed and grow there.
With the right chicken wormer, you can get rid of chicken worms. Offer what a trained bird vet near you tells you to.
Lifespan
Blue copper maran chicken live for five to eight years. This time frame could be longer if you take better care of your birds.
So they don’t have to work as hard to make meat, and laying hens may live longer. As long as they can still lay eggs for the farmer, they can live. After that, they are killed to get meat.
Because most people like layers, Maran roosters might not live very long. Most guys are killed when they are teenagers, just before they start having babies. But roosters that are kept to breed might live longer.
Pet chickens will live until they get sick or get old. Because they are grown for show, most chicken pets will never be killed or sold.
Summary
Blue copper are a chicken that can do two things. An all-around breed is one that can give you the right amount of both meat and eggs. This is why they are raised for both reasons.
It is very rare to find these chickens. The most popular type of Maran. Not only are they special, but you can tell the gender of the chicks when they are young because they are sex links.
You can buy blue or black copper Maran hens from hatcheries and farms that only raise these birds.
This breed is tough, quiet, and calm, so it will do well in cities. They will only sing their song when an egg comes along.