Cuckoo Maran Chickens: Best Hatcheries to Buy these Chickens

Do you want to add some pretty Cuckoo Maran Chickens to your flock? It can be hard to find a good hatchery that sells this specific color type. It’s pretty hard to find someone in your area who sells these chickens. If this sounds like you, you should buy from a nursery. 

A trustworthy nursery will only breed from good stock and will usually have reasonable prices. Here are our five favorite places to get Cuckoo Maran chicks to help you find them and also what to expect as you watch your newest group members grow up.

Cuckoo Maran Chickens Breed Overview

Read on to learn more about this rare and beautiful type of chicken:

History Of Cuckoo Maran Chickens

The Cuckoo Maran Chickens came from the same place as other Maran chickens. These birds are from the Marans area of France. They have been bred with many other birds, but they became more fully developed in the 1800s. The original purpose of the Marans breed was to produce meat and eggs, but their beautiful feathers quickly made them popular as show birds as well. The Cuckoo Maran Chicks made their way to England in the 1900s, where they became very famous very quickly. The dark brown eggs were very popular.

In Paris in 1929, the Poultry Breeds Society of France showed off the French breed. Most Cuckoo Marans don’t have feathers on their legs like the French Black Copper Marans, which is another common type. They look more like Plymouth Barred Rocks instead.

Top 5 Cuckoo Maran Chickens Hatcheries

Murray McMurray Hatchery

This is one of the biggest hatcheries in the United States. It’s a 26,000-square-foot farm with different areas for things like incubation and hatching to make it safer for the animals. They used to only sell Buckeyes, but now they have over 70 breeds, such as duck, quail, and turkey types.

Murray McMurray is informed about the various color varieties. A lot of hatcheries don’t sell chicks until late October, but this one does. They may run out of chicks, so make sure you place your order early.

Cackle Hatchery

In the United States, the Cackle fishery is another well known fishery. This family owned farm has been raising chickens for decades. It is their goal to raise Cuckoo Maran chickens that will both lay eggs and produce meat. Even though this means their eggs aren’t the darkest, Cackle’s Cuckoo Marans chicken is a great type for two reasons and useful to have around. These chicken farms sell both American production strains of Cuckoo Marans and the French version with feathered legs.

Hoover’s Hatchery

A group of people from the Iowa town of Rudd run Hoover’s Hatchery. This farm has been around for more than 75 years and has grown to offer more than 100 breeds of birds, such as geese, quail, turkeys, and pheasants.

English and French Cuckoo Marans are both sold at this hatchery, and both are usually less expensive there than at other hatcheries. Assorted Marans is another choice that you can choose from. This is great if you want to add more than just Cuckoo Marans to your flock. Plus, they offer free shipping, which makes them a great choice if you want to save money while purchasing a lot of Cuckoo Maran chickens.

Healthy Hatcheries

Established in 1924, Mt. Healthy Hatcheries is a family run farm. There is going to be the 4th generation of families running this farm, which makes over 3 million chicks, ducks, and turkeys every year.

This farm is a good place to look if you want to find Cuckoo Marans with clean legs. During the warmer months, the least you have to order is three chicks. This means that you could use them if you only want to buy a few at a time. The Golden Cuckoo Maran chickens at Mt. Healthy Hatcheries are also very rare. The price range changes a lot based on how many chicks you buy.

The Valley Hatchery

The Valley Hatchery is a pretty new hatchery, so you may not have heard of them before. The idea for this farm came from a 4H project in 2009, and it focuses on a lot of rare breeds. They now have more than 100 types of chicken, duck, turkey, and guinea.

There are special ties between the owners of this farm and the Marans, so they know what they’re doing. You can choose from both regular and French types, so they are sure to have the right Cuckoo Maran chicks for you, whether you want a heavier, clean-legged, dual-purpose Maran or a smaller, feather-legged Maran that is great for APA shows. They sell Cuckoo Marans for less than many of their rivals, but they don’t skimp on the health of the chicks.

Chick Growth and Development

0-5 Weeks

A Cuckoo Maran chick that is one day old will have dark downy feathers all over its body, with lighter spots on its stomach and wing tips. Little Cuckoo Marans, both boys and girls, will have a white spot on the top of their heads. Male chicks have this spot that is bigger and lighter, while female chicks have it that is smaller and has clearer edges.

They will be busy and interested in the world around them during their first week. In time, they’ll start to get bigger and look a little less round. As the chicks start to lose their down, you may be able to see their first feathers coming in. Your Cuckoo Marans should be much bigger by the second week. The wing feathers are stronger than they were in week one, and you can start to see lines of black and white feathers going from the tip of their wings to the base.

Their comb will start to grow by week four. Male chicks will have a bright yellow comb that is bigger, while female chicks will have a duller yellow comb that is so small it can be hard to see. You should also be able to see the beginning of the pattern that Cuckoo Marans are known for having bars on them.

6-12 Weeks

Your Cuckoo Maran chicks will start to get wattles in the fifth week. If you want to tell the difference between cockerels and pullets, you can also look at the wattles. The males should be redder.

By week six, each week, your chicks should be gaining body mass that you can see. The cockerels and pullets should both have thick legs, a big, round body, and a long neck that slopes slowly down. You should be able to see how your individual Cuckoo Marans develop into different people. Some might be brave and not afraid of you, while others might be more shy. Also, pay close attention over the next week; you might hear your young boys try to croon for the first time.

They will start to moult between weeks 7 and 8. You can put them with the rest of the group once their moult is over. Start teaching them to go into the coop at night to sleep. By week ten, they should be about two-thirds the size of an adult Cuckoo Maran and look like little adults. Also, all the hens should have begun crowing by now.

13-22 Weeks

Your Cuckoo Marans will keep growing during this time until they hit full adult size, which for hens is 5.5 pounds, and for roosters, it’s 8.5 pounds. There will be no more growth on the pullets’ combs and wattles. The grown Cuckoo Marans should look a lot like both pullets and cockerels.

They will learn more about their role in the group and should be able to tell where they stand in the hierarchy. Once this time is over, it should only be one more month at most before your pullets lay their first eggs.

Summary Of Cuckoo Maran Chickens

You should now have found your Cuckoo Maran chickens. As much as possible, you should ask the owner if the chicks are English or French chickens. The English breed will have clean legs and a bigger build, which will make them easier to take care of and more useful as a dual-purpose dog. The French type will gain less weight and have legs with feathers.

As soon as you pick a nursery and a shipping date, the wait may seem endless. But the day will soon come when you can pick up your newly hatched Cuckoo Marans from the post office near you. As soon as the Marans get to your house safely, a fun new adventure will begin. They will keep you entertained for hours on end, and they come with chocolate brown eggs.