Marans are a heavy, dual purpose bird. They are generally raised for their dark brown egg, but also make a good meat bird. Marans are named after a port town in France. Over the centuries local birds were bred with birds brought from seaman coming to port. The modern Marans breed began development in the 1800’s and was adopted into the French standard in 1931.
White leghorns are another of my favorite birds to have on our farm. They are a basic, no nonsense bird. They rarely cause any trouble. They eat. They lay eggs. They are on the flighty side, so aren’t the best choice for a pet chicken. But, as part of our barnyard flock they are perfect.
We love our Rhode Island Red chickens. We’ve had them since the beginning of our days raising chickens. They are popular for a good reason.
