Purple Black Copper Marans (Straight Run)

Talking Points Of The Breed:

• Origin: France.
• Broodiness: Moderate.
• Meat production: High.
• Cold tolerance: Hardy, cold tolerant birds.
• Heat tolerance: Moderate ~ will need shade provided.
• Predator evasion: Exceptional. Roosters are alert and active when free ranging with the flock.
• Foraging ability: Exceptional. The Marans prefer to be out looking for their food
• Noise level: Low-Moderate. Every now and then you get a loud mouth hen.
• Hen Size: 6-8 Pounds.
• Rooster Size: 8-9 Pounds
• Egg color: These are a Black Copper Marans whose egg color standard with the American Poultry Association is dark brown. “Purple Coppers” have been breed for the bloom which is the final coating a hen releases onto the egg before its laid. Black Copper Marans lay a dark burgundy brown egg and the additional of this bloom gives it a purple to pink appearance. Please read more about the genetics of Marans below to understand what colors you can expect from these birds.
• Egg size: Large
• Age of lay: 6-8 months.
• Egg laying ability: Moderate. They lay excellent In the colder months but
• Eggs/year: 150-200
• Temperment: These birds will naturally be friendly and docile with the roosters being alert and protective but respecting their humans. Additionally we breed only birds that are the friendliest of the flock.

The beautiful “Purple Copper” Marans Egg

Our line of “Purple Coppers” came directly from Brooke with Crosshatch Farm. She coined the name and out of respect for her amazing breeding program, we kept it. This comes directly from her and describes why she named them as such:

“‘Purple Copper’ is the affectionate name our family gave to our pure or standard bred Black Copper Marans that lay eggs with a deep purple-red pigmentation and sometimes a shocking heavy bloom that makes the eggs appear lavender, bright periwinkle, deep grape purple, and mauve. The delight a purple egg brings is sort of indescribable, if you are into these rainbow egg basket things.”

We couldn’t agree more. This purple bloom is not considered the standard for the the Black Copper Marans and does not align with the American Poultry Association in any way, shape or form. However, their body structure and conformation aligns with all Standards of perfection for the breed. Another huge reason we chose to use only Crosshatch stock is because she has a closed flock and is using a breeding can mating breeding program. I landed with Crosshatch because I feel we both share the same breeding philosophies. While I have bred both Black Copper and Black Silver Marans before, this line is the one I am so excited to work with. Her line has the genetic inclination to lay beautiful eggs as you can see time-and-time again from those who have hatched from her.

Understanding Marans Egg:

When it comes to Marans, I have had to stretch that breeder muscle in more ways than one. It is my experience that in the world of Marans eggs specifically, you can find yourself working with genotype (the genetics we cannot see) and phenotype (the genetic traits we can see with our eyes). You might think just breed the darkest layers, only to have their offspring lay mediocre shades of brown while the pen you kept just for “eating eggs” blows theirs out of the water with pigment and depth. Here are some things I have learned either firsthand or through mentorship while working with breeding for Marans egg color as well as some commonly asked questions:

1. How do you score a Marans egg color? There is a color chart that you use for deciding how dark a Marans egg is. 1 being a tinted egg that is not necessarily considered a marans at all but still used on the scale. Then you go all the way up to 9 which is the darkest and most rare. Genetically speaking, Marans eggs are a white egg with pigment deposited onto the shell as it passes through the oviduct of the hen.
2. Can you guarantee “9” color scale hens? I wish! I would love to be able to give everyone a “9” but the reality is they are difficult to obtain. Can you breed for it, yes. Can you start with stock that has the genetics for dark eggs, absolutely. It is important to know that no matter color the eggs starts as, it will fade through the year. So a hen who lays a 9 on the official Marans egg color scale will not maintain that color throughout the year. It is a very rare find and may only happen a few times in a laying season if at all.
3. Will all hens lay a purple egg?  Any good breeder would never guarantee exact results. The purple coppers have been something that we have been trying to achieve and obtain since 2021. I have brought in many Marans from breeders with few, if any of the hens laying heavy blooms much past the first month of a lay cycle. I will say this, Crosshatch is the first line that I have found that has done so with consistency beyond that which is why I am using her birds to start our foundation flock. From our investment in these heavy bloomed coppers, we have found that about 1/3 of the eggs laid have the deepest burgundy/purple bloom to the egg.  Please see point number 7. below for more information of how the purple is achieved.
4. Will a Marans hen lay the same color all year long? No, their eggs will vary greatly throughout the year. The color slowly fades through the year and on top of this it fades with every laying season. With this information we know that the darkest egg you can expect from your Marans will be her first eggs but give that lady 14 eggs to see what she can do! It is my experience that those very first eggs can improve slightly by the 14th egg laid. By year three you will see a much lighter egg from that same hen.
5. Who plays a bigger role in egg color  genetics, Male or female? A large group of breeders believe the male genetics play a large role for the hens egg color so it’s important to pick a breeder who hatched the rooster that came from a dark egg. To add to this a Marans egg will darken in the incubator so it’s important to know what they color scale was BEFORE incubation started and to have a good method of tracking and identifying who hatched from what egg.
6. A hen is like a little printer, printing out her eggs.  Did you know that eggs all start out as either white or blue?  So these dark brown Marans eggs are best understood as a white egg shell coated in a brown pigment (protoporphyrin) that is deposited on top of the egg shell. The darker the egg, the longer it is in the oviduct receiving deposits of pigment. A hens protoporphyrin eventually will run low. She can only produce so much pigment to coat their eggs in the same way an ink cartridge can print paper from a printer. So the speed at which a hen’s ”ink runs out” all comes down to genetics in the end. the longevity of the color, the variations of the brown pigment deposited on the shell, how many eggs she will lay a year…these are all traits that are bred and selected for.
7. So her white egg has “printed” and now it’s time to “laminate” it.  The egg begins as white, pigment (protoporphyrin) is “printed” making it dark brown and then she “laminates” her work for extra protection. This third “laminated” layer is the cuticle deposit. You might know it as the Bloom. I chose to compare the bloom to lamination of a piece of paper because that is what this bloom does. just like laminating a piece of paper protects it, the bloom does the same thing. An eggshell is covered with as many as 17,000 tiny pores. The bloom is the final coating an egg receives that protects it from bacteria entering the shell. These blooms can be faint or intense in color. Matte or shiny in appearance.  I learned from Brooke over at Crosshatch that “According to the literature, about 38% of bloom is thought to be genetic, with other environmental and nutritional factors also playing a role in its deposit and prevalence”. So. that is great news! We can breed for the bloom. I do so by individually tracking each hen, understanding who often she is producing a bloom. In the end if there are any unique variations such as an ombre bloom deposit/the intensity in which the bloom is deposited, how opaque the resulting bloom is and finally how often she provides a bloom determine if she will continue on in our breeding program. 

A final note:

While these birds started with stock from Crosshatch, they are now in my hands.  The pairings that I use and the resulting offspring will be my result. These are now Opry Hills line of “Purple” Black Copper Marans and it is up to me to use the amazing start that Brooke provides breeders like me all over the USA and continue her work. I am not Brooke but I strive to have the breeding program she has created. She in an inspiration and I will always recommend her to anyone. Her spirit for education is unparalleled. So please note, I will always strive to produce what she produces but ANY line of chickens can have their genetics undone in one generation. I have chosen to not outsource any other stock that I have purchased in the past to create these “Purple” Black Copper Marans. I will have a closed line of “Purple” Black Copper Marans and if I should ever need new stock, they will come from her. This was a hard decision to make as we have been working towards offering these for a couple years now, but it is a good decision in the end. The fastest way to undo the work of a breeder like Brooke is to bring new genetics from another breeder. There are many amazing breeders of Marans, but I have chosen Crosshatch and our line is closed with her genetics.