Among most of the chicken breeds there is a Blue Cuckoo Maran chicken which has gained popularity due to their unique, beautiful look and their special qualities. In this blog post, we will learn all about this chicken breed; including History, origin, temperament, egg production etc.
Blue Cuckoo Maran Chicken:
The Blue Cuckoo Maran chicken is a rare and beautiful breed that originated in France. They are specially known for laying dark brown color of eggs, which are some of the darkest eggs in the world. They are also known for their gentle temperament and ability to tolerate in cold weather.
1) History and Origin
The Blue Cuckoo Maran chicken comes from a place called Marans in France. People started breeding these chickens a long time ago to make them look special. The breeders are wanted them to have stripes on their feathers and a blue color. Over the time, they successfully created this beautiful chicken breed.
2) Appearance
Blue Cuckoo Marans are medium-sized chickens with a compact body size. They have a single comb that is medium in sized. Their feathers are a mix of blue and black, with a cuckoo-like pattern. The hens have a slightly more pronounced cuckoo pattern than the roosters.
- Feather Colors: This chicken breed have feathers that are mixed of blue, black, and white. The stripes on their feathers make them look really interesting and pretty.
- Size and Shape: They are medium-sized chickens. They have a strong body and look balanced and graceful.
- Fluffy Legs: One more thing that is special about them is that they have feathers on their legs. It makes them look more cute!
Read Also: Production Blue Chicken Breed
3) Temperament
The Blue Cuckoo Maran chicken is known for its calm, gentle and friendly temperament. They are very polite in nature, which makes them good choice as pets. They are also relatively quiet chickens, which makes them a good choice for urban or suburban backyard chicken keepers who don’t like too much noises.
4) Blue Cuckoo Maran Rooster Vs Hen
The Blue Cuckoo Maran roosters have black and white stripes on their feathers, with a white neck, back, and black tail. They also have a big red comb and fleshy folds under their throat called wattles.
On the other hand, the Blue Cuckoo Maran hens have similar stripes, but their feathers are lighter. They also have smaller combs and wattles than roosters.
Blue Cuckoo Maran Rooster:
- Size: Roosters weigh around 7 pounds.
- Color: Blue cuckoo pattern with black, blue, and white feathers.
- Temperament: Gentle and polite.
Blue Cuckoo Maran Hen:
- Size: Hens weigh around 6 pounds.
- Color: Blue cuckoo pattern with black, blue, and white feathers.
- Temperament: Gentle and polite.
- Eggs: Lay large and dark brown in color of eggs.
Read Also: Whiting True Green Chicken Breed
5) Blue Cuckoo Maran Eggs
Blue Cuckoo Marans are not just look pretty, but they also lay really nice and good size of eggs. The eggs are a dark brown color and can be big or can weigh up to 2 ounces. They look so beautiful and attractive at the same time, like chocolate or copper. These eggs can be special addition to any egg collection.
Read More: 5 Best Egg Laying Chicken Breeds
6) How to Take Care of Blue Cuckoo Maran Chickens?
These chickens are friendly which makes the easy to take care by the new chicken owners. To keep them happy and healthy, don’t forget to provide them clean and comfortable coop, nutritious foods to eat and fresh water for all the time.
As this chicken breed is a hardy in nature which help them to tolerate wide range of climates. However, they do best in cool or cold climatic zones. They are also good foragers, so they can be free-ranged if you have enough space in your backyard.
7) Pros and Cons of Keeping Blue Cuckoo Maran Chickens!
As like all chicken breeds, this chicken breed also has some advantages as well as disadvantages for keeping them in backyard. Here are some pros and cons to keeping Blue Cuckoos chickens:
Pros:
- Dark brown eggs: This chicken breed is known for their dark brown eggs, which looks more attractive than other chicken eggs.
- Gentle temperament: This chicken is known for their gentle and polite temperament, which can be good as pets.
- Cold-hardy: They are cold-hardy chickens, so they can do well in winter weather or cold climatic areas.
- Relatively quiet: They are relatively quiet chickens.
Cons:
- Rare: They are a rare breed, so they may be more difficult to find than other breed of chickens.
- Slow-maturing: This chicken is a slow-maturing breed, so they may not start laying eggs earlier or until they are become 6-8 months old.
- Health problems: They can be susceptible to some health problems or can get effected by some common chicken diseases such as CRD, diarrhea, Newcastle Disease, Marek’s disease etc. It is important to have your chickens vaccinated against these diseases.
Conclusion
The Blue Cuckoo Maran chicken is a unique and wonderful breed. It has a beautiful appearance, lays beautiful eggs, and is also friendly. Whether you are interested in raising chickens or simply want to have some beautiful things or just increase beauty of your flock, you can go with this breed.
This chicken breed sure will bring you joy and increase beauty in your flock. You can keep them as pets as well as enjoy their tasty eggs.
FAQs
Q: Do Blue Cuckoo Marans have feathered feet?
Ans: Yes, some chickens may have feathers on their feet.
Q: Do Blue cuckoo Marans go broody?
Ans: Yes, Blue Cuckoo Chickens can go broody.
Q: Are Blue Cuckoo Marans noisy?
Ans: They are a relatively quiet breed, and they do not make a lot of noise unless they are disturbed or excited.
Q: How big do Blue Cuckoo Marans get?
Ans: They typically weigh between 6 and 8 pounds, with roosters being slightly larger than hens.
