I got my first Marans in 2017. I really needed those dark eggs in my rainbow egg basket, of course! I picked up BCM and Blue Copper chicks from a local breeder. I wanted to raise the cockerels for my first Olive Egger project, but the males in this line tended to be aggressive. I had young children, so poor temperament was not something I have tolerated. I decided to add a different line of Blue Copper birds, even though I was aware this new line carried recessive yellow leg genetics. That didn't matter for my Olive Egger pen anyway! But then I fell in love with the temperament of these new birds and decided to try my hand at breeding and showing Marans. Instead of starting over with better stock, I test-bred this line for recessive genes and I've been working ever since to cull out all of the other defects. 

In more recent years, I outcrossed outside of the Marans breed to help reach some of my goals. That means my line is not 100% "pure" Marans. But season after season, I make a little more progress and that's what keeps me going. My goals are producing Standard-bred birds for exhibition, maintaining and even improving their egg color, and keeping production and health and vigor as my top priorities. My cull rates are high and most of my growouts end up in freezer camp to help feed my family. My focus is on BLUE COPPER Marans, as I am hopeful to help spearhead an effort to get the variety APA approved in the future. If you're interested in helping with this effort, please join the Blue Copper Marans Effort on Facebook.

Availability-
I do not sell hatching eggs or chicks from my Black Copper and Blue Copper Marans at this time. I hatch and grow out every chick here on the farm to evaluate them for future breeding and show potential. Occasionally, I'll offer started pullets (my culls) to pet/layer homes. On more rare occasion, I may have extra breeding quality birds to pass on. My preference is for them to go to youth who are interested in exhibition or to other dedicated and knowledgeable breeders. 

This season, I would like to offer most of the Splash Copper Marans chicks from my Blue Copper x Blue Copper breeding pen. I will only be growing out a small number of Splash Copper for myself since the Blue Coppers are my main focus. Availability will depend, of course, on how many chicks actually hatch Splash. I will not be taking pre-orders for this reason. This pen is of my very best Blue Coppers hatched in early 2025. These are award winning birds, but I'm still working to refine them. My hope is to put the Splash Coppers into the hands of like-minded breeders who will use them alongside their own well-colored BCM program to create new lines of Blue Coppers on other farms. If you just want something more colorful and different than BCM for your laying flock, that's fine too.

Disclaimer one- although I started breeding Blue Coppers in 2018 and started exhibiting them in 2019, in more recent years, I outcrossed outside of the Marans breed. That means my line is not 100% "pure" Marans. If you have concerns about this, I'm not the breeder for you.

Disclaimer two- this pen consists of young birds (at least a year old, but hatched in 2025) that are either half or full siblings. If you take issue with using inbreeding as a refinement tool, I'm not the breeder for you.

Disclaimer three- this is not a "dark egg line." I try hard to maintain at least a shade 4 and average 5/6s. I number my eggs very conservatively. My 5/6 may be called a 7/8 by someone else and vice versa. Please take all "shade numbers" you see online with a grain of salt.

I do not take pre-orders or keep a wait list. I will update the shop as birds are available. Thank you for understanding.

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