French Copper Marans
The Rustic Farm Hen
Few breeds capture the charm and character of a traditional farm quite like the Black Copper Marans. With their striking black plumage, rich copper hackle feathers, and famously dark chocolate-brown eggs, they have become one of the most sought-after heritage breeds in the poultry world. Beyond their beauty, Black Copper Marans bring a timeless, rustic feel to the farm. They embody the image of traditional poultry keeping and remind us why we are passionate about preserving heritage breeds. Whether they are foraging through the grass, scratching around the barnyard, or proudly displaying their stunning plumage, they add character and authenticity to every corner of the homestead.
Black Copper Marans are one of the original breeds brought to the farm and one of our favourite breeds to raise. Their calm nature, impressive appearance, and beautiful egg colour make them a standout. There is something special about watching a flock of Black Copper Marans roaming the pasture—their rich copper feathers catching the sunlight.
We originally sourced our stock from BC and have spent many seasons working with this line, and still breed this line as straight Black Copper Marans. We have sourced 2 additional Black Copper Lines and have spent the last 3 seasons pair breeding our top selections and have worked the offspring of these hatches into two distinct lines that we have continued to carry forward. Egg shades vary with some being as dark as an 8 and some as light as a 5. We do also have some heavy bloomers in our one Black Copper Flock.
As preservation breeders, we are committed to maintaining multiple quality bloodlines while selecting for health, temperament, breed type, and the dark egg colour that has made this breed famous around the world (Egg shades do vary). Our goal is to ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy and appreciate this remarkable heritage breed.
For those seeking a beautiful, productive, and historically significant chicken, the Black Copper Marans offers a perfect combination of utility, elegance, and old-world farm charm—qualities that make them a cherished part of our breeding program and a favourite here at Birch Acres.
We have also been working with a Blue Copper Line which we breed for blue and splash birds to hatch. We have bred our Black Copper Roosters over blue and splash hens to diversify the genetic gene pool for this line. Our Blue line is carrying recessive white so you may receive the odd chick which matures to be a fully white hen or rooster. Hens from this line tend to lay a dark egg around an 8 and majority are matt in texture (not glossy) we also have a few speckled layers in this flock.
We find that our Blue Copper hens are very productive ladies and they hold their egg colour most of the season, we are seeing a reduction in copper hackle feathers on hens that are molting in their 2nd and 3rd year. We are working towards improving this but it does take many seasons to see the results we hope to achieve.
Our newest Marans addition are our White Marans, we have one line which we brought to the homestead 3 seasons ago now and a second line which we selected for and pulled out of our Blue Line. We are working on a 3rd white line out of our Black Copper roosters we split into our white line. We plan on pair breeding these lines in 2026 and hope to have some available for 2027.
The Black Copper Marans along with Wheaten Marans were accepted into the American Standard of Perfection in 2011, the White Variety was accepted in 2014 and Black Marans in 2020. The Marans breed itself however has been around long before its recognition on North American Soil dating back as early as the 13th century during the breeds early development in France. Marans in their modern form started appearing in French poultry shows in 1914 and The Marans Club Of France was established in 1929, by 1931 The Marans Club of France established the first marans standard.
We do breed our Marans to the American SOP which does adhere to the French Standard, this means we do not breed clean legged Marans and select for the best shank feathering within our breeding flocks.
If you have questions about our Marans or are interested in adding some to your flock you can get in touch via email birchacreshomestead@pm.me