Breeds

Marans Chickens: Dark Brown Eggs, Varieties, Feathered Shanks and Standard Weights

Field guide · Updated October 28, 2026 · about 8 min read

The Marans is the breed people buy for its eggs: large, dark reddish-brown shells that earn the breed the nickname "chocolate eggers," as Oklahoma State puts it. It is a heavy, single-combed farm chicken from western France. Below: what the American Poultry Association (APA), French and British breed standards, extension services and egg-pigment research say about the breed, including why a Marans hen's eggs rarely stay as dark as her first ones.

Quick facts

French origin

The breed takes its name from Marans, a port town in Charente-Maritime. The French Marans Club of Australia's history describes the original bird as a landrace hen from the marshy farm country around Marans and La Rochelle. Wikipedia, a secondary source, says it is believed to descend partly from local marsh birds, partly from birds brought by British ships and partly from imported Croad Langshans.

• 1914: first shown at La Rochelle as a "poule du pays," a local country hen.
• 1929: a French Marans club is formed; the Marans Club (UK) says the breed reached Britain around the same year.
• 1931: the first French standard is defined on April 2 and ratified on November 22 (French Marans Club of Australia); it called for feathered shanks.

Varieties: who recognizes what

Lists differ by country and by how current the source is:

Oklahoma State notes that Black Copper and, to a lesser extent, Silver Cuckoo birds lay the darkest eggs and are the most valued. The French Marans Club of Australia's breeding notes add that some Silver Cuckoo lines "have lost the capacity" to lay the darkest eggs, and that today's White Marans eggs are not as dark as other varieties'.

The egg: how dark is dark?

Breeders score Marans eggs on a numbered chart from 1 (light) to 9 (darkest). The French standard requires a shell of "deep dark red-brown" at 4 or above, judges a pullet's color at her twentieth egg, and says a bird that reaches 4 only once meets the standard but should not be bred from. It sets egg size at about 65 g from a pullet to 70 to 80 g from an adult hen. Wikipedia says only the Catalan Penedesenca is known to lay a similarly dark egg.

The color sits on the outside. UF/IFAS Extension explains that an egg spends about 20 hours in the shell gland, and that the bulk of the brown pigment, protoporphyrin IX, is transferred to the cuticle only in the final 3 to 4 hours. The French Marans Club of Australia notes that the color can be scrubbed off with water, so handle washed eggs with that in mind (see egg handling and washing).

Why dark eggs fade through the laying season

A breeder writing in Backyard Poultry magazine says hens coming into lay in spring produce the darkest eggs, color fades as the season runs into late summer, and it returns after the winter molt and rest. Sources point to several causes:

The age explanations disagree. Miles and the Lohmann authors summarize earlier studies in which the amount of pigment stayed roughly constant while eggs grew; Bi and colleagues measured pigment directly and found egg weight explained little. They also differ on prediction: Miles and Lohmann report that hens laying dark eggs early tend to stay darker later, while Bi et al. found that color at 26 or 34 weeks predicted later color poorly and color at 42 weeks predicted it well. A pullet's first eggs can mislead, so compare hens at the same age when choosing breeders. Thin or misshapen shells point to a health problem, not just fading; see egg problems.

Feathered shanks: French vs English Marans

• French standard: only the outer sides of the shanks and the two outer toes are feathered, and sparse feathering is preferred. Shanks without feathers are a disqualification. Shanks are white or light pink, with gray allowed in Black, Brown-Red and Birchen birds.
• UK English Marans: clean, unfeathered shanks; feathered shanks are a serious defect. Wikipedia notes the UK standard also includes a feathered-legged copper-black, and that Europe does not recognize the clean-legged British type.
• US: Hobby Farms quotes the Marans Chicken Club USA: legs are "lightly feathered," never excessively so. Backyard Poultry notes that the shank question was controversial among US breeders seeking APA recognition.

Standard weights

Oklahoma State gives a typical 7 to 8 lb, and Hobby Farms mature males up to 8 lb with hens at 6½ lb. Wikipedia gives hens 2.5 to 3 kg, slightly below the French range above.

Temperament

Descriptions vary. Oklahoma State says Marans are not especially docile but handle confinement well and show strong brooding behavior. The Marans Club (UK) calls them gentle and mild, good for beginners, while noting that cockerels can fight other males. The Backyard Poultry breeder calls them the cleanest and most docile of the many breeds the author has raised. Expect strain and handling to matter as much as the breed name.

Keeping Marans: checklist

1. Buy for the egg, from the right line. Ask what color the parent stock lays; strains differ, and some Silver Cuckoo and White lines lay lighter eggs.
2. Expect the first eggs to be the darkest. Fading through summer is normal; a return to darker shells after the molt is reported.
3. Keep stress low. Crowding, handling and noise can pale shells (UF/IFAS). Size the coop with the coop space calculator.
4. Plan for broodiness. Oklahoma State notes strong brooding behavior; see broody hens.
5. Use the cold hardiness. Oklahoma State calls the breed winter hardy; see winter care for combs and water.
6. Check legs and eyes against your standard if you plan to show or breed.

Compare Marans with other breeds in the breed directory and see where they sit among dark-brown layers in the egg color chart.