There several names that this variety of Marans is referred to such as Black Silver, Silver, BBS Birchen, Birchens, etc. Whatever that person chooses to use, it's referring to the variety whose otherwise copper coloring is replaced with white. This striking variety of Marans is not yet officially recognized.


​My Flock 
       My original flock was sourced from reputable breeders located throughout the U.S. This effort was taken to provide a diverse gene pool immediately to ensure healthy and robust birds to establish my flock. I only utilize the birds with the cleanest white or "silver". Any birds that possess off-white, yellowing, or straw-colored type feathering are omitted from the breeding program.
       Conformation and color is also taken into consideration, mirroring that of the standard for Black Copper Marans with adjustments made to accommodate both black and blue of this variety. While this variety can also produce splash, I am focusing more on black and blue which readily display the silvering and thus driving the program. Please remember - an "official" standard for this variety in the US does not exist. Your goals or opinions may differ.
Good things take time. My birds are in NO WAY perfect and are still a work in progress.
       However, I'm consistently seeing these correct traits: eye color, skin color, number of toes, feathered shanks and toes, respective feather color and placement on blue vs black variety. But this doesn't mean things won't pop up later.
       There are still several areas I'm working on, not necessarily listed in order: autosomal red (the bane of  my existence in producing a clean silver. It's difficult to remove and can show up in later generations. This is my highest priority), tail angle on roosters have been a little higher than I've wanted so trying to pull down, parasitic white on the roosters sickles (not as prevalent but still possible), darkening up egg color, correct number of points on the comb, add more weight to hens (some are a little small),  lacing seen on breast feathers of hen (this is where "birchen" applies but I do not cull hard for this), continue increasing amount of silver on hens' hackle feathers (some are over-melanized by black or blue.


​History of the Marans
       The Marans breed originated in France, in marshy areas close to the Atlantic coast. The breed is named after the historic port town of Marans. Evolution of the Marans type bird is said to have begun as early as the 13th century, with crosses between the local marsh hens and various gamecocks brought in to the port on ships.
       Gradual development of the breed then continued through the centuries, including the introduction of Brahma and Langshan blood during the late 1800s. Marans in their modern form first began appearing in French poultry shows in 1914. The Marans Club of France was organized in 1929, and that club established the first standard for Marans in 1931.
The word "Marans" should always be typed with an "s" at the end. There is no such thing as "Maran". The word Marans is literally referring to the town in France where this breed originated. The "s" is not there to imply being plural which us English speakers like to assume when we see the "s" because it's how it applies in the English language. This does not apply in the French language. Correct pronunciation should be with a French dialect which may be difficult for some.
​For English speakers, it would maybe sound something like "mare-rohnz".
Correct: This is my Marans rooster. I am selling Marans eggs.
Incorrect: This is my Maran rooster. I am selling Maran eggs. 
       Marans have been imported to the USA in small numbers for many years now, probably beginning around the time that soldiers returned to the States after World War II. Over the years, birds and eggs have been brought in not only from France but also from countries such as England, Canada, Australia, and possibly Belgium and Switzerland. Importations of "English type" clean-legged Marans have led to the establishment of many clean-legged flocks in this country, especially in the cuckoo variety; nonetheless, the American standard adheres to the French standard calling for lightly feathered shanks and toes.


Description
       Marans are best known for their large, russet brown eggs. This is a defining characteristic of the Marans breed, so selection for egg color and size should never be neglected. Physically, the Marans is a medium-sized bird with the character of a rustic farm hen, giving an impression of solidity and strength without being coarse. The legs are lightly feathered, but leg feathering should never be excessively heavy.  Eye color is bright and clear in all varieties, never darkening into brown nor paling into yellow or pearl.
       The Marans is a general purpose fowl for production of both meat and eggs. The breed is most famous for its large, dark chocolate-russet eggs, but it is also known for the fine flavor of its meat.

NWP's "Unofficial" Standard of Perfection (SOP)

Updated 1/30/2025


ROOSTERS:
WEIGHTS:
  • Cock - 8 lbs.
  • Cockerel - 7 lbs.
​COMB: Single, moderately large, straight, upright, evenly serrated with five points; the blade not touching the neck. Bright red in color.
BEAK: Long, stout and well curved, horn, black shading permitted
FACE: Smooth, skin fine and soft in texture, Bright red in color.
EYES: Large and prominent, reddish bay/orange
WATTLES: Medium in size, oval, skin fine in texture. Bright red in color.
EAR-LOBES: Average in size, long. Bright red in color.
HEAD: Moderate in size, slightly flattened on top, and long, bright & clean silver - neither yellow nor straw colored
NECK: Moderately long and full, arched. Hackle abundant, flowing well over the shoulders. 
  • Hackles: Bright silver, neither yellow nor straw colored.  Some feathers, especially in the lower hackle, may include a narrow dark stripe through the middle of each feather, terminating in a point near its lower extremity.
  • Front of Neck: Black or blue with bright silver/white
BACK: Wide at the shoulders, long, flat, slightly tilted to the rear. Slightly more inclined than that of the female. Saddle feathers are abundant, saddle large and slightly raised
  • Saddle feathers: Same as hackles​
​​TAIL: Full, rather short, carried at an angle of 45 degrees above horizontal.
  • Main tail feathers - broad and overlapping, shorter than average.
    • ​BLACK: Black with slight luster
    • BLUE: Matte dark blue (darker than breast feathers) 
  • Sickles - shorter than average.
Picture
Black Silver rooster and hens from large hatchery: Too much yellowing in areas where white should be prevalent. This is a prevalent issue in this type known as autosomal red.
Picture
Blue Silver rooster from large hatchery: Too much yellowing appearing in areas where white should be present.
WINGS: Short, held close to the body, carriage nearly horizontal. Primaries and secondaries -- broad and overlapping in natural order when wing is folded.
  • BLACK SILVER
    • Shoulders: black
    • Fronts: black
    • Bows: silver/white
    • Bars: black
    • Coverts: black
    • Primaries: black
    • Secondaries: black, exposed portion forming black wing bay
  • ​BLUE SILVER
    • Shoulders: blue 
    • Fronts: blue
    • Bows: silver/white
    • Bars: dark blue
    • Coverts: dark blue
    • Primary flight feathers: blue
    • Secondary flight feathers: blue, exposed portion forming blue wing bay
 
BREAST: Strong, broad, and full. Well-rounded when viewed from both the front and side. No lacing.
  • BLACK: Solid black with a few silver spots.
  • BLUE: Solid blue with a few silver spots.
BODY AND FLUFF:
  • Body: deep, long and broad, especially through the shoulders which are carried high. Overall, rectangular in shape.
  • Fluff: medium in length.
LEGS & TOES: Legs set well apart and straight when viewed from the front.
  • Lower thighs: strong and well feathered. Solid black or blue feathers.
  • Shanks: medium length, stout, and straight; lightly feathered down the outer sides. Light to mid-slate skin color, showing pink between the scales. Solid black or blue feathers.
  • Toes: four long and well-separated toes on each foot. Light to mid-slate skin color, showing pink between the scales. Outer toes lightly feathered, middle toes free from feathers, bottoms of feet are pinkish white. Solid black or blue feathers.
PLUMAGE: Moderately tight and smooth textured.


HENS:
Picture
NWP Black Silver Hen
Picture
NWP Blue Silver Pullet

WEIGHTS:
  • Hen - 6.5 lbs.
  • Pullet - 5.5 lbs.​
COMB: Single, smaller than that of the male; straight and upright, evenly serrated with five points, and fine in texture. No female in or near production with the rear portion of the comb lopped should be discriminated against. Bright red in color.
BEAK: Long, stout and well curved.
FACE: Smooth, skin fine and soft in texture. Bright red in color.
EYES: Large and prominent, reddish bay/orange
WATTLES: Medium in size, oval. Bright red in color.
EAR-LOBES: Average in size, long. Bright red in color.
HEAD: Moderate in size, slightly flattened on top, and long.
BACK: Wide at the shoulders, long, flat, and slightly tilted to the rear. Slightly less inclined than that of the male. Solid black or blue.
NECK: Moderately long and full, arched. 
  • Hackles: silver with a narrow dark stripe through the middle of each feather, terminating to a point near its lower extremity.
  • Front of Neck: black with markings of silver.
​TAIL: Full, rather short, carried at an angle of 45 degrees above horizontal. Main tail feathers broad and overlapping, shorter than average. Solid black or blue.

WINGS: Short, held close to the body, carriage nearly horizontal. Primaries and secondaries broad and overlapping in natural order when wing is folded. Solid black or blue.
BREAST: Strong, broad, and full. Well-rounded when viewed from both the front and side. Solid black or blue or with a few silver spots. No lacing.
BODY AND FLUFF: Solid black or blue.
  • Body: deep, long and broad, especially through the shoulders which are carried high. Should be more rounded than the male.
  • Fluff: medium in length.
LEGS AND TOES: Legs set well apart, straight when viewed from the front.
  • Lower thighs: strong and well feathered, solid black or blue feathers.
  • Shanks: medium length, stout, and straight; lightly feathered down the outer sides. Light to mid-slate skin color, showing pink between the scales, solid black or blue feathers.
  • Toes: four long and well-separated toes on each foot. Outer toes lightly feathered, middle toes free from feathers. Light to mid-slate skin color, showing pink between the scales, middle toes free from feathers, bottoms of feet are pinkish white, solid black or blue feathers.
PLUMAGE: Moderately tight and smooth textured. 
Picture
Pullet removed for too many defects: mealiness in feathers, very poor comb, dark eyes.
Picture
"Mealiness" on feather is highly undesirable. Same pullet as on the left.
Picture
This is what overmelanization in a blue hen looks like as she presents more darker hackle feathers than silver. Compared to previous blue hen generations, this is a big improvement as getting more silver on my blue girls has been a challenge.
Picture
A blue hen beginning to show the steady progress of adding silver to hackles.


Disqualifications
  • Yellow on shanks or toes.
  • White ear lobes.
  • Pearl or black eyes.
  • Absence of feathers on shanks.
  • White ("parasitic white") at base of any tail feathers
  • Presence of prominent or pale yellow/straw-colored feathering (autosomal red)
Picture
Black hen has better overall conformation vs. the blue. Note the blue's bump on the back which is not ideal. However, the blue hen still brings much to the table. She lays the darkest eggs in my flock, has very prominent clean/silver in the hackles, and brings excellent size whereas my hens run a little small. My rooster's tail angles are becoming too high and she could potentially help pull that angle back down. She remains in my program.
Like other Marans varieties, color depth can vary throughout the laying season. They are not as dark as Black Coppers and I know the general motto for some people is "hatch only the darkest." Problem is that Black Coppers have had many more years and people working with them while the Silvers don't have that advantage. Your darkest laying hens may not have the best conformation, or be over-melanized, small in size, or maybe pass too much autosomal red, etc. Whereas maybe your lighter layer brings consistent, clean silver and good form. It becomes a careful balancing act between increasing dark egg color while simultaneously building up a better bird color. So, don't be quick to cull your lightest egg layers (or even roosters) until you know with absolute certainty that the next generation is well established, mature, and even the new hens beginning to lay. Only then, make your cuts. If I had to make a motto for Silvers, it would be "hatch many, hatch often, and cull late."