Moonlit Harvest Farm
Fertility tested weekly (03/10/24) we are at 98% -
BLACK COPPER MARANS
At Moonlit
Harvest Farm, “We
Talk to Our Eggs” we suggest you do too.
Moonlit Harvest Farm is a small Boutique
Breeder of a select few rare DUAL PURPOSE breeds of Poultry &
Waterfowl. All of our Poultry & Waterfowl are bred to the APA Standard of
Perfection, or SOP.
You can find us on FB @MoonlitHarvestFarm01
*A couple of our rare/new breeds are not yet recognized by APA, but
we are actively working with other breeders to make this happen. By
careful breeding selection and responsible culling we are producing
show quality birds that maintain the breed’s temperament and expected
production levels.
Moonlit Harvest Farm is blessed with
Beautiful Purebred – BLACK COPPER
MARANS. Bred for SOP first & then well shaped DARK EGGS. After 10+ years this is where we are now:
·
Type & Color true to the Breed
·
CONSISTENTLY 5+ on the egg card w/ an increase in every cross
*Please understand a chicken can lay a super dark egg one day
and a lighter on the next. So colors may vary a little when you receive them
but they originally came from dark lines.
·
Wonderful Mothers
·
FRIENDLY Cock birds
·
PROLIFIC – we have excellent fertility rates
Our bloodlines include
THE VERY BEST- Bev Davis, Little Peddler, High Garden, Frank May, Sage Acres…AND
this year’s lines (2024) will include Skip Bittner’s TwoBitts Farm in
Georgia –We managed to acquire not one but TWO cockerel’s that are 50/50
HighGarden & Bittner Lines!
The two test pens are as
follows. One is set back on our lines we developed from HighGardenChickens
& an Outcross pen to Frank May’s Copper headed girls. We expect BIG things
from both pens & we will as always try to get you an egg from every pen.
*No guarantee yet in these two pens but we will try. *With 8 breeding pens this
year – if you only buy a half dozen please don’t expect 8 eggs, but we do send
extras when we can.
CURRENT
BREEDING GOALS
·
Improve Type
*Adding High Gardens Chickens & Frank Mays Champion Lines has been a
game changer & producing incredible results
·
·
Adding TwoBitts Farm lines we hope to tighten up feathers to improve
our SOP
·
·
Lower the number of Blacks (OVER MELONIZED)
·
*Blacks happen in all copper lines
·
Increasing Hen Size.
*We have retained a few larger cock-birds to work on this
·
Rounder Darker Eggs
*High Garden Chickens & Sage Acers have some of the darkest roundest eggs
Currently 8 breeding pens!
What you get – a mix
of eggs from all pens laying at time of shipment
ALL eggs are marked by
pen. I will try to include a key in your box so you know who’s who.
*IF I FORGET TO SEND THE
KEY – just send me a message & I’ll get it to you.
*Please understand a chicken can lay a super dark egg one day
and a lighter on the next. So colors may vary a little when you receive them
but they ALL originally came from dark lines.
Extras
are only included when available & generously when they are.
A few more things you should know about BCM’s…
MARANS it’s always “Marans” for
1 or 20… not “Maran” for one.
DON’T
be fooled by the use of “FRENCH” – it’s a scam.
French is only correct
when a bird is directly imported from France. The first generation born in the
USA is NO LONGER “FRENCH”, just plain old Black Copper Marans.
Black Copper Marans lay very unique dark chocolate colored eggs. Their
feathers are black with a beautiful green hue and red-copper. They are
considered a quiet and gentle breed. Marans tolerate the cold well which makes
them suitable for colder climates.
·
Hens 6.5 lbs
·
Roosters 8 lbs
·
Lay on average 150-200 eggs per year
·
Lay at 4-6 months
·
Slow to mature fully (a true heritage
breed) but fast enough to use as dual purpose chickens as they are intended.
·
Marans make great pets too, if
handled they are not flighty & love a snuggle
·
Heat is a little hard on them as tough and hardy they are, make
sure you are set up for them properly.
A little about our
feeding program…
Our Breeding Flock is fed a high-quality non-medicated diet
consisting of both organic and non-organic foods- including an Organic balanced
feed ration & supplemented with fresh vegetables, fermented &
sprouted grains & Fertrell Breeder & Show Supplement.
*HOWEVER - Medicated foods should be considered as ducklings &
chicks are they are highly susceptible to infectious diseases like
coccidiosis, which untreated can kill them in as little as 24 hours.
We do start our own Ducklings & Chicks on medicated (Chick) feed
for their safety until 6 weeks old. MANY do not used
medicated feeds for Waterfowl – for us it just isn’t worth the risk & it
has in NO WAY affected our fertility rates as many will suggest. *Chick feed
has to be supplemented for ducklings until at least 4 weeks of age with Niacin
for Ducklings to develop properly.
We otherwise run an
Antibiotic FREE program.
A
little more about us at Moonlit Harvest Farm,
and how we treat your
special eggs.
We collect eggs 3 times a day, candle, and sort them and then
package them all by hand; we don’t wash hatching eggs –
Ever! Eggs have a protective coating called a "bloom" that works to keep out bacteria. Washing them
removes that. You will not be shipped an egg that is more than 3 or 4 days old
to give you plenty of time on your end if you’re not quite ready when they
arrive. MOST often we can ship the same day or maybe the day before for larger
orders.
A little of what we
expect from our buyers…
·
Once your eggs have arrived, carefully unpack them and CANDLE
each one. If
any of the eggs have hairline cracks, you can try melting candle wax and
dripping it on to the crack to seal it or scotch tape works really well too and
is a lot easier to do than dripping wax on to a round egg. This doesn’t always
work, but we have saved many this way.
·
Allow the shipped eggs to sit upright in an egg carton (large
end up) for 24 hours at room temperature. We recommend incubating in a
carton, fat end up – for at least the first 7 days if possible. * Why you ask –
there is almost ALWAYS some air sac damage done in shipping – saddled,
detached, bubbly – setting them upright in a carton allows the embryo to
develop without the disruption of turning – THEY WILL NOT STICK TO THE SHELL –
this is a myth.
·
Should any egg develop a blood ring, begin to smell,
or seep fluids remove it from the incubator immediately.
·
TAKE PICTURES – we are very reasonable to work with, in fact we
will bend over backwards (LITERALLY) to make our customers happy. If you send
me pictures of numbered eggs (on the egg not a picture edit) candled and they
are ALL empty, you bet we will work with you. It won’t happen but you get my
point… just know I personally (Shannon) write on ALL our eggs, please don’t try
to scam me. I suggest writing your numbers right next to my notes before you
set them. J
·
Please do not leave a less than positive feedback without
talking to us first… we are here to help.
Back to us for a moment
because we love to share new things we learn…
We have
personally begun experimenting with a “no
turn” method on all our “shipped in” eggs and are seeing
fabulous results so far. “YES” you can hatch eggs SAFELY without turning them.
There are protocols to do this successfully, so do your research! (There
is actually strong evidence & studies that indicate- turning any egg is
damaging to the embryo).
Newest experiment is with a hatching egg supplement I found here
on EBay… We’ve just done a few home hatches with this so far, but we like what
we see in fast full vein development that is easier to see on even our darkest
Marans eggs – we’ll get back to you on a recommendation later though.
Shipping
practices and why…
We only ship Monday - Wednesday weekly. This is to provide you
with the fastest shipping with the least delays & hopefully saving a
weekend sitting in the PO. Shipments are packaged in a professional way. You will NEVER receive eggs from us shipped in a carton. Read our feedback – we know how to PACK EGGS! When
available we’ll send an extra egg or two just in case. We all know there are
incidents shipping eggs (damaged or broken) – your parcel will be insured for
the cost of this auction – but it is your responsibility to
file claim if there is a problem, we cannot do that for you! You
will be provided with a tracking number for your shipment – it is your responsibility
to track your package and provide a phone number for us to put on your box
–hopefully your PO will hold and call you on arrival.
NOTICE: Because of our SAFE shipping practices, you could end up
on a short wait list, you will be notified if we have missed stopping an
auction fast enough to avoid this –however, you will be on a VERY SHORT running
list that is filled as the eggs are available. First purchased, first shipped
bases. Occasionally, you will have to wait for a shipment to be sent till the
following Monday or Tuesday. We try to stay on top of this to prevent any
delays for you our customer, we know hatches take planning and shipping dates
are important. WE WILL CONTACT YOU IF THIS HAPPENS – as soon as we know, you
will know!
Disclaimer: KNOW THE RISK YOU ARE TAKING - Hatching
shipped eggs is always a gamble as there are so many variables that can affect their
viability such as: rough handling during shipping, x-ray machines, changes in
air pressure, exposure to extreme temperatures, etc.
There are NO refunds on fertile eggs.