Lavender Birchen Marans: A Breeder's Guide to Genetics, Selection, and Standards

Over the last several years, I've answered a lot of questions about Lavender Birchen Marans genetics: chest lacing, the difference between Silver and Birchen, and more recently, whether breeders working with my line should move toward a cleaner-looking bird some are calling "Silver Marans."

This post puts those answers in one place. It explains the two genetic foundations involved, Extended Black (E) and Birchen (ER), how they differ, and why I've chosen to keep developing my line on ER.

What "Silver Marans" Usually Refers To

Birds described as Silver Marans in the US are generally built on the Extended Black allele (E) combined with the Silver gene (S). The result is a dark-bodied bird with silver in the hackle area, sometimes called Black Silver. Breeders who prefer this approach like that the birds tend to show less chest lacing and a cleaner look.

Birchen Marans are built on a different allele at the same gene, Birchen (ER). Both foundations can produce a black bird with silver hackles, and as adults they can look very similar. The difference is in what the birds carry genetically and how they breed over generations. Because of that overlap, appearance alone can't reliably tell you whether a bird is E or ER. Test breeding and known pedigrees are the dependable way to know.

How Extended Black (E) and Birchen (ER) Differ

The Birchen allele (ER) and the Extended Black allele (E) are separate alleles at the E-locus, the gene that sets a chicken's base plumage pattern. ER isn't something layered on top of Extended Black, and the two aren't interchangeable. Every bird carries two copies at the E-locus, one from each parent, so a bird can be E/E, ER/ER, or E/ER. E is dominant over ER, which means an E/ER bird will generally look like an Extended Black bird even though it carries Birchen.

When we talk about preserving Birchen, we're talking about keeping a specific genetic foundation, not just a certain amount of chest lacing on individual birds. Lacing is a visible clue to what's underneath, but the lacing and the ER allele are not the same thing. Other genes affect how much lacing a bird shows, and confusing lacing with the allele itself is where most of this debate goes sideways.

Extended Black spreads black pigment across nearly the whole body. Lighter color can still show in the hackles and saddle, and how much shows depends on the other color genes the bird carries.

Birchen allows lighter color in specific places: the hackles, saddle, shoulders, and lacing on the breast. Whether that lighter color is silver or gold comes from the Silver gene (S), not from ER. In a line that is pure for ER, this pattern is consistent from bird to bird and passes to offspring, which gives breeders a reliable foundation to select within. A bird showing silver in the hackle could still be E/E, E/ER, or ER/ER, and only breeding results will tell you which. The existence of ER and E as separate alleles at the E-locus is documented in peer-reviewed research, including Moore and Smyth (1972) and Dávila et al. (2014), both published in Poultry Science.

Does a Birchen Bird Have to Show Chest Lacing?

No, and this is one of the most important points in this whole discussion. How visibly a Birchen bird expresses its pattern depends not just on ER, but on a collection of other genes called modifier genes that can increase, reduce, or rearrange how strongly that pattern shows up in the feathers. One of the most well-documented examples is the Melanotic gene (Ml), which extends black pigmentation into areas that would otherwise show lighter color. In certain genetic combinations, Ml can suppress Birchen expression so dramatically that a bird carrying ER appears nearly or entirely solid black.

So a bird can carry the Birchen allele underneath and still show very little visible lacing. That's not a contradiction. It's just the difference between genotype (what a bird is carrying genetically) and phenotype (what the bird actually looks like). In a line with active melanizing modifiers, those two things can look very different from each other. Selecting away from visible lacing changes what you see. It does not necessarily change what your birds are carrying underneath.

This rooster shows subtle stippling across the upper breast just beneath the hackle. The placement is consistent with ER/Birchen-type expression. While breast lacing or stippling alone cannot confirm the E-locus genotype, it can be an important supporting clue when considered alongside the bird’s overall pattern and lineage.

Reducing the Lacing Does Not Remove the ER Allele

Some breeders aim to reduce Birchen by selecting birds with less chest expression (lacing or stippling) with each generation. That changes how the birds look, but it doesn't necessarily change what they carry.

ER is the allele. Chest lacing is one way that allele can show, depending on the other genes present. In a population that is entirely ER-based, birds will keep producing ER offspring even when breeders consistently select the cleanest-breasted individuals. What changes is the modifier background, the surrounding genes that control how strongly the Birchen pattern is expressed. Over time, birds can look less Birchen while still carrying ER.

This has a practical downside. Once the visible clues are reduced, it becomes harder to tell from appearance what a bird is carrying. A clean-breasted bird in a Birchen line might be ER with stronger melanizing modifiers, or, if another E-locus allele has entered the population, it might be on a different base. The two can look identical in the pen and still breed differently.

Either foundation can be bred predictably when a line is pure at the E-locus and the modifier background is known. Problems come from mixing the two without knowing which birds carry which allele.

Can ER Actually Be Lost From a Line?

Yes, but it takes more than selecting for cleaner-breasted birds. For ER to be lost, another E-locus allele has to be present in the population. If Extended Black is already in the line, though, selecting for clean breasts can favor birds carrying E, since E/ER birds tend to look cleaner. In that case the shift can happen gradually without the breeder ever intending it. In a line that is purely ER, selecting for clean breasts changes the modifiers, not the allele.

Simply deciding not to select for the visible Birchen phenotype does not make ER disappear. If the birds are ER-based and no other E-locus allele is present, ER can persist in the population indefinitely, even in birds that show very little lacing on the surface. So there are really two separate breeding goals that are easy to confuse: breeding out visible Birchen expression (reducing how strongly the pattern shows on individual birds), and breeding out the ER allele itself (shifting the population's genetic foundation to a different E-locus base). They aren't the same project.

The first is relatively straightforward. Select for clean breasts consistently, and the visible pattern will reduce over time. The second requires introducing or selecting toward a different E-locus base, and confirming through test crosses and offspring evaluation that the shift has actually happened. Producing a bird that looks clean-breasted is not confirmation that ER has been removed. It may simply mean ER is still there, only with its expression suppressed.

For anyone seriously considering that second path, it's worth understanding what it actually involves. Shifting a population away from ER and toward Extended Black isn't a matter of selecting clean-breasted birds for a few generations and calling it done. Outside genetics have to come in, which means introducing an Extended Black bird and everything that comes with it. Test crosses are needed to confirm which offspring have actually shifted E-locus base rather than simply suppressed their ER expression. The modifier background has to be rebuilt around a different pattern foundation, which can take many generations to stabilize. And along the way, the line will produce birds that look nothing like what you started with while you sort through the genetic noise of the transition. That's not an argument against doing it, if that's genuinely the goal. It's just an honest description of what the work actually looks like, so that breeders go in with eyes open and make a deliberate choice rather than an accidental one.

Which Foundation Is More Predictable to Breed?

Appearance gets most of the attention, but predictability matters more over the long run. ER Birchen and Extended Black are different foundations at the E-locus, and both can produce organized silver expression. The question to ask is whether switching a line from ER to E serves the long-term direction of the line you are trying to preserve.

A line is easiest to breed predictably when the birds carry the same alleles at the E-locus. In a line that is pure for ER, the lighter areas show up in the same general places from bird to bird: hackles, saddle, shoulders, and breast lacing. You can select for more or less expression, darker or lighter contrast, or tighter or broader lacing, and the line responds over time because the base pattern stays the same underneath.

Bringing E into an ER line works against that. Because E is dominant over ER, E/ER birds will generally look like Extended Black, and a mixed line can produce a range of patterns in the same hatch. Extended Black and Birchen can also look very similar as adults, so you can't sort the birds by appearance. Without test breeding, it becomes hard to know which birds carry which allele, and selection becomes less reliable.

Predictability comes from knowing the genetic foundation, the modifier background, the pedigree, and how the family has bred over several generations. A breeder who knows those things can make steady progress. Selecting on appearance alone in a mixed line is much less reliable.

For anyone working toward future variety recognition, whether through the APA or any other standard, a stable genetic foundation is essential. The whole long-term project is built on it.

APA Recognition and Breeding to the Standard

Neither Birchen nor Silver Marans is currently recognized by the American Poultry Association (APA). The recognized Marans varieties in the APA Standard of Perfection (SOP) are Black Copper, Wheaten, White, and Black.

In France, where Marans originated, the variety is listed as Silver Black (Birchen), and the Marans-Club de France notes that these birds are ER, the same genetic family as the Black Copper.

APA recognition is a long process. At least five breeders, each an APA member for at least five years, must sign affidavits stating they have bred the variety for at least five years and that it produces at least 50 percent of birds reasonably true to type, color, size, and comb. Show records from each of the two preceding years are required, followed by two qualifying meets held at least a year apart. The process is the same for any variety, regardless of which E-locus allele it's built on, and the APA has not recommended one foundation over the other for a Silver or Birchen Marans. The 50 percent breeding-true requirement means recognition depends on a foundation that reproduces itself predictably.

It also helps to separate the breed standard from a variety standard. The breed standard describes what a Marans should be regardless of color: body type, feathered shanks, comb, size, structure, and egg color. That standard is published in the APA SOP. A variety standard describes color and pattern for a specific variety, and for developing varieties like Lavender Birchen, one doesn't exist yet. For unrecognized varieties, breeding to the SOP means breeding to the Marans breed standard first, with color selection built on top of that.

What actually advances a variety toward recognition is a stable, predictable genetic foundation, consistent breed type, consistent color expression across multiple breeders, and long-term documentation work. I have always put type first. Color is part of what I'm selecting for, but it has never been the only thing, or even the primary thing. The birds in my program are selected for correct Marans conformation, proper feathered shanks, egg genetics, appropriate size and structure, and the overall qualities that make a Marans a Marans, alongside their color expression. A bird can have perfect color and still have no place in my breeding program if the type isn't solid. Color is the first thing people see, but type is what you're actually building toward.

Egg Color, Laying Ability, and the Bloom

Lavender Birchen Marans Eggs, one with heavy bloom, and the darker egg geared more toward the Marans standard egg color.

Marans without dark eggs aren't really Marans, and that's not an opinion, it's the foundation the breed was built on. Dark egg color is as much a part of the breed standard as feathered shanks or correct conformation, and buyers come to Marans specifically because of it. In my program, selection goes in order: type first, then laying ability and consistency, egg size, and egg color. A bird that checks every box visually but lays pale eggs or lays infrequently isn't moving the breed forward, no matter how beautiful it looks in the pen.

One characteristic that has become a notable trend in Lavender Birchen Marans specifically is the pink bloom. Many Lavender Birchen Marans hens produce eggs with a distinctive pinkish or rosy bloom over the darker shell. It's a beautiful and unusual characteristic that sets them apart visually from standard dark brown Marans eggs. The bloom varies across individual hens and across seasons, so not every egg from every hen will show it equally, and it shouldn't be expected as a guarantee. Still, it is a genuine and recurring characteristic in Lavender Birchen Marans lines that many buyers find particularly appealing.

The Lavender Birchen Marans is not just a color project. It's a variety with its own developing set of characteristics, plumage, type, egg color, and bloom, that make it distinct within the Marans breed. Breast lacing is only one part of what defines it.

What Does a Good Lavender Birchen Marans Actually Look Like?

A good example of a Solid Typed Lavender Birchen Marans Rooster

A good Lavender Birchen Marans should first and foremost look like a Marans: strong, confident type with correct conformation, a well-structured body, proper feathered shanks, a bold upright stance, and the kind of confident, alert personality that is characteristic of the breed. Feather quality is part of that conformation picture. Birds should carry full, well-structured plumage that holds together cleanly. If you'd like to read more about feather quality in lavender lines specifically, I've covered it in depth in my post on the shredder gene in lavender chickens. These birds should carry themselves well in the pen. If the conformation isn't there, the color doesn't matter.

Laying ability and consistency throughout the season are part of what I evaluate in every breeding bird. A hen that lays infrequently or drops off early isn't serving the program regardless of egg color. On egg color specifically, I'll be straightforward: we're still working to deepen it, and it isn't yet where I want it to be. That's the honest reality of developing a line toward a standard, incremental improvement with every generation, not expecting perfection overnight. The direction is always going to be toward darker eggs, and that's not something I'm willing to compromise on as the line develops.

The pink bloom described above recurs consistently across the flock, and it's something we select toward, always alongside egg color, never at the expense of it.

Once those foundations are in place, then we can talk about color and pattern. Lavender is Self Blue, which means the dilution works across the entire bird, softening black into a cool purple-gray. The silver areas aren't diluted, but with the black around them lightened, the contrast between body and pattern is much softer. The result is a soft, purple-gray bird with subtle tonal variation where the Birchen pattern is present. That contrast is still there, just quieter and more muted than you'd see on an undiluted Silver Birchen.

In roosters, look for clean, consistent pale expression in the hackle and saddle against the purple-gray body, with the fine striping or lacing of the Birchen pattern visible within those feathers on closer inspection. Avoid roosters where hackle and saddle expression is patchy, blotchy, or completely absent. That's usually where pattern placement has broken down rather than simply being softened by dilution.

In hens, look for organized tonal variation in the breast and chest feathers, a subtle but consistent difference in shade that follows the lacing, rather than a completely flat, uniform color with no variation at all. One of the things that makes Lavender Birchen Marans so visually distinctive is how the Birchen pattern often expresses as lacing through the self blue, a soft, delicate detail that shows up on both sexes and is one of the more beautiful characteristics of the variety.

The target bird has it all: correct Marans conformation, properly feathered shanks, a confident presence, dark eggs with bloom where possible, and an even, rich purple-gray tone with organized, subtle Birchen pattern expression in the right places. Color is what draws people in, but it's built on top of everything else, not the other way around.

If you're newer to the breed and want to understand what correct Marans type looks like before adding color evaluation on top of it, that's time well spent. Study the breed before you study the variety. The APA Standard of Perfection is the reference point for the recognized varieties, and the Marans of America Club is another resource worth exploring for breed-specific guidance. Understanding what a Marans should be structurally gives you a much clearer foundation for evaluating birds across any color variety, including developing ones like Lavender Birchen.

This young pullet shows excellent type for a Marans hen.

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Typical Marans standards for both roosters and hens

Selecting Silver Birchen Birds for Outcrossing

Even in a well-established line, there are legitimate reasons to outcross: to strengthen type, improve egg color, improve feather quality, reduce inbreeding, or reinforce ER expression in a line where Ml has been suppressing pattern visibility across generations. When an outcross is the right move, the question becomes what kind of bird you should be looking for and what you should be evaluating before you breed it into your lavender line.

The short answer is, not just any Silver Birchen bird. The entire point of an outcross is to bring something useful in without introducing problems that take longer to fix than whatever you were trying to improve in the first place. A Silver Birchen bird with poor type, weak egg color, or an unknown modifier background can set a lavender line back significantly, as those traits will continue to show up across multiple generations.

Confirmed ER base. This is non-negotiable. The reason you're using a Silver Birchen bird for an outcross into a Lavender Birchen line is to reinforce ER, and a bird that's actually Extended Black introduces the wrong E-locus allele and undermines the whole project. Ask the breeder for evidence: chick down color, split offspring, and test cross results. Look for organized hackle and saddle expression with fine black striping, and organized breast lacing in hens, but don't identify ER from hackle and saddle expression alone. Look for the combined evidence of breast expression, chick down, pedigree, related offspring, and documented breeding results. Do your research and make sure you're introducing the best bird possible. Once those genetics are in the line, they can take many generations to remove.

Correct Marans type. The outcross bird should represent the breed well with correct size and structure, proper feathered shanks, correct comb, and correct conformation. Type problems introduced through an outcross are real and take generations to correct, so don't accept poor type in an outcross candidate just because the color or patterning looks right.

Strong egg color. Ask for photos of eggs from multiple hens across the flock, taken at different points throughout the laying season, not just the best egg, and not just the first ones of the year. Egg color and bloom are heaviest early in the season and naturally fade as laying continues, so what you're really looking for is consistency and longevity. A hen that starts dark, has a nice bloom, and holds that color deep into her laying cycle is worth far more to a breeding program than one that peaks early and fades fast.

Ml expression level. Silver Birchen birds with a very black body and little breast lacing often carry strong Ml, the Melanotic gene. Ml is a black intensifier that can flood pattern areas with dense pigment and suppress visible Birchen expression in the offspring that inherit it. When that bird is crossed into a Lavender Birchen line, splits that inherit elevated Ml can appear solid black or very dark. In later lavender generations, those birds can look dull or sooty, and hens may show so little pattern that they appear to be plain lavender. Those birds still carry ER. Ml is simply covering it. Going into the cross with that expectation makes it much easier to manage. Grow the darker offspring out fully, evaluate at maturity, and breed forward before making any culling decisions.

What to expect from the cross. The offspring of a Lavender Birchen hen bred to a Silver Birchen rooster will all be splits, carrying one copy of lavender but not visually expressing it. They'll look like Silver Birchen birds rather than lavender birds, and that is correct and expected. Those split offspring are your evaluation generation, and without lavender softening the contrast, the ER pattern, or its absence, is much easier to read. Select the best splits for your next cross back into the lavender line, and you'll begin recovering lavender expression in the following generation while having reinforced the ER base and brought in whatever type or egg color improvement you were after.

Outcrossing is a tool, not a shortcut. If anything, an outcross can temporarily dilute the very genetics you've spent years line breeding to establish. When you introduce an outside bird, you're bringing in a whole new set of genes, and along with the traits you were hoping to gain comes everything else that bird is carrying. Don't be alarmed if the first generation after an outcross throws characteristics you weren't expecting. That's the nature of the cross, and it's why I cull hard after an outcross breeding. I only outcross when it's truly necessary, and I go in with realistic expectations. Used thoughtfully, with a carefully vetted Silver Birchen bird and a clear understanding of what Ml will do to the offspring, an outcross can strengthen a Lavender Birchen line in meaningful ways. Used carelessly, with an unvetted bird, poor type, or without that preparation, it may create more problems than it resolves, and it can take several generations to recover what was lost.

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A heavily melanized Lavender Birchen Marans Rooster from a split to split breeding. He has dark portions of heavily melanized or "sooty" markings both in his wings, and across his saddle. I select for cleaner birds with less melanization. It is important to grow out birds fully before making seletions. Plumage can change considerably from chick to adulthood.

How Do You Confirm Your Birds Still Carry ER?

If you've been selecting for cleaner breasts for several generations, or you're working with birds from multiple sources and aren't sure which E-locus allele your line carries, these are the most reliable ways to find out.

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Looking for strong birchen traits such as darker chick plumage can help to identify Birchen (ER) in a line. Both of these chicks are likely carrying Birchen (ER), the one with the cream belly likey has only one copy of Birchen present (EE/ER), while the darker chick on the right has strong birchen patterning and is likely (ER/ER). Both are from the same Silver Birchen hatch.

Chick down at hatch. Extended Black chicks often show a white or cream belly, while ER Birchen chicks tend to hatch darker overall. This isn't a definitive test, and the difference can be subtle. Still, recording chick down consistently across every hatch builds a useful picture over time.

Lavender splits. If you're working with a lavender line, splits show the underlying pattern without the lavender dilution softening it. If your split offspring consistently show organized hackle expression and possibly some breast stippling/lacing, that's a good clue that ER is present in the parent line. Don't give up if the pattern isn't obvious right away. Ml and other darkening genes can hide it, and plumage often changes as birds mature, so grow them out and reevaluate.

Breast lacing on roosters. Organized breast lacing or stippling in males is characteristic of the Birchen pattern and uncommon in Extended Black birds. When it shows up consistently across many roosters in a flock, it's a meaningful sign.

Test crosses. A well-designed test cross can give you some of the strongest evidence available, especially when the tester's genetics are known and you raise enough offspring to see a clear result. Mate the bird you're unsure about to a bird known to carry the wild-type allele (e+), such as a well-bred black-breasted red or silver duckwing. Because both E and ER are dominant over wild-type, every chick inherits one of the test bird's alleles in a form you can see. A bird that is ER/ER should produce offspring that all show a Birchen-type pattern. A bird that is E/E should produce offspring that are mostly black. A bird that carries one of each will produce a mix of both. One well-documented test cross can tell you more than years of visual evaluation alone.

Breed forward and observe. A very dark or heavily melanized hen can still carry ER, and her offspring are often the best way to find out. If she is mated to a known Birchen male and consistently produces well-patterned Birchen offspring, that's strong evidence she carries ER herself. A bird that looks Birchen but doesn't breed Birchen is telling you something different. Let what the birds produce guide your selection as much as what they look like. Over time, the offspring don't lie.

No single indicator settles the question, but when chick down, splits, rooster lacing, and test crosses all point the same way, the evidence for ER is strong. My first blog post on Lavender Birchen Marans genetics covers this evidence from my own flock in detail, including foundation stock, chick down, split offspring, and test cross results.

What Should Buyers Ask Before Purchasing?

If you're considering purchasing Lavender Birchen Marans from any source, these are the questions I'd suggest asking.

What is the E-locus foundation of your line? A breeder who genuinely understands their birds should be able to tell you whether they believe their line is ER-based, what evidence supports that, and what their foundation stock was. "I don't know" is an honest answer that tells you something.

What does chick down look like across your hatches? In a Lavender Birchen Marans carrying ER, chicks typically hatch with soft gray-lavender down and darker gray or charcoal tones on the head and back. The belly should be consistently dark rather than the pale yellow or creamy white you'd often see in an Extended Black chick. Think of it as the same down pattern you'd expect in a Silver Birchen chick, with the dark areas diluted to gray-lavender. Moore and Smyth (1972) reported that Birchen chicks carry dark down on the belly where Extended Black chicks are typically white, which supports using chick down as an early indicator. Modifier genes can still influence down color in both types, so consistency across multiple hatches is what matters most. If you'd like to see photos of what this looks like in practice, please reference my blog post on Lavender Birchen Genetics.

What do your split offspring look like? Splits show the underlying pattern without dilution softening it, which makes the ER base much easier to evaluate. Asking to see photos of splits is one of the most useful things you can do before purchasing. If you'd like to see photos of what this looks like in practice, please reference my blog post on Lavender Birchen Genetics.

Have you done test crosses? Not every breeder has, and that's not automatically disqualifying. Test crosses take time and careful planning, but a breeder who has done them and documented the results has a stronger basis for their genetic claims than one who hasn't.

What are you selecting for beyond color? Type, egg color, conformation, feathered shanks. A breeder who is selecting for the complete Marans package will be able to answer this in detail and tell you where their flock is strong, and more importantly, where they need improvement. A breeder whose entire focus is color expression or egg bloom, without equal attention to type, conformation, and genetic foundation, may not be building the kind of bird you actually want. Pretty eggs are a wonderful bonus, but they shouldn't be the whole selling point.

What do the eggs look like? Ask for photos of eggs from multiple hens across the flock, not just the best one. Consistent dark color across the flock is the goal, and if pink bloom is something you're interested in, ask about that specifically. It varies by hen and by season, and an honest breeder will tell you so rather than promising it on every egg.

These questions apply to any program, not just mine. A breeder who is doing this work seriously will welcome them, and the answers will tell you a great deal about what you're actually buying.

These eggs are from some of our Lavender Birchen Marans splits. They are well within the Marans standard for egg color.

Why I Support Moving Forward With ER

My line is built on ER, and I recommend that breeders working with my birds continue developing it on that foundation.

Extended Black and Birchen can produce similar-looking adults, and E is fully capable of producing a consistent silver bird. My reason for staying with ER is that moving to E would mean changing the genetic foundation of the line rather than refining the ER population already developed. It would mean bringing in outside birds, sorting out which offspring carry which allele, and rebuilding the modifier background. In practice, that's starting over.

Individual birds within any line will vary, and that variation is the material you select from. If the lacing is heavier than you'd like, select birds with less expression. If the color is too dark or too light, select accordingly. Selective breeding is incremental, and most traits can be refined within the genetics a line already has.

A clean-breasted ER bird is entirely possible to produce. What I want to avoid is losing track of what the birds carry underneath. Keeping the line on a known ER foundation means the pattern can still be read, breeding results stay fairly consistent and predictable, and progress builds from one generation to the next.

For breeders working with my birds, my recommendation is to keep the Birchen foundation. ER doesn't look the same on every bird, because modifiers influence how strongly the pattern shows, and that variation is normal. Careful, informed selection within that foundation is how this variety will keep improving.

Heidi Miller and her husband Jim are the founders of Seeking Eden Permaculture, a rare breed and permaculture farm nestled in the foothills of Central California. With over two decades of hands-on experience, Heidi has dedicated herself to preserving and improving a wide variety of rare breeds and color varieties — including her carefully developed line of Lavender Birchen Marans — with a passion and patience that is reflected in every carton of hatching eggs she produces.