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? Could you please expand on this? I thought everyone who ships live birds or hatching eggs outside their state had to be NPIP certified.

Hi PJ, I hear you. Your Marans chicks should be sold as Backyard Pet Quality hatchery stock layers, as they do not have known breeder bloodlines, or how true they will breed. That said, perhaps try $5-7. each., and see if you can find some takers. Marans as a whole haven't been in the US but...

Thanks Lisa!

Hi! What is CL? There are some good specialized groups on FB. One of them you can sell Marans on is, "Marans Central." As a Marans owner, I recommend also joining the sister site (which you cannot sell on) "Marans Mania." What to ask for 5 week old Marans...depends... What are the...

Hi Walt, I just started up a thread for the show. It should be a big show, there seems like there will be a lot of interesting things going on. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1071155/2016-pacific-poultry-breeders-association-show-in-modesto-saturday-jan-30th-31st Anyone who will be...

Hi Debi! Here's an excellent video on growing out quality New Hampshires (you can use his good info for any breed, actually) and he mentions in the middle that he was finding crooked keels on birds that were roosting too early. His solution was to keep them on the ground as long as he can...

This sounds interesting. How about trimming rooster spurs? (Static) DIY non spill feeders or waterers. Besides the egg rainbow, perhaps a Marans egg color display- They can be quite showy, and many birds create speckled works of art. http://www.shonefarm.com/ SRJC Shone Farm 7450 Steve...

Wow- you did this all yourself- I can't tell you how truly impressed I am. I could not do that alone. Hard work and also hard emotionally. Hugs. I know I would be crying my eyes out. We raise they guys from chicks, see them grow, develop personalities, and grow attachments- heartbreaking when...

Quote: I'm so happy they are laying such pretty eggs for you Lisa!!! They look very good, and have good, long toplines. Some of ours seem to have a few of those whiskers as well. The day you wrote this, the sister pullet to your pullets (who I have been waiting patently on laying...

This was the 2014 Pacific poultry breeders association Junior exhibits this past year. Although the junior exhibits looked small, the adult exhibits filled a Cosco sized pavilion. So, bring walking shoes and water! Here were a few great looking birds we saw being shown in the main pavilion...

Thanks so very much! The fences will also be live shortly we hope. All the fence lines are fortified underneath. Is there even a way to cover multiple acre area pens without being prohibitively expensive? Just curious if this is even possible. Also, does anyone know of a reasonable bulk...

Sorry to hear about the bobcat taking your favorite hen. A good friend swears by a Truview camera, about $70. Does anyone know what predator can take away a bird without any feather loss (beside a human?) During a few weeks span (a month ago), we had a (supervised) freeranging chicken...

You sound like you have great genetics! Pete has some of the finest birds I've ever seen.

Very lovely! Plus, in real life, they are obviously much darker than the photo. Dark eggs are so notoriously difficult to photograph! Quote: LOL. Okay... We had a discussion about this topic on the BCM thread awhile back... Lightly feathered is subjective, of course... But, feathering...

Thank you. These are from Smallbrook Farms line, which she worked with. I believe most likely descended via Wade Jeanne. We were very fortunate that she worked with the type and size of her birds. It took a lot of work, test mating, lots of culling, etc, to get even this far. We will now...

Oh- thank you, Ron! This is the cockerel I have my eye on so far. So far, he looks a lot like dad roo. . Have my fingers crossed that he can take over for dad this coming season. Dad will be in with the new pullets, with also his mom, as I would still like a few more cockerels similar in...

They are so cute. Really like the coloring of Ricky. If we weren't up to the eyeballs with Marans cockerels at the moment, I would be tempted. lol Just my experience, but, I have also noticed that whomever you put Marans cockerels in with, they usually always seem to like them. Seen that...

One more thing about Marans- some strains mature really, really fast. We can tell the males from the females at birth, and our strain gets nice breast meat from parents with a rounded breast, so if you must cull and process them early, when they are very young (like little more than chicks)...

No, we use a mechanical auto plucker. After boiling, what used to take at least 10 minutes per bird now takes 10 seconds. That's a serious help when processing. Afterward, there's only a few tiny feathers to pull out. They are worth every penny. There's even Youtube videos on how to make your own.

We use auto pluckers with the finger nipples. They work fantastic on older chickens, but when we process BCM at 3-4 months, they are so tender the skin always tears up, and sometimes a wing or more can be torn off. The Marans meat is often as large at that point as a 1 year old PR hen. (Dresses...