Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome! - Page 4332

yes... right now I have it so they can always get under cover with bushes and shrubs... even planted clusters of rhododendrons for them.... which I do think helps because  I actually only lost two chickens to the hawks last year... both lemon cuckoo orpingtons... I figured they were just too big, brightly colored and slow for free ranging so I am not going to try that breed again. I have a mixed flock of marans, barneveldors and easter eggers now which all seem quicker on their toes... they high tail it for the bushes and squawk like crazy when the hawks show up.  We hear the ruckus and can walk out to chase them off. I know I am kidding myself to think they are absolutely safe... but other then penning them in and not letting them forage its pretty hard to keep them perfectly safe... and that would defeat the purpose of why I got the birds. We shall see. We are going to have to move over the next year so after the move I can re-evaluate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by welly 

Hi Folks
I am a newbie and just picked up some blue copper marans chick a week old.At what age should I be able to tell if it will be a pullet/cockerel.
.... Thank you ....

Day olds sometimes but usually by a week I can figure out most roo.

Well one of my marans is broody. She only picked the COLDEST week ever! Calling for temps barely 12 degress wednesday with wind chills nearly -20. My husband is begging to bring her in the house and hatch a clutch!!!!! LOL! For a man who says chickens never come in the house....................... 

Quote:

Originally Posted by heath_elisha 

Well one of my marans is broody. She only picked the COLDEST week ever! Calling for temps barely 12 degress wednesday with wind chills nearly -20. My husband is begging to bring her in the house and hatch a clutch!!!!! LOL! For a man who says chickens never come in the house....................... 

You gonna do it?

I just thought that since we very seldom see anything about the Blue Copper Marans posted that maybe we could get a discussion going on them. I think the Blue Copper Marans would be one of the easiest varietys to work with. Anyone have any points of interest they would like to share with folks just getting started with Blue Copper. Maybe even some pictures showing the good and the Bad,

I haven't posted in quite awhile here, mainly because I thought my BCM were duds...they were hatched last Spring and I knew they were later to begin laying, but I just got the st 2 BCM eggs this week! January or 2013..they are 10 months old!  Here is 1 pic with one of the eggs- it's sort of like a chocolate golf ball!  

It's with 2 of my Khaki Campbell's eggs (they're laying now too!) and a plain old brown egg from one of my other hens...none of them laid any eggs til this week, even my old faithfuls. I guess they were molting, and the young ones just weren't ready...?