Lavender Marans

[flgardengirl]

I have a hen from a bcm roo x a split black/lav orp hen. She lays a #4 egg. She really looks like a dark black copper.
I am also crossing a Lavender roo to black hens with nicely feathered shanks that lay dark.

 

[AbeBot]

I'm loving this project.

 

[heritagehabitatfarms]

well i just thought i would update anyone that is intrested... i hatched my first lav F2 chick about a week ago... i have 4 so far...

sry that its sidways lol...

its been a long road... i had some financial problems earlier in the year and had to stop hatching for a few months... so im just getting back into it now... im still not getting a 25% hatch rate of lavs more like 15%... idk y as im 100% sure all of the parents are splits... maby the lav colored chicks arent as strong idk...

on another note my blacks are progesing well i have culled really hard and have it done to 3 hens and 2 roosters... the hens where the darkest egg layers and all have lightly feathered feet the roosters have feathered feet 2... i bought 3 new marans on monday... a splash rooster and 2 blue hens... they are from real dark eggs and have real heavy foot feathering... ill be crossing these into my black line and then using the black ofspring to breed back to my blacks... then use the F2s to the lav line to start to darken egg color and add foot feathering...

so i hope to be hatching my 1st F3s early next year...

ill take some more pics of the lav chicks in the next few days... they are really growing...

thanks y'all Elias

 

[heritagehabitatfarms]

as promised a few more pic's

a few updated pics of the first lav chick to hatch...

and a pic of a recent black marans that i hatched... this will be the 2nd generation of black marans on my farm...

 

[MobyQuail]

interesting, we have a Lavender Ameraucana Roo, a Lav. Am. Hen and a FBCM Hen that are brooder mates/best friends...

good luck!

 

[wilds of pa]

Nice work heritagehabitatfarms

always love a good project and i believe you got it going on there... Love seeing the lavender put forward into other large fowl.. hope the dark egg traits follow you well in your project..

Ps thanks for the updated pics too...

 

[heritagehabitatfarms]

Quote:
I am expecting the dark egg to be the biggest challenge with this project... I was pleasantly surprised with the darkness of a few of the F1 hens... They are not dark but are darker than a normal brown egg... I posted a pic of one of the darker ones a few posts back... So there is hope lol... That's y I am working so hard on my blacks because that is the key to this project...

Thanks for your intrest...

Elias

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Do the Lav/SB Marans taste like chicken?

Looking great Elias. If you need him, taht SB boy is still here andw ill remain here unless you need him. But you should be fine with one of these young Lav Marans. You seem to have the color. Now work on type, foot feathering and egg color. If you only hatch from the darkest eggs and eat the lighter colored eggs you will get there faster.

 

[wilds of pa]

If you only hatch from the darkest eggs and eat the lighter colored eggs you will get there faster.

same principle as blue vs green eggs in the araucana world, just hatching blue only makes a big difference as the roo's and hens selected will better your chance of pushing the blue side only.. hatch, hatch and still more hatching.. lol​

 

[heritagehabitatfarms]

Quote:

same principle as blue vs green eggs in the araucana world, just hatching blue only makes a big difference as the roo's and hens selected will better your chance of pushing the blue side only.. hatch, hatch and still more hatching.. lol

yep... im hoping to have enough Lav,s in the spring to be able to cull hard and just use a few birds to go on 2 the F3 generation... i plan on a double cross this next spring... using my 2or3 best darkest egg laying Lav hens with a black roo.. and a couple of Lav roo,s over 5 or 6 of my best darkest egg laying black hens... im hoping to keep alot of genetick diversity by doing this every generation...

im selling the black and split to black that im hatching now as a few week old chicks so that i can spend my time and resorses on just the Lav F2,s and hope to be able raise alot more Lav,s that way...

thanks for the coments Elias