Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[KerriAnn00]

A local breeder near me was selling out her black and blue Coppers to focus on wheatens, so I got her last batch of black/blue chicks that hatched. She did shows with them and faired pretty well, according to what I am hearing. It's Rosie Bird Farms in Missouri, not sure of the notoriety within chicken farms. That was the only breeder I could find in the area (other than hatcheries, which I have been told to stay away from.) I don't have intentions of showing, per say, but still want to keep the quality up in case that changes. I don't condone horse or dog backyard breeding (to each their own and I won't preach, I just don't do it myself), so it's a natural step for me to apply that to my chickens too, even though it's not exactly the same thing, I know

 

[forgetful]

Mr Don is a wealth of information and won't steer you wrong. We do all have to start somewhere and can't know everything from the get go. I still have much to learn as well

 

[snowbird]

A local breeder near me was selling out her black and blue Coppers to focus on wheatens, so I got her last batch of black/blue chicks that hatched. She did shows with them and faired pretty well, according to what I am hearing. It's Rosie Bird Farms in Missouri, not sure of the notoriety within chicken farms. That was the only breeder I could find in the area (other than hatcheries, which I have been told to stay away from.) I don't have intentions of showing, per say, but still want to keep the quality up in case that changes. I don't condone horse or dog backyard breeding (to each their own and I won't preach, I just don't do it myself), so it's a natural step for me to apply that to my chickens too, even though it's not exactly the same thing, I know

I will just say now that if you do use any of these BC Marans to start your breeding program you will want to single mated and Mark all chick for your record. You will find that any faults that you have now will multiply greatly and you must cull heavy.

I will say that I am not a fan of the Black-Blue copper being mated together unless it is for Blue Copper. Do not use these Black Copper chick back into your pure Black Copper when you do get some.

 

[KerriAnn00]

I will say that I am not a fan of the Black-Blue copper being mated together unless it is for Blue Copper. Do not use these Black Copper chick back into your pure Black Copper when you do get some.

Why is this? Does it dilute there resulting black, or it merely lineage preference?

And when you say single mate...does that mean keep only one hen and one roo together for a month or so, then swap out girls, etc?

Thinking about this, is this even possible without using an incubator? Can one force a hen to go broody, or is it merely their whim? I have never incubated eggs before and had every intention of just letting then raise their own.. which may not be possible with the single mating concept.

Did I go about starting this wrong, buying from a breeder that was selling out, so no one to really swap/trade lines with?

 

[forgetful]

Yes single mating is one female with one male. You can't force broodiness, and some lines of breeds will not go broody, or will want to brood constantly. I've had one hen go broody in the past 3 years out of the 20 I keep at any time. It entirely depends on your individual birds. If you are only planning to hatch chicks as they go broody, it will be difficult to single mate. If this is how you want to raise them then that is your own choice and preference. If you would like to raise a flock that way and still try to adhere to standard then it may be a good idea to buy some grown stock. You'll know what you are getting right away, and it is cheaper in the long run. Lots of birds will be available this fall from breeders who are picking through their flocks. With what you have now I don't think it will be possible to manage them how you'd like to.

 

[KerriAnn00]

Thanks, that's something I will have to chew on. Pretty disappointed really, since I spent a lot on these thinking I would be better off starting from a show breeder and maybe ending up with some of the same issues I would have found in hatchery stock. I don't know how to justify doing it again, even higher priced because they will be fully grown and vetted for quality

Should I sell these, if they have too many faults and are not show quality.. or cull them altogether?

 

[forgetful]

I can't begin to count how many people I know of that have gone through this same thing. I almost think everyone in the poultry world has experienced this at some point. You can always sell them as brown egg layers, not marans, if they don't work out. How much did you spend on them?

Edit: Edited to add that I am asking price only to see if you may be able to break even on them. Sexed pullets sell well in my area

 

[KerriAnn00]

$10 for day old chicks. Which looking at a couple of hatcheries now, apparently isn't that much. Sounded like a lot when I could buy "normal" pullets for $2-3 at farm stores. I suppose I should have compared hatcheries first; never occurred to me after being told to stay away from them

Well, live and learn. I may go ahead and breed these as planned to learn about that process and be prepared to cull ruthlessly as needed. In the meantime, I can be on the lookout for some older stock in my area. That's the hard part - I haven't seen any show breeders in my area, so I am not sure where to even begin..

 

[forgetful]

Yes that's not a terrible price. More than they are worth but I know scammers that got $25 a chick. There's nothing wrong with taking your time and enjoying them for a little while. They are still chickens and will lay eggs. In my area pullets can sell for $20/25 each so you will make a little back if you sell.

For reference I spent $100 to buy and ship a silver laced Wyandotte hen a few months ago. That may seem like a lot, but I knew exactly what I as getting from that hen and saved a lot of money. I could have bought 10 chicks at $10 each and received 5 pullets with something undesirable about each of them, plus the care and money put into raising them. The hen I bought started laying eggs a week later and I started hatching chicks after her quarantine was up. I also was able to select a bird that worked well to offset my current birds in type and color and she is an asset to my breeding program.

If you do look to buy adult stock, look for something over a year old. After their first adult molt they don't normally change anymore. Reserving $200 to buy and ship in some breeding stock is well worth it. I know the number may invoke some sticker shock but it is cheaper and you'll be a lot happier. Are you a part of any Marans groups on Facebook?

 

[KerriAnn00]

I was just searching for one (or more) to join. Any suggestions?

True, they will lay edible eggs, yes. And potentially dark eggs, which may have more appeal to buyers if I sell them. And ultimately, they can all go into my OE mutt pen if they don't work out with test breeding, so I suppose all is not lost. Just a couple of months worth of excitement ;-)