Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[gilavina]

Quote:
yeah...something about trying to make it sound more fancy that it actually is.

Yes, I found VC's response to that question in the Cuckoo/White thread:

I think calling them double mutant white is just a way of making them sound more special than they are, IMHO. Sound like Alien chickens to me.
ALL Marans have white skin. White skin is dominant, and not really considered a mutation, simply something that can easily be selected.
Some Marans have white shanks. Clear shanks are also dominant, and are not difficult to select.
White Marans should have pink shanks, but only if they have the ID dermal melanin inhibitor gene. They can have white skin and still have incorrect gray shanks.

It would be more useful to know details like whether they are from silver or gold based parents, whether it is recessive or dominant white, how closely related the parent stock might be etc.

I love my Whites, and I'm glad they are gaining popularity, but now is the time to get some of the language clear when we talk about them. Double mutant doesn't mean much of anything in the poultry world, especially as it relates to Marans. I don't know why a good breeder would refer to them as such.

I hope you both have good hatches with lots of typey birds and more hens than roos. I think the feathered shanks look best in white.

That's the one!

 

[Debbi]

Double Mutants

. Kept reminding me of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

 

[gilavina]

Quote:
haha no kidding!

 

[pinkchick]

Our friendly family of Bald Eagles is back this morning hanging out in on of our trees above the coops. That is where I disappeared to for a while, I could watch them all day, but I am sure that my chickens feel slightly different about it.

Either on Thankgiving or Christmas we always get a visit from the local wildlife. I love living out here!

The Male

The Female

Their eaglet....this is as close as a person comes to seeing the young one, they keep it pretty well hidden and if a person gets too close they take off to the next tree, so the silhouette is all we get. You can see Mamma on one of the lower branches.

I have 2 young 8 week old Marans cockerels that are not in with any older birds and easily accessible to them, so I suspect they are eyeballing a potential Christmas meal.

 

[Chinchilla2]

Quote:
For all the things wrong with this boy, ya have to admit he's very handsome in a unique way. Be interesting to see if that color stays around after the next molt.

 

[Debbi]

How beautiful!!! We have a growing flock around here in the summer. I remembered seeing only one or two for years here, but last summer there had to be 20 or so. Do the young stay with the parents that long?? There were quite a few youngsters, but many were at least 5 years old, as they had the white heads and tails. The chooks here were really shaken up, when 6 of the Eagles perched in the two big oaks I have in my front pasture! I wish I'd had my camera with me, I did not know they would flock together, at least not that many at a time?? Then there is a place down south/west of me, Dogwood Bluff, on the river. It is a huge sighting every year, and they come enmass there too. Neat to watch them fish!! Funny thing that also happens here once the Eagles come, is that all of the Blue Jays mimic them! I kept hearing them scream right by the back of the house by the coop, but couldn't see any. Then I looked again, and there were the Jays sitting in the trees!

They are really good mimics, and all the chooks took cover!

 

[pinkchick]

The Bald Eagel, the bird that exceeds the Standards of Perfection EVERYTIME and it's acceptable to have white in the tail. It doesn't get any better than the magical eagles

Ahhhhh! Just got back in from watching them....they are still hanging around sqwauking and talking up a storm. The eaglet is huge and starting to turn white in the head and hackle, I couldn't see the tail clearly enough to comment. I love them!

 

[sunleacreations]

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I was wondering about that. My pne BCM hen has 1 white wing feather and mt BCM Roo had a partially white tail feather. What makes this happen? it's noth the whole feather just part of it? Can it be passed on? My daughter would like to show some of our birds in 4H next year

 

[BarnGoddess01]

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GORGEOUS pictures, Pink! Thanks for sharing. I had a young bald eagle stay quite low and fly ahead of me down a river one day when I was out in the canoe. Breath-taking. I swear the wings spanned the width of the river. Truly a sight to behold. I'm so glad to see them making a comeback. We have several nesting pairs around here so I hope to see more of them as well. Just hope I DON'T see them flying off with my chickens!!!!

 

[snowbird]

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?????? What does that mean? We are nice here!

x2

Vicki, This male in your avatar is what I was trying to raise when I had the Marans. Great type and station. Would be interesting to see what you would get with him and some Blue and Blue Copper female. Really nice male though.