🐣🐥Black Copper Marans and Whiting True Blues. Lots of videos🎥

[wrathsfarm]

Third possum this week.

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I started feeding the chicks inside this little protective circle of garden fencing. It keeps the big chickens out of their food and not scratching and wasting.
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That's a nifty idea.

 

[TexasBlues]

95º+ weather here already. Chicks staying hydrated at the water stations.
Check out the copper mark of the beast on that one chick, that chick is one of the half maran/half whiting true blue.

Getting about 6-7 eggs a day from 10 layers.

 

[wrathsfarm]

95º+ weather here already. Chicks staying hydrated at the water stations.
Check out the copper mark of the beast on that one chick, that chick is one of the half maran/half whiting true blue.

Getting about 6-7 eggs a day from 10 layers.

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Those are gorgeous eggs, my friend.

 

[TexasBlues]

Ok, the egg shape experiment…
I’m seeing some birds with vibrant yellow combs right now, but none have turn red yet. Some I suspect as boys…thick legs, wide and vibrant combs.

@Ladybird CA I’ll try to get another video this week showing closeups of all the month old chicks. Would be amazing if all are pullets, but most likely I’m going to get 50/50.

Here’s the latest video of the flock showing the chicks when they were just over a week old. They’re almost a month old today. The marans/whiting true blue cross chicks all look the same except for barred or not. Unfortunately a few of the olive egger chicks and whiting true blue have disappeared to predators while ranging outside the yard. I have a marans hen that has gone broody. I can’t find a good reason to have her hatch more chicks. I’m running out of space to put a broody.

 

[Ladybird CA]

They’re so cute.

Sorry about the losses.

Are they from round eggs and side air cells? I think from your spreadsheet you wanted one or two boys so hopefully there won’t be more than that.

If you were to give the broody the eggs then when they hatch in 3 weeks the month olds would be ready to join the adult flock if they haven’t already.

 

[TexasBlues]

They’re so cute.

Sorry about the losses.

Are they from round eggs and side air cells? I think from your spreadsheet you wanted one or two boys so hopefully there won’t be more than that.

If you were to give the broody the eggs then when they hatch in 3 weeks the month olds would be ready to join the adult flock if they haven’t already.

There was only 1 marans chick that was from a pointy egg. All other chicks should be pullets according to the egg shape index theory. Most of the air cells were too hard to identify in my dark brown and green eggs. That seems to be a lot easier to identify in white eggs.

From what I can tell so far is that there are several young cockerels developing in these 4 week old chicks. I think there is about 16-17 chicks running around the property. The black hen named Pepper abandoned the chicks a couple days ago and has stopped caring for the chicks and is back up in the roost with the flock. The other mother hen is still actively raising the chicks. All of the marans chicks are doing well.
It will take a little time to sort out how many cockerels vs pullets, but I’m guessing that the egg shape index did not affect the sex of the chicks.

 

[TexasBlues]

Here’s a video with the chicks. I’m seeing a few cockerels here on day 31

 

[TexasBlues]

The chicks are about 4-1/2 weeks old now and the second broody hen has stopped taking care of the chicks today. I’ll see if she decides to roost in the coop tonight.
I’m definitely seeing atleast half of the marans x whiting true blue chicks are cockerels.
Making some deviled eggs

 

[Ladybird CA]

First one out of 29 in the incubator has hatched. One of the olive egger f1s. Maybe 6 or 7 others have pipped.
There’s some chicks that are hatched and cheeping under the broody, but I haven’t gotten a look yet.
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“Male” eggs in the basket/bag.
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Could the chicks that you say look male be from those eggs in the basket? Were the ones that were considered round have an SI of at least 75? I’d check your chart but it’s time for me to go back to sleep. Been up most of the night.

 

[TexasBlues]

Only 1 pointy marans egg out of the basket hatched. So, I expected only 1 cockerel out of all the chicks that hatched.
I think there’s about 16 chicks running around and about half look like cockerels. I don’t have any good pics but they look a lot like this guy.