Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[heath_elisha]

haha don't give it a second thought lady. I was busy dispatching another possum. Grrrrrrr, 3 in 5 days.

a customer of ours is new to chickens this year and just the other day went out to do something in the coop while her birds were free ranging- and wouldn't you know there was a oppossum hanging out inside the coop in a hole of a cinder block! All she saw was tail- called her husband and he pulled the bugger out. Middle of the day.... no chickens were harmed though

 

[gilavina]

a customer of ours is new to chickens this year and just the other day went out to do something in the coop while her birds were free ranging- and wouldn't you know there was a oppossum hanging out inside the coop in a hole of a cinder block! All she saw was tail- called her husband and he pulled the bugger out. Middle of the day.... no chickens were harmed though

I hate them, they are such a nuisance, particularly after all the fields are harvested....they come looking for food and shelter before winter. My mom, when my parents were not married all that long went out one day to check for eggs in one of the chicken houses, keep in mind she was a city girl, anyways, she was going around to the different pens in the house and looked over on the wall where there was a set of the metal nest boxes and saw a tail sticking out. Well, out of instinct, she grabbed it thinking it was a rat or something, and pulled out a huge possum. She said she freaked out so bad and still to this day I think its one of the animals she really can't stand. I can't imagine just grabbing one by the tail....ick!!

 

[aceschix]

Quote: I agree Ick and quite freaky if happening to yourself

But...imagine watching that! The visual really gave me a chuckle

 

[Wynette]

On buying breeding pairs or tios of Marans - I have had the same experience of many. They're just not available. Not good quality ones, anyway. I've been breedinng Black Coppers for 5+ years now, and all I could get when I began was eggs. And even now, folks just are not letting go of even the mediocre ones, let alone the really nice ones.

I worked with my beginning line for 3 years and had an issue I could not seem to resolve after 6 gens of hatching. So, I ended up adding outside lines. Looking back, I REALLY wish I hadn't have done that. But, it is what it is now, and I'm unwilling to throw them all in the dumpster and start from scratch. And, even if I was, there would be that same issue again of not being able to find really good quality ones. So, I'll work with what I have.

 

[snowbird]

Wynette and all, how many good quality Marans have you raised from shipped eggs. I see one of the MCCusa officering to sell STOCK in the poultry press.

 

[math ace]

Lisa, When buying eggs what do you look for when buying the eggs. I get what you are saying about the adults being culls, just do not buy culls.. Over the years I have bought adult trios and even small flocks out of poultry Press. I think it matters where you buy the fowl from.

Absolutely, It matters where you buy them from. It also matters how experienced the buyer is. It is a dog eat dog world in chicken land. BUYER beware and then some. You, a seasoned, experienced breeder, have the knowledge to identify and purchase only the best potential trios. However, the average poster on here is totally unfamiliar with the SOP. They lack the experence with the first 50 pages of the SOP to recognize general DQ's and faults - pinch tail, side sprigs, etc. For them, there is a big learning curve involved with learning type. There is NOTHING like experience for that. Eggs offer the best opportunity to gain a lot of experience.

If the buyer is like Vicki and has been raised around show quality chickens, then purchasing a trio is a viable way to go. I think I could select a decent trio now that Master has taught Grasshopper so well !

HOWEVER, in my area marans breeders with the SOP in mind a rarer than SOP Marans!

Hence, in the past I have had to rely on shipped eggs.

Your question "When buying eggs what do you look for when buying the eggs".... First, I want to see some pictures of the birds that laid them. If the parents look good, then I start asking some questions to the breeder. I don't have time for a breeder who doesn't have the time or inclination to answer my questions. I find out things like how long they have had their stock and where they got them from. I ask them about specific issues like white in the wings or white under coat. Of course I want to see pictures of the eggs. I've learned that there is a powerful, POWERFUL, network of information on BYC. If I want to know the score about a breeder, I have a network of folks on BYC that I can PRIVATELY PM and they will let me know if they have any experience with them. Despite all the questions, I still end up with things that weren't expected - specifically, yellow legs, vulture hocks, or very poor egg color.

 

[math ace]

Lisa, When buying eggs what do you look for when buying the eggs. I get what you are saying about the adults being culls, just do not buy culls.. Over the years I have bought adult trios and even small flocks out of poultry Press. I think it matters where you buy the fowl from.

Another thing... I FIRMLY believe there is a good old boy network out there that closes their doors to newbies. After all the work I have done with my flock, I can kinda of understand this. However, I just want to point out that, Don it might be easier for YOU to get a nice trio than Me. I do believe those who show treat others that show with higher respect than those working independently and not showing. It is human nature for folks to share their stock with people they trust as opposed to the unknown person. Like I said before, I truly believe that chicken breeding / selling is a dog eat dog world. The show world is full of folks doing unethical things in AND out of the show barn.

Once again, Don, you are the exception. Your willingness to help ALL folks is rare. Your openess is re-freshing. Many times folks on this thread get offended with what you say, but I like KNOWING where I stand, where my flock, stands in your eyes. I KNOW that if you didn't say it to my face, then you aren't saying it behind my back. Your motives are pure at heart. When you had a yard full of marans, you were participating in studies and open with your findings.

 

[math ace]

Wynette and all, how many good quality Marans have you raised from shipped eggs. I see one of the MCCusa officering to sell STOCK in the poultry press.

This is a moot question!

The general consensus is that you can not find GOOD QUALITY trios either.
My point was that a newbie could learn a LOT of the breed and the standard by hatching and raising a batch of eggs for 6 months.

I, personally, have hatched some decent stock from eggs in other breeds. Lots of hatching... Lots of trial and error...
I was very happy with the delawares eggs that I got straight from Bill Braden. I've had a few other good shipped egg experiences.

 

[math ace]

I am having a HORRID night on the homefront. Let me apologize ahead of time encase I typed anything that sounds snippy....
I will check back with ya'll tomorrow...

 

[ashandvine]

I like possums but don't deal with them personally like you do. I was actually rather hoping one would hide here. I know they are predators but they are also rather pathetic and interesting. I met one in person who was part of an education show. She had hands like ours!!! She was really sweet and when you know a bit about them its hard not to feel bad for them getting all frost bitten and carrying around babies only to be hit by cars with their babies in them.... on to chickens.

I am posting pics of feet here (no kidding) to show darker legs and what I was calling white but really they are very light silvery. The light one also has a light face and ear and light hackles....


see....


This boy's hackles lighten as they go down his neck but his legs are darker. He is my #2 boy.


While this pic isn't great you get the idea that the lighter boy is what he is (practically feral but large)


I posted these in response to the wheaten concerns. Now, I will post pics of pullets ... tomorrow maybe. I have one pullet with nice feathering, best of the three I have, who also has this light face, white ear and light legs. I saw her and these two boys in a group hatched out of a lot of eggs that were supposed to be from BDavis and a few others but the names went out of my brain. Uhhh, I'll try to find them for later post. I saw lots of color issues: black eyes, light shanks, naked shanks, one blue/gold boy I thought was pretty but left there as he was small and I am not doing that type, several pullets were completely melan... ised? ized? (almost no or no copper showing) and Lots of straw/gold coloring.

(my number one boy is not posted. Shown in earlier posts in the house More later.