Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[OHmamma]

how ya all think my Mary is doing?? I am really liking her. So far these are 2 of my for sure "keepers" of the year.....her and the blue copper boy with her were the only ones that made the cut from their hatch......

What do you think about his tail? He is pretty shy but he just doesn't seem to hold it high enough. ARRRRGH I go from one thing to the next. The copper in his breast is getting more noticeable too.

 

[Nikki1976]

Quote:
I was just about to ask the same exact question!!

I had a dozen Marans eggs shipped to me and only 2 of them hatched. This time I have 3 dozen Marans eggs in my incubators (which I picked up in person) and wanted to know if there was a trick to get a better hatch rate?? I had a few people tell me that they are very difficult to hatch and was wondering if there was something that I could do to up the chances?? Thanks in advance!

 

[youngbiddy]

Quote:
I had a 66% hatch rate on shipped Marans eggs using the Dry Incubation method.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-DryIncubation.html

 

[Nikki1976]

Quote:
I had a 66% hatch rate on shipped Marans eggs using the Dry Incubation method.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-DryIncubation.html

Thanks!! That's what I'm trying this time. I have no water in either incubator and the humidity is staying between 45 & 50%.

 

[youngbiddy]

Wow, that's high! Mine hovered at 30-35% during the first 18 days; I upped it to 65% for lockdown.

 

[AyeUpChuck]

Quote:
REALLY like her!!!! Their leg feathering is AWESOME! I wish my boys and girls were so fortunate. So far, and they're all still pretty young, the leg feathering is pretty light though the recent weather has NOT been helping with the feather retention!

Can't wait to see how he completely colors out. He has a really nicely shaped head! Pretty birds!

Completely off topic

I'm not suer where you are in Ohio but can you recommend any native dishes I can make for my gf's bachelorette party. She's from Cincinnati and i know she loves Skyline dip and Graeters but I'm trying to do some surprise home favs. Think I might head to the Buckeye thread for ideas as well!

 

[Nikki1976]

Well, that's what I thought too, but most of what I have read says to keep it around 50% until day 18. This is only my second time to hatch so I'm still in the learning process. I'm not sure how to get the humidity down being that there's no water in the bators now.

 

[youngbiddy]

Quote:
You'd have to run a de-humidifier in the room, then. I tried standard humidity (45%) for the hatch after the Marans hatch and I got a 25% hatch rate. Needless to say, I'm sticking with dry incubation from now on!

 

[AyeUpChuck]

Quote:
I had a 66% hatch rate on shipped Marans eggs using the Dry Incubation method.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-DryIncubation.html

Thanks!! That's what I'm trying this time. I have no water in either incubator and the humidity is staying between 45 & 50%.

Could it be just that the relative humidity is that high because of your location. i know my mom had a hard time because it was 50% in her house! She's in south Louisiana btw!

 

[OHmamma]

Quote:
REALLY like her!!!! Their leg feathering is AWESOME! I wish my boys and girls were so fortunate. So far, and they're all still pretty young, the leg feathering is pretty light though the recent weather has NOT been helping with the feather retention!

Can't wait to see how he completely colors out. He has a really nicely shaped head! Pretty birds!

Completely off topic

I'm not suer where you are in Ohio but can you recommend any native dishes I can make for my gf's bachelorette party. She's from Cincinnati and i know she loves Skyline dip and Graeters but I'm trying to do some surprise home favs. Think I might head to the Buckeye thread for ideas as well!

THANKS!! One of the main reasons I kept both was the leg feathering. I have had some trouble getting it to where I like it. Too much they look "cochiny" too little and they look like they have something wrong with them and it is gross looking to me. I finaly found me a real nice Black Copper Mari Krebs roo to cross into the WJ line I have and he is putting the perfect amount on the chicks.

and the first "Native Ohio" dish that comes to my mind is...BUCKEYES!! IT is a homeade candy. Cincinnati Chilli mmm, the secret ingredient is cinnamon but I also use cocoa powder llike they do in Cleveland. Probably because I am from central Ohio!!