International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Thomas Bright]

Heh tom you can't find poultry processors here for less than lots of 500.... So I just do my own. I'm getting better! My sister on the other hand, raises organic meat birds for Tyson and that's so completely different from what us breeders do, it's crazy! 30,000 chicks per barn, 8 weeks to finish! Could you imagine having a 5 lb bird at 8 weeks old? And the processors come to her place to load up the whole barn at a time, all in all out. It's so different from my teeny operation! She's never seen the parents, I'm on year 7 with the same flock!

My processor is a large family that all live on the farm together. Man, wife, sons and daughters. Lots of grand kids. They all work together on the farm. Pretty self sufficient . Very small operation only do 200 birds on a long day. I think the wheat pays the BILLS and the Cornish are a sideline. The processing is USDA inspected and approved. They sell the Cornish downtown Seattle market. They also sell non GMO eggs, big price Seattle market. Great people. TOM

 

[chickenpolo]

those hens look to me they come from a same hatch as your cockerels .hatch mates ?
they have a same body type and same traits .
those chooks can not be bred together .they will produce chooks like them selves .no good .

I like a hens more then a cockerel .
chooks man

One is his hatch mate and the other is a little older but same lines So you say the hens are better to use then the cockerel? What about the white feathers on the one hen, will that cause more problems then it’s worth?

 

[chickengr]

Heh tom you can't find poultry processors here for less than lots of 500.... So I just do my own. I'm getting better! My sister on the other hand, raises organic meat birds for Tyson and that's so completely different from what us breeders do, it's crazy! 30,000 chicks per barn, 8 weeks to finish! Could you imagine having a 5 lb bird at 8 weeks old? And the processors come to her place to load up the whole barn at a time, all in all out. It's so different from my teeny operation! She's never seen the parents, I'm on year 7 with the same flock!

I have seen how people raise meat birds in 8 weeks. that's why I decided to raise my own chickens. but then came chicken math, lol.

 

[Thomas Bright]

I have seen how people raise meat birds in 8 weeks. that's why I decided to raise my own chickens. but then came chicken math, lol.

I eat my own chickens, I eat KFC chicken, eat Wal-Mart Chicken! I like to eat chicken. TOM

 

[Chooks man]

One is his hatch mate and the other is a little older but same lines So you say the hens are better to use then the cockerel? What about the white feathers on the one hen, will that cause more problems then it’s worth?

one hen has a white on her tail could be damaged or parasitic .but the second hen is good except her high tail .

chooks man

 

[chickenpolo]

one hen has a white on her tail could be damaged or parasitic .but the second hen is good except her high tail .

chooks man

Ok, thanks for advice

 

[Minky]

Could someone tell me the approximate age for a marans hen to start laying? I just read someplace on the internet that it was 7-9 MONTHS? Is that correct?

Thanks

 

[marchick]

Could someone tell me the approximate age for a marans hen to start laying? I just read someplace on the internet that it was 7-9 MONTHS? Is that correct?

Thanks

It really depends on the line. I have had them lay at 5 to 6 months. I know someone that theirs didn't start laying till around 11 months.

 

[Minky]

 

[kcrandall]

Could someone tell me the approximate age for a marans hen to start laying? I just read someplace on the internet that it was 7-9 MONTHS? Is that correct?

Thanks

Between 5-10 months depending on Marans Line and time of year they were hatched. Hens need approximately 14 hours of daylight to stimulate egg laying. A pullet hatched in June will be mature enough to lay by late fall / early winter but because we have less daylight during the winter she most likely will not lay until late winter / early spring. Some breeders prefer their pullets do not lay until 7-8 months old so they breed for this trait. The reason is these breeders feel, based on their experience, that a pullet that lays at 5 months will be undersized physically as will her eggs because she matured too fast whereas a pullet that starts laying at 7-8 months will be larger, more robust and lay a larger egg.