Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[gilavina]

I got some hatching eggs in the mail today and must say I AM happy!

I received 20 splash Marans, 7 blue Marans and 8 black Ameracauna eggs..only one of the Ameracauna eggs was cracked open. So, the first batch of the year will move to the hatching tray and these will go into the turner tray, 34 in all...(not including the ones i've been collecting from my own stock...hehe...)

Surely this means spring will come soon, right?

 

[Casey76]

my eggs didn't arrive yesterday

I'm praying they will arrive today... I paid for 48 hour postage! Darned postal service!

 

[Ivywoods]

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Neat assortment! I hope you have a great hatch. Be sure to keep us informed!

Casey76- Gosh! Hope your eggs arrive quickly The weather here has been terrible, so I hope they are keeping them away from the extreme temperatures!

 

[Wynette]

Math - 95% of folks will tell you to catch who is eating eggs & eat them. It CAN be cured, but it does take diligence on your part. I did a super long post quite a long time ago - mine were cured, and I haven't had a problem since then:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=1873332#p1873332

If you do this for 7-10 days, they will get into the habit of NOT eating them.

Monique - congrats on the new granbaby coming! Hope the delivery is uneventful & you are holding that little boy, and feeling better yourself, VERY soon!

 

[pinkchick]

Math~
I had a couple gals that just after they were culled to the laying flock decided that they were going to eat eggs. One of the regular gals was in the nest box and one of the new gals was trying to get in there too, the regular hen wasn't going to give up her spot, but the new gal in the pen was insistant and won. The regular gal went outside in the coop run and after a few minutes of squawking she laid her egg right on the ground and the other new gal ran straight over and gobbled it up as soon as she saw it, then everyone else wondered what she was eating and helped her. I was outside the run trying to get in fast enought to kick the egg away or smash with completely into the ground with my foot and make it disappear, but I wasn't fast enough. The next day this same thing happened, but it was a different regular hen that had been in that flock for a long time, she laid her egg in the nest box and one of the new gals got right up there and pecked it and started eating it. I tossed her out of the box and cleaned it up. For a few days after that I kept finding the goo in the nest box and on the other eggs....very few eggs I might add (I think they went on a egg eating frenzy), so the next day that I had some extra time, I pulled up a 5 gal. bucket, flipped it over and planted myself on it and watched them for a while. I noticed that the regular hens would be the first in the box to lay and when one of the new girls decided they wanted to lay they would get in the same nest box (doesn't matter that there are 6 nest boxes and 5 were vaccant) anyway, as they played queen of the nest box and tried to see who master their mountain, they would crush eggs that had already been laid under them and the moment one of them noticed egg......THEY BOTH WENT TO TOWN!!!!!!!!!! Funny, I gave away the older gals in that flock and left the younger new fresh layers that were eating the eggs........haven't had an eaten egg since.
But, a couple years ago I had a couple hens that no matter what I did just couldn't be broken of egg eating...(however, I will tell you that I blew out an egg and filled it with horseradish, put in the nest box one day and it was never touched, but the real eggs that had been laid all around it were devoured.). I did end up eating those girls.....this did correct their nasty and naughty habit, but prior to this they had fair and ample time to redirect their energies and change their ways, it just didn't happen. Before I culled them, I put them in their own pen, no roosters and no other girls......they ate every egg they laid.

 

[sewandgrow]

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Sorry Lisa. That would upset me too.............. I have no experience to share with you on it though. My grandmother who always had a flock of straight run dual purpose large fowl chickens said once she starts you can't break her. Maybe that'a an 'ol wife's tale I don't know, but I bet someone else on this board has a solution for you. Good luck

 

[math ace]

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Too weird. . . . I am suspecting one of my new layers being the responsable party. . . It is suppose to be dry this weekend and I am hoping to find out who is guilty. In the meantime, I am throwing 2 of them and the roo out of the pen and into the free range area. I am watching to see if egg count improves.

I have the partridge rocks over there today. They are very ardent free rangers. . .

 

[sewandgrow]

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Good for you........Quite a haul. Conratulations & good luck

 

[sewandgrow]

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Gosh Kim, How disappointing...My grandmother always said if you don't get rid of the culprit she will teach the others to do it but I think they just got a taste of it when she did it & liked it so much they just went for it.

 

[Debbi]

UGLY cold here this morning, at -10*! I feel like I moved to Minnesota and forgot to tell myself. Poor chickens are really getting sick & tired of this weather and so am I. We got 5 more inches of snow yesterday too. My well or some of the lines are frozen this morning to make it all so much nicer

BUT WAIT!! Tomorrow is getting to 40* with 50s for the weekend and 40s and 50s all next week!!

Spring is surely thinking of coming now... I hope!!!!??