Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Bravo]

Quote:
Poor guys!

They look rooish to me but I would hold on to them for a couple of weeks longer. At 4 weeks old I thought I had 7 cockerels out of 10. 2 weeks later we are at 50:50. The 2 girls I originally thought were boys had big, fleshy combs but around 5.5-6 weeks all of the boys got MUCH bigger and red but these 2 girls stayed as-is (and the other 3's combs caught up).

I'm crossing my fingers that at least one is a girl!

 

[math ace]

Quote:
When you find the person to take yours - - - - send them my way and I will give them even more!

 

[math ace]

Quote:
I use a dollar store crate with holes . . . They didn't come with holes in the bottom, so Dh drilled some in the bottom for me.
Mine were a little too tall to double stack in my cooler / incubator so Dh cut them down to size. The bottom was slick, so I cut a piece of vented rubber matting / shelf linear for each crate. LASTLY, I had a chick escape thru a hole in the side of the crate during a hatch. Since then, I have taken a sheet of green plastic fencing and zip tied it around the crates to stop any WILD CHICKS from escaping.

I like the crates because I can separate the eggs and still see them hatch. You could put 6 BCM eggs in one crate and the 6 mutt in a different crate. Even during a 2 - 3 day waiting period, the dryer chicks won't be able to mess around with the chicks in the other crate.

 

[cpegram]

anyone selling feathered legged Cuckoo Maran hatching eggs?

 

[Debbi]

Quote:
Poor guys!

They look rooish to me but I would hold on to them for a couple of weeks longer. At 4 weeks old I thought I had 7 cockerels out of 10. 2 weeks later we are at 50:50. The 2 girls I originally thought were boys had big, fleshy combs but around 5.5-6 weeks all of the boys got MUCH bigger and red but these 2 girls stayed as-is (and the other 3's combs caught up).

I'm crossing my fingers that at least one is a girl!

I agree with Bravo, hang on to them a while longer. In the first pic, the chick on the right may very well be a pullet. Just has that "look" to me. I had a big chick born in my first hatch, that had a huge comb and legs right out of the egg! At 3 weeks old the comb was large and very pink, so I figured roo. Glad I held on for a bit more, as SHE now lays a very nice egg!

 

[Debbi]

Well, the last baby born was a splash, but is not faring well at all. I'll give it to the end of the day, but will probably have to cull. Not having good luck with splashes...

 

[jlgoinggreen]

Quote:
So what's the final count Debbi?

 

[Debbi]

Quote:
So what's the final count Debbi?

Six, if I count the one I'll have to cull. The others are doing great, and I see some pullets in there!

 

[jlgoinggreen]

Quote:
So what's the final count Debbi?

Six, if I count the one I'll have to cull. The others are doing great, and I see some pullets in there!

Woohoo! Congrats on the 6!!!

OK.... I asked this before, but didn't get an answer..... How can you tell if they are pullets or cockerels right away like that? I ended up with 7, but one that I think we will have to cull so probably 6. I'd love to know if they are pullets or cockerels.

 

[gilavina]

Mornin' everyone! Just wanted to stop in while I have my morning coffee to see what everyone was up to. I'm heading back out to keep working on getting the garden ready for planting. I had so much fun yesterday when I let some of my birds out to run the yard....well...I ended up with little mini earth movers....they were digging and clucking up a storm!