Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Illia]

I've got a handful of Black Copper eggs in the incubator, due on the 11th, and another smaller handful due just before Easter. I'll have some Blue Wheatens due sometime later, too.

For some photo treatment. . .

Here's what is due on the 11th:

There's a really nice dark egg in there. . . That's from my current top layer. By top I mean through a total year now of laying, she seems to still hold onto her dark spray paint well, and is laying me some eggs as if she's a newly laying pullet. The rest have lightened up a tad, but not too much.

Here's the moms and dad.

Next to a HUGE Sussex hen

The main cock I'm currently using of my 3 boys. . . He's from Wynette's stock. VERY nice boy.

(the white there is from the boy behind him)

A Bev Davis cock, covering a couple girls

And my newest member, who's currently not covering anyone. He's very quiet, very sweet, and absolutely huge. Very broad back, very nice small tail with low angle, but that comb is indeed way too big for my taste.

And, my beloved Wheaten girls are now laying. . . So, I'm finally back on track with Blue Wheaten Marans breeding.

My beloved Blue Wheaten, 'Weldfinn.'

 

[seabreeze]

Mountain Mel!! I will join you in that breeding endeavor of Marans and webbed feet! Maybe we can get the feathers to be waterproof, helping to create a *web* between the toes! I'm tired of this soggy stuff too. My dogs are mud ducks, my chickens are mud ducks, my cattle and horses are mud ducks, my turkeys are mud ducks and the only ones that are NOT mud ducks are the two mini donks (mom and baby who reside in the covered arena).

I am soooo over the green part of the state! Give me some snow please! I know, I know, I have to move EAST to get that....I'ma lookin'!

Nevada has some good deals.....

 

[seabreeze]

Illia, what an amazing bunch of eggs, both blues and browns!!!

I love your blue copper roo, he is pretty awesome but so are the others!! I sold our big guy and I actually miss seeing him! We have some blue birchen? cockerels and they are only 5 months so not very impressive at all

 

[Illia]

Quote:
Personally I don't find that too funny, as I KNOW of web-footed Marans. . .

 

[Illia]

Quote:
Blue WHEATEN.

Everyone thinks he's a Blue Copper. . . . He's way better than a Blue Copper!

 

[VillageChicken]

Quote:
Some folks have commented that this looks like blacktailed buff. It looks more dark wheaten to me. BTB should have some black in the hackle and on the primaries at the tips, and should be much more uniform in color overall. It could be a mix, especially since there is no leg feathering. There's really no way to tell on hens. BTB roos are uniform buff/red and wheatens have the wild type black breast. Unless this hen someday produces a rooster, it will probably remain a mystery.

 

[seabreeze]

Sorry Illia

, he's pretty darned amazing for a blue wheaten!! YIKES!

I'll have to go back and study him a LOT!!

 

[seabreeze]

Illia, are you serious, are those truly webbed chicken feet (Marans)?? OMG, those are horrid looking!

It would be one thing if they were actually functional and the poor bird could walk on them but those look like club feet to me!

 

[VillageChicken]

Quote:
If he's yellow shanked, then your eggs were not from pure cuckoo marans, at least not correct ones.
Yellow shanks are usually a culling point, if it matters whether or not the birds you breed are correct according to the standard.
If you just want dark eggs, then it doesn't matter. Usually yellow legs in cuckoos come from barred rocks crossed in somewhere, and barred rock genes don't usually help with corrrect egg color.
If you breed this rooster, even to hens without yellow shanks, he will pass his yellow leg genes on to half of his offspring. It will be very difficult to eliminate in future generations.

Thanks for the advise. The eggs they came from were very dark. So what would the true leg color be more white or black have seen both. One of the other cuckoos I have has white with few black looking scales on the front, not feather shanks though and two hens one has white legs and feather shanks one has pick/white legs but no feather shanks. The more I have been thinking about it depending on how the eggs Im hatching come out I was thinking off just keeping the blues, black coppers and wheatons and not having the cuckoos.

White or pinkish white is correct for cuckoo and wheaten, pale slate for blue and black copper, with pink skin showing between the toes and scales. BC hens will have darker shanks than roos, they will be dark slate, or even have black scales with pink skin in between.

 

[Illia]

Quote:
Yep, they were kind of functional. I collected a huge car-load of Black Copper roosters from a lady, several different lines and sources, and among them were a decent handful of males from one line who all had either bent toes, webbed feet, deformed toes, or just plain HUGE legs and too much leg feathering. The male who's feet those were even had vulture hocks. On a Marans, wow! It was a first ever for me.

The fused webbing did give the boys a sort of disability, but they still could walk, talk, eat, drink, etc. Their balance was fair to poor though, and some could not run worth a penny. They're all thankfully in the freezer now.