Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[AyeUpChuck]

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Not great quality. I'll try and get a few better photos when they go outside for a playdate

roo much?

same roo

another roo?

true blue

little miss? blue

 

[seabreeze]

Thanks Pink, Aye and Gilavina (can I use your real names? LOL)

I really do want blue Marans, blue coppers and blue Birchens and have managed to find some by fluke and though they are not the top of the line quality, its something I can start with and work towards improving, bettering etc., and that is why AyeUp was so generous with her little blue beauties!! Now she has a choice of a couple of blue Birchens to choose from BUT ONLY IF the consensus is the new guys are even worth breeding.

I know the first two, lighter blue and darker blue are ok roos and the spangled roo has become freezer fodder but out of the three new ones, all gotten at the Canby meet, two are supposed to be blue Birchens and one I believe is a splash but not sure (the white-ish looking one). So I was hoping someone could tell me if that's a splash or what?

I know one of the new roos has what Geebs called a split tail where a tail feather went on either side of the main bunch of tail feathers but I have to go look again which one that is. I supplied pictures in hopes that body critiques, combs, eyes, heads, feathering etc could be discussed.

Yeah, I got two for 10 bucks....surprised me! I also got a wonderful blue Marans hen that Geebs said she liked so that was at least a good score

and she came along with that big white splash guy.

 

[AyeUpChuck]

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That's right! She was very pretty!

 

[seabreeze]

Went and picked up my two Gabbard Farms blue Birchen Marans chicks from new friend Scott who has the coolest redwood incubator!! If I ever got proficient at hatching, I told him I'd love to buy his if I could afford it. Not sure if this is typical but its sort of a drum shape on its side? all redwood, with three doors and it stands about 18 inches off the ground, suspended so that it can rotate half way? Doors on either side are egg trays that slide in at an angle and in the middle door is the guts of the bator with thermostat, hygrometer and a big metal container that keeps the water heated so that its warm moist air already blowing in and doesn't have to heat the air, the hot water does that.

Anyway, his hatch rates are phenomenal with this thing and he uses another bator as a hatcher, about 7 trays and a bunch of stuff pipping, hatching etc., including ducks, guinea fowl, cortunix quail, etc., He has some of my Narangansett eggs to hatch out as well. Anyway, I was going to give him a couple of blue birchen chicks as a thank you for hatching them out but since there were only 2, one dark blue and one lighter blue, he wouldn't take one.

His facility was not real fancy but man, the guy is truly creative/innovative. I've seen brooders made out of rubber tubs etc. but he uses this hardboard stuff (like uber compressed cardboard, slick surface) that he gets at Home Depot, has them saw it in half lengthwise. He then screws a 2x2 board to one end and rolls the other end around to create a cylinder and screws that end to the other side of the 2x2. Talk about keeping the warmth from the lamps contained!! He also makes up his own chick starter at 21% protein and I saw some of the BCM chicks he hatched from my eggs? I've never seen anything so shiny, glossy and PLUMP, solid!! They were only 1.5 months old and wow, they looked like they were groomed for showing but he hadn't bathed them etc., So I bought some from him and just ground up the first batch to get our chicks started on it. Sorry, I can't say how much I paid or what it contains, that's his trade secret

but if my birds start looking like show birds as to solid bodies, deep glossy feathers etc., then I am going back to him and buy up as much feed as he can make up!

Anyway, I brought the two Gabbard Birchens home, one had stuff stuck on its head and the other looked pretty nice so hopefully they will hang in there. I think my blue is a roo and the dark one is a hen but they are only 2 days old.

So it looks like decent weather coming up?? haha.....Oregon weather changes in an instant but now its gone from rain on and off this week to clouds and sun, so we will see and hopefully I can get photos of everyone!

My Copper Hackle Coop chicks are maturing nicely, I think there are two roos out of 4 in there with some promise. I will get pics this week. We were just discussing rumpless Marans and I couldn't quite wrap my head around it and guess what?? AHA!! There is one in the Copper Hackle group/NC and sure enough, I felt for a tailbone and there was none; of course, its a pullet and what should I do with her? Just keep her for eating eggs or toss her in the freezer?

 

[math ace]

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I will have to look closely tomorrow. It may just be dirt or poo poo!

This is the other pullet that I hatched at the same time. . . . and I got two cockerels , of course

A blue and a black copper marans cockerel. At least they are not crowing, yet. HOWERVER, I just moved these guys out by THUNDER's cage, so I am SURE that THUNDER will teach them how to make some noise!

 

[brandyk81]

I tried to scan through your thread, but WOW, there is so much.

Can ya'll take a gander over here https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=6316367#p6316367 and help me out?

 

[math ace]

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You have a marans question. You might get for assistenance from the marans folks if you just bring that picture AND your questions over here and post it

What happens when you breed a splash to a black copper marans is suppose to be 100% Blue Copper marans. You chick is not looking very blue. . . .
Some people can feather sex their breeds at birth, but not everyone's birds work this way. Mine do not follow the feather sexing rules. However, my are fast developers and by 14 - 21 days of age I can see a big difference in the combs and wattles of the cockerels. There do not appear to be any universal hard and fast rules when it comes to sexing marans.

 

[pinkchick]

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Thanks Kim!

I missed coming to check out what was going on with everyone, but I just felt terrible. Glad to be back! Have any hatches while I was gone?

Vicki~ I did have one hatch I believe while you were out sick...all blue coppers....but unfortunately they are all clean legged with the exception of 3 that are pure Davis birds...they have wonderfully feathered shanks and are all blue coppers as well and I believe that 2 of them are pullets and one is a cockerel. The pullets I will keep and I will rehome the male if he doesn't seem to be a keeper by about 6-8 weeks old.

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
Not great quality. I'll try and get a few better photos when they go outside for a playdate

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hpho...0168089994472_766099471_6745290_7352896_n.jpg
roo much?

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hpho...0168090489472_766099471_6745297_6776434_n.jpg
same roo

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hpho...0168090669472_766099471_6745301_6255379_n.jpg
another roo?

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hpho...0168090844472_766099471_6745307_6316427_n.jpg
true blue

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hpho...0168091074472_766099471_6745316_5242706_n.jpg
little miss? blue

Yep....2 roo's and a pullet. Whatcha gunna do with 2 roo's and 1 pullet? So.. Sea got a couple pullets and a couple cockerels?

Love the little Splash....he looks like he is going to end up being very well natured.

 

[gilavina]

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Thanks Kim!

I missed coming to check out what was going on with everyone, but I just felt terrible. Glad to be back! Have any hatches while I was gone?

Vicki~ I did have one hatch I believe while you were out sick...all blue coppers....but unfortunately they are all clean legged with the exception of 3 that are pure Davis birds...they have wonderfully feathered shanks and are all blue coppers as well and I believe that 2 of them are pullets and one is a cockerel. The pullets I will keep and I will rehome the male if he doesn't seem to be a keeper by about 6-8 weeks old.

Its always interesting to see which ones of mine throw feathered legs and which ones don't. I'm learning lots about my different pens and which pairings get me in the direction I'm wanting to go. There is no doubt that there can be a steep learning curve on the Marans. Probably just one of the many reasons I love them. I love the challenge.

I just did a chicky collection from the hatching tray and have quite the sea of beauties! So far I've taken out 31 dry babies and have about 10 drying in the tray and more in various stages of pipping. I'll have to get a pic later when they are all dried and hatched out so you can see what I see....They are quite the fatties!

I've got 5 Blue Birchens out so far from my shipped eggs, and more drying. I also have 4 of those lavender Silver Sussex hatched, but still drying. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and praying for a good hatching from my shipped eggs. I'm getting great hatches from my own pens as well, I feel so lucky that its going well so far...I just wanna keep it going til this hatch is done. I've been waiting for this hatch since the day I ordered my eggs!