Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Debbi]

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I feed the oyster shells and it doesn't seem to affect the egg color here. That said, I've never fed the dried egg shells. Kind of makes me nervous if they should connect the flavor with the eggs they are laying. Don't need any egg eaters here!

 

[Bravo]

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LOL! Not like you had anything better to do today, right?

It cracks me up how they don't miss anything. I swear mine spend their days plotting on how to get into my husbands garden--that place is locked down like Ft. Knox and yet every now and then one hen finds a weakness in his fortress and the party is on!

I've been meaning to ask you, how are your chicken saddles working?

Did you find some super cool fabric prints??

Pics are needed

Yeh right!

On the good side, seems like they ate all of the wheat seeds out of the straw! The saddles/aprons are doing well! Only one bad girl is going without, she is a crafty escape artist. May have to wait till she goes to roost as she always seems to evade me!

Only one problem I'm seeing with these. Seems the boys are leery of them, and I'm not seeing much if any breeding going on with the coated girls. The bad girl though, seems to have gone from "ugly girl" status, to the favorite!

She may be begging me for an apron before too long! They are also molting right now, and they are looking soooo shabby!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/56168_yard_birds_5-7-11_007.jpg

LOL Those look great!! Haha! I do think she'll be begging you soon enough for her own jacket and then boys will finally get over it.

What a gorgeous pic too! Very pretty birds Debbi!

 

[Debbi]

Thanks! I love them. They seem very content in their little jackets, even with the hot days we are having, 90*. Wish I could find (and afford!) a purple Carhart!

On the downside; I'm getting tired of trying to explain to non-chook folk why my chickens are wearing "dresses"!

 

[Bravo]

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They are capes--and it's because they are SUPER chickens

 

[Keara]

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I got lighter egg color recently, just before the girls started to go broody!

 

[math ace]

I have my first BROODY of the year . . .. .

90 degrees out and she decides she wants to be a mother - - Go Figure!

Here is my flock . . . ..

4 delawares
4 marans
2 leghorns
2 partridge rocks
2 speckled sussex
1 EE
1 comet

Any GUESSES as to which breed decided to do the broody thing ? ? ?

 

[math ace]

I am hatching chicks as I write this post. . . .

I am thinking that pinks idea was not a bad one. . ..

I can let the broody have these chicks as soon as they finish hatching. . ..

Do you think she will wonder how the 2 golf balls she is sitting on turned into a dozen or two of chicks ? ?

I am gonna need to relocate her first - - -Maybe that will be my project tomorrow!

 

[Zanna]

I put some day old ameraucanas under a broody Welsummer (at midnight) three weeks ago and they are doing super. I have bcm chicks on order but I don't think the currently broodies WM, NH X WL and Partridge Penedesenca (broke her) will still be accepting when they arrive............ Who knows, but I am having no success breaking the two so maybe! I did re-locate the Wellie three days before I got the chicks to make sure she was serious, she was. I put the wm in a large dog kennel with a nest box and for 3 days she roosted day/night on the edge of the nestbox. I thought surely I had broken her. As soon as I let her out, she went straight back to the original nest in the straw pile and has been there for two weeks except for the 3 times a day I pull her out and put the grumpy girl on the ground.

 

[berkeleysprings]

i shoved 5- 3 day old chicks under a tiny broody silkie hen the other night , it was so nice she took them now i dont have to raise them and she is sitting on 4 eggs due to hatch tonight my little silkie broody hen is a few years old and a great mommy
her name is bubby also i have 2 other silkie gone broody due to hatch in a few weeks
best bator god ever made
best of luck with your broody

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[Myabcs3]

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I feed the oyster shells and it doesn't seem to affect the egg color here. That said, I've never fed the dried egg shells. Kind of makes me nervous if they should connect the flavor with the eggs they are laying. Don't need any egg eaters here!

I was leery of feed them the egg shells as well. I rinse them well and then roast with the spices and chop in the food processor. All I know is that they don't smell or look anything like eggshells when they are done!