Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[AyeUpChuck]

YAY Debbi!!!!

We're hatching buddies. I've got some fat little BCMs hatching out right now! I have 8 out. 2 of them just hatched out and seem a little stressed. Will have to keep an eye on them. Still have more eggs to come

 

[Debbi]

Hooray!!

Get out the vitamins for your weaker chicks. Heck, I add vitamins to the water for all of them. I keep vitamin B complex for me, but if I have a weaker chick born, they get one drop of that, and you can almost see an immediate improvement! C'mon chickies!!!

 

[Debbi]

Trying to beat this heat yesterday, I put a medium sized plastic dog crate in the run with my 10 week old chicks. Filled it with pine shavings, and soaked them with water. Guess where they all are right now?

Guess I will have to watch for mold to build up, but for a quick and temporary fix, it seems to be helping them. You can always dump out the shavings and put new wet ones in.

 

[berkeleysprings]

iv had bbq ground hog it wasnt bad , u need to break out one of your outher clubs , that short range of a 20 guage it would be hard , break out the 30 -06, the 223 or 243 and bust a cap in his back side im sure your a good shot and light up the charcole deb and dont trun your back on the silkiee , there the meanest yard birds i have
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[Debbi]

Hi Randy

Yeh, I got to thinking the same thing. It was just what was close at hand at the moment. Might have better luck with the 9mm or the 30-30. Hate to waste a good shell though on a fat rat! Going to set the trap tonight with some broccoli and a ripe peach. We shall see what happens. I'll probably catch a danged cat!

As for the mean yard bird Silkies, I think I can handle them. I have to dodge Pip and fat arse Blue Butt all the time, these itty bitties would be no sweat!

The count so far: 7 hatched, 7 more pipping!!

OOPS! Make that 8 hatched, 6 more pipping! These things hatch like a cartoon chicken. One crack, two cracks, and KABOOM they explode open!

This is my BEST HATCH EVER!!!!

 

[berkeleysprings]

just be ready for a buncha broodies ... i culled down to 4 silkiee hens and all 4 are broody and one wheaten marans is broody so get ready 4 some great incubators and you dont need to plug them into the electric , no candeling and theyt are great egg layers to bad i never eat eggs
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[rsquared]

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Congrats Debbi, love my silkies and they are some of the sweetest birds. Use them to hatch some of my Marans and Blue Wheaten Amers'.....they are awesome broodies and great moms to boot. Really cute to see the monster chicks peeking out under a silkie and doesn't last long

). 7 LF eggs under my silkies is capacity...just so you know

)

 

[IlovePecky]

Hi, Is this still the Black Copper Marans thread? I am thinking of getting a pair of hens, and wondering about their temperament, what can you tell me? Will they be easily introduced to a small group of 12 week pullets? If you are segregating for a while, where do they sleep during that period? I only have one 'sleeping quarters' area in my tractor. I have a separate they can use during the day, but what should I do at night?

 

[blackbirds13]

I wanted to post a pic of my 2 year olds "favorite guy" - so that is his name so far. This is one of my Bev Davis Greenfire birds that are about 14 weeks old now. I had no intention of keeping him but he may stay around for a while. He is simply huge! his legs are longer than the other Black Coppers and he is so goofy looking and larger than even my other 4 fully grown birds that I am going to replace, but he is such a real sweetheart - he's the first one to eat his treats straight out from your hand. I have to admit I like him to but since I want to breed my birds to keep my stock going he was not part of the plan. He has a few feathers on both middle toes also. DH would probably let 3 roos slide but 4 might be pushing it. I have 2 other Black Coppers I'm still deciding on (so that's 1) which to keep but with my Paul Smith Ameraucanas still to cull down (theres no 2) and Legbars coming this fall ( that would be my 3rd rooster),, he really does not fit into my plans as I only planned on having about 4 or 5 hens to each rooster. i really don't want more than 15 - 18 birds. Can roosters live on their own or would he need company? I don't have a laying flock and a breeding flock. All my birds have to do double duty as I really could not handle a ton of birds. I know some of you are very strict about breeding standards but if I kept him instead of one of my Black Coppers would all the progeny from mating him with the Black girls be blue and with the blue girls blue and splash? No one is laying yet but could it affect egg color? I don't really care for white birds myself and love the look of Black Coppers most of all so that's what I want to reproduce and keep going. This guy is just worming his way into my plans...I feel it in my gut when I think about getting rid of him...and i really don't want him to be soup - I could not eat this one. Favorite Guy can crow but he has done very little of that so far, even though one of his hatchmates is a gonner because he is way too vocal and way too dark and his middle toes are way to hairy also. ...I know ultimatimately I must decide and more than likely he will have to go...just feeling the situation out out-loud so to speak - big old goof has me up talking chicken way too early today. Thanks.

 

[Debbi]

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Welcome to the Marans thread!

Nice Splash boy there! If I were closer to you, he would be coming home with me! Yes, if you breed him to the BCM hens, you will have blue babies, some with copper leakage coming through. So what's wrong with blues??

Breeding Splash to Blue will get you Splash and Blues. I started with BCMs, but now have Blue Coppers too. I really like the blues, nice yard eye candy! As for the egg color, what color was the egg he hatched from? If it was a lighter color and you breed him to a nice, dark layer, the eggs may lighten some. Seems the Blues and some of the Splashes are starting to produce darker eggs these days, thanks to folks breeding towards that goal. As for keeping him alone, well, everyone needs some company once in awhile, so maybe you could give him just one lady or even a roo buddy if they are kept away from the hens? I know how hard it is to cull out the boys. Someone needs to smack me, as I now have 12! Three are headed for freezer camp when they get a tad bigger, but the rest will probably stick around for a bit unless I can find them good homes. I love the boys as much as the hens, probably a bit more. They are so entertaining, pretty to look at, and great bug eaters and protectors of the flock. Too bad they don't lay eggs!

I'm not a white bird lover myself, but the Splashes are so pretty, and produce blue, so I NEED ONE! Like I said, if I were closer to you...