Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[gilavina]

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hey Kim....he is quite the chunk! I love the crisp lacing on his breast...that is what I strive for in all my blues! for six months old he is looking really good! The only thing I see which is workable is the extra point on the comb and the third point that has the double spike thing goin...but if that's all that is not so desirable...then crap! you've got a beaut there! How much does he weigh at 6 months? I bet he's gonna be a tank and a half when he gets to full weight

 

[gilavina]

well....disappointing news on the duckie front. I went out yesterday morning and realized that momma is done setting and had finally brought the little stinkers out into the run and they were trooping behind her in all their cute glory.... and I realized I only counted 4....not 5....I hunted all over, went to the neighbors yard on the back side of their pen. I found out why pretty quickly that one was missing...they walk right through 1" x 1" wire. I saw a cat hanging out by the pen (luckily I have a shade cover over the pen so it can't get in, but I'm thinking that one of the little boogers got brave and went through the fence and kitty was waiting. So, I'm down to 4. I did take the ducklings and put them in a kennel in the garage beside my chicks from my last hatch. I really didn't want to do it, but I didn't have any smaller roll of wire to line the pen with and I was at work most of yesterday afternoon so I didn't want to lose anymore. I'm bummed.

On a positive note....my set of hatches behind the oldest chicks I've been posting pics of are really starting to grow out now. I eyed a couple of fantastic solid black pullets from my BBS hatch. They are so sweet and usually stick to the back of the pen in this heat, but with it being cooler they were up and running around so I got a good look at how they are coming along. I am one happy girl today about that.

 

[flgardengirl]

Pink chick your boy is

x2 on the comb thing but that is just a 1/2 point or so deduction for the points? What a handsome hunk of boy he is!!
Are you going to show him? Is he old enough to fertilize eggs yet? Hmmm... I bet he is gonna be huge and I could totally use some size.

galavina: So sorry to hear about the missing ducky. I hope it turns up somehow or more will hatch. My duck only hatched babies once so far (although she is sitting again now) and all the eggs hatched out during a 24 hour period so I don't know what usually happens as far as duck hatches. I haven't ever put any in the incubator yet.
Who did you get your solid blue Marans from? They are really nice.

 

[gilavina]

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I was kind of wondering the same thing Kim....if you ever planned on showing him. I bet you would place very well with him!

Yeah...this is my first hatch of ducklings ever, so i have no idea how it is supposed to go....my girl did such a good job and the hatch was spread out over three days....I thought it was odd, but maybe its just cause I'm used to using an incubator. Not sure if I'll hatch them in the incubator or not in the future...I don't know why but the thought of doing that makes me nervous? It shouldn't...just one of those silly things I guess.

I could use a bit more size on my birds too Lynette! The ones that need the most help are the birchens of course. My blues came from a couple of different people, but the funny part is that after talking with them, they both got their stock from someone named Peggy I think out of Texas, but she eventually sold out of them. This is a perfect case of getting birds from the same line and having totally different results because of how they choose to breed their birds and the characteristics they focus on. Helen is one of the people I got my splash birds from...the thing I notice most is that I and a couple of other people I've seen post pics of their stock from her is that they have a lot of copper leakage. I don't know if maybe we are the exception or not, but I just go with what I see. The egg color is good however...especially for splashes. The other breeder was out of Tennessee or Kentucky I believe....I'd have to check my records again, out of all the birds I've hatched out only has had one with copper leakage....but when I've done a test hatch, none of them have produced copper...the curiosity is that I'm getting consistent birchen color...no matter the hen or pullet I put with him. So....I'm keeping him for a couple of more test hatches and testing a couple of theories. The down side is that his egg color is not quite as consistent as Helen's... I also snagged up a few solid blue marans from a sale in Kansas...they lay egg color that is passable, but my biggest boost in my process of moving forward is to take things a step at a time. That is why I love the saying "build the barn first, paint it later." I have seen vast improvements over the three generations of hatches I've done thus far. The body type and color has vastly improved and more consistency in leg feathering and I'm keeping that copper and birchen leakage under control with selective hatching. I also am seeing an improvement in the coloring on the eggs. I'm not gonna lie...its slow going, but with the results I'm seeing taking things slowly, I think it might be the way to go to really get a quality line going.

 

[chics in the sun]

Today, I'd like to give a bit of recognition to my FBCM, Madelide. I have always complained about her aggressive temperment. I'm pretty sure her relentless feather pecking of my newest hen drove her to suicide by dog (she jumped INTO my neighbors yard with their husky in full view). Madelide isn't the top hen, but the others fear her and give her a wide berth. She's 8 pounds, and is not afraid to throw her weight around to get all the best treats. I always tell people she's only here for her looks and the tasty eggs. Well, today her attitude may have saved a few members of my flock. Everyone was out free-ranging in my back yard, including my OE and her four 3-week old Marans babies. A hawk swooped in (never EVER seen this before), I'm sure with the intention of grabbing a baby. She charged it so fast and furious, she went air-borne (not easy at her weight) to show it who's house this is!! MY HOUSE!! MY YARD!!! The hawk took off like a rocket. The OE and her brood are locked back up in the coop for now. GO MADELIDE!

 

[flgardengirl]

Funny story about her fending off the hawk. What a good girl, saving those babies! She is a beauty too.
A large hawk got my best solid blue marans roo awhile back and the black copper marans roo from my avatar egg ,who is huge, also got his entire tail pulled out by one trying to defend the rest of the flock. Beware of hawks, she might of scared him this time but if one swoops down on her from behind it could only take one good peck to fracture her skull.
Since my turkeys have gotten a lot bigger and are dark colored, I haven't had any hawk problems lately. They freerange with the chickens and ducks. I read somewhere that if you have very large dark colored birds in with your chickens it will deter hawks and it has in the case of the turkeys.

 

[gilavina]

where did you get your blues from? Are they solids blues? I can't remember....the reason I ask is because of that fantastic egg color you are getting out of them!

 

[fowlman01]

Quote:
This bird has an outstanding body...anymore pics of her?

Walt

 

[gilavina]

Quote:
This bird has an outstanding body...anymore pics of her?

Walt

I'm really glad you said that! I am working on breeding for that body type and have been told that when the body is like that the back is not long enough, but that is how I prefer mine to look ideally. When would you say the back is too short? I guess how can you tell on a Marans? I also raise Wyandottes with very short backs, but in comparison to them, where is the line with Marans in your opinion? Also...do you think it is possible to have backs that are too long? I hear so much conflicting info, that I thought I'd ask you as a judge since you've popped in on the thread.

Oh...and glad to see you here again! When reading my way through this thread, I really appreciated some of the things you said that clarified questions I had since the Marans are a newer breed for me.

 

[snowbird]

Walt, what do you think about this hen actually having the black lower half of the body feathers. Most you see are the brown tint feathers, This is something I have been working with on my BC. Very nice hen except for the Comb.