Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[BarnGoddess01]

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My boys started crowing at about 5 and half weeks. My girls started pinking up at 13 weeks as well. They are 15 weeks old now - HUGE - and the boys are mounting my older hens. Did I mention - HUGE? The pullets are hanging with the boys but still scream bloody murder if the boys try to mount them. No eggs yet.

 

[Debbi]

Good morning all

Welcome to all the new folks coming in here, wow!

DMRippy ~ From what I've noticed here with my birds, when the roos start hunting down the pullets, in about 2 weeks, you will have your first egg! My first set of pullets started getting chased at 18 weeks, by 20 weeks I had my very first eggs! With Pink's two girls, the boys started checking them out at about 15 weeks, and by 17 weeks I had one new layer, and a few weeks later Olivia started. The boys know!

As for crowing here, they usually start at 8 weeks on the nose! One started at 7 weeks, and the youngest two started at 4 weeks! I have not noticed any of them being stifled by a fear of the older roos either, they all sing their song all day long!

 

[Debbi]

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Have you had eggs shipped to you before??? If so, did they take longer to get there and how did the hatch go?

I get eggs shipped express mail and can have them in as little as two days. I get low hatch rates but realize I am going to have to get a lot of eggs just to have a small starter flock.
I just got a box today with sone black copper marans eggs. If I get 3 to hatch I will consider it a great success. Lol!
Most of the eggs I have tried to hatch have come from east coast/mid west. Interested to see if west coast eggs have better results.

Christie,

Try buying eggs closer to you. The further away they are, the more handling they go through. It would also save you some money by using Priority instead of Express. Try buying some from CA-WA area. As for the poor hatches, what are you setting your humidity at? I can only imagine Hawaii's humidity is up there? I have finally found the "groove" here for hatching eggs, as I was also having poor hatches, even with my own eggs. I now set my humidity at 35% for the first 18 days, then up it to 50% for the last three days. Seems all of my chicks were drowning in lockdown before when I was using 45% for the first 18, then 60-70% humidity. These eggs have a thicker shell, and it takes more time for them to evaporate the water weight off. With the lower humidity, they did much better.

 

[marquisella]

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Its probably an incubation problem. I wouldn't worry about it. I'm not sure what the "blue gene problem" is. I think if chickens had blue gene issues, everyone would know about it as blue is so common in many breeds.

 

[pinkchick]

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Pink. How old is that BCM in the first picture? She looks very much like my only BCM pullet from you. Only difference is mine has a partial carnation comb - sort of bunched up near the back. She has some coppering, more than one hackle feather, but not a whole lot. Very beefy in size at 20 weeks old. Wattles are getting larger and red as well as more size and color coming into her comb at this point. A very curious gal. She will approach me quickly and stay very near but does not like being touched much yet. She seems to rule my new flock of 14 birds...

Hi Steve! Sorry about the carnation comb, it's something I have been discussing here lately, I'm sure you've been reading about it.....this issue has just popped up in the last 5 mos., makes me sick to my stomach honestly. I have culled Gnarles from the breeding program another kick in the gut for me, but live and learn I guess. I honestly do not know her exact age, didn't write it down....my bad, she hatched approx. the same time or a couple days give or take as Debbi's girl did. She is about 5.5 months I think. I look for her to start laying in a couple weeks or so.......

I'm doing some hard core test mating right now and until I come up the exact culprits or as close as I can get so that I can weed it completely out, but I do not believe that it is all Gnarles, I believe that it was compounded by crossing him to the GFF pullets that I am now starting to question being pure Davis birds because of some of the things resulting in some of the offspring and these carnation combs are one of the "things," so far this makes 4 combs that have comb out like this...unless some others have not piped up yet and told me........

I've also produced my first very overly red bird (huge, copious amounts of red in the chest with shafting....that I believe is indicitive of Wheaten), which I might add is not a normal product of pure Davis birds, too dark or over melanized yes...but not overly red. But as I stated some months back.....at this point I am done with whose line it is anyway.....I am just going to concentrate on breeding good quality birds and hopefully do the breed justice and not the other way around.

Kinda surprized that I haven't had a Wheaten pop up out of the GFF birds............yet.

 

[pinkchick]

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Its probably an incubation problem. I wouldn't worry about it. I'm not sure what the "blue gene problem" is. I think if chickens had blue gene issues, everyone would know about it as blue is so common in many breeds.

I agree.

 

[Debbi]

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Its probably an incubation problem. I wouldn't worry about it. I'm not sure what the "blue gene problem" is. I think if chickens had blue gene issues, everyone would know about it as blue is so common in many breeds.

I agree.

X3! What are your incubation methods? Any heat spikes or drops?

 

[AyeUpChuck]

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My boys started crowing at about 5 and half weeks. My girls started pinking up at 13 weeks as well. They are 15 weeks old now - HUGE - and the boys are mounting my older hens. Did I mention - HUGE? The pullets are hanging with the boys but still scream bloody murder if the boys try to mount them. No eggs yet.

I have 3wk old boys in a brooder right now who are trying to crow

FOR REAL?!?! DH was like oh no!

they have to go

 

[Debbi]

Awww. Doesn't hubby like the rooster song??

My Son was here the end of May, and told me he'd pull every hair out of his head if he had to listen to "that crap" all day long!

I guess one man's music, is another man's noise...

 

[AyeUpChuck]

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It's quite funny because all the boys in the yard have started trying and man it sounds downright painful for some of them.

he actually likes the adults. He just couldnt believe they were trying to crow already when the others have only just started now after almost five months!