Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[3riverschick]

Quote:
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.

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so do I. This eye isn't small enough to be a blue problem. (Also, chickens have 39 genes. My point that it will take a lot of
concentrated breeding blue-to-blue to create the same problems dog people are having. Much more variation and much
wider genetic base in the chicken gene pool.
Best,
karen tewart.

 

[syble]

so this is the last of the 7 cockerels that hasn't shown any copper yet..


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sorry he refused to look up

he was one of the original 3 contenders before all this copper crap came out. he is nice and wide in the back and body, and has good substance, his comb could be nicer but isn't horrible, no sawtooth or side sprigs to contend with lol.

The rest are getting copper like this:



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Some worse, some better, all are splotchy though, not even at all

 

[coppahed]

Do all BCM pullets start out laying dark brown eggs? I have a pullet that just laid her first egg, and it is almost white!! Excited about egg, but disapointed in color. She is solid black w/handful of copper feathers on neck. What gives?

 

[Lotsapaints]

Quote:
Where did she come from? I have hatched out some that never laid dark enough to keep but if you buy from a reputable breeder you should get dark eggs but if she's hatchery stock well then don't expect those dark eggs....it takes a month for the egg color to be stable the first eggs are sometimes funny then they get dark

 

[enggass]

Quote:
No problem... Just hoping for some nice eggs... Excuse my ignorance - GFF birds?
Steve

ETA: Nevermind... Figured it out

 

[math ace]

Quote:
I am seriously trying to decide how much hatching I want to do of these marans in the future because of all the dang crowing and the early age crowing that the cockerels do. I guess it would be OK if I hatched 50 / 50, but my hatches are typically heavy in the cockerel department. On top of that the cockerels seem to demand to be top dog no matter what breeds I have them with....

Attitude! Attitude! Attitude!
There is something about a cockerel that waits to crow until it is at least 10 weeks old....

 

[Lotsapaints]

I'm not complaining mind you but just what do you all do to the cockerels to have them crow so early? I am growing mine out in 12 x 12 stalls (I keep 25 or less grown up birds in them) and I seldom have any crow until they are past 16 weeks and I have them all mixed. I don't separate them out until the boys are causing problems like when they start crowing......right now my New Hampshires hatched in Feb are just now starting to crow...my grown roosters start crowing in the morning right before sunrise but not bad either....I did have a Silver Penciled Rock who crowed all the time but he's gone now just because of his crowing at all hours not good for the neighbors.....

 

[Kaceyx73]

Hello all.

I just picked up a pair of Marans yesterday, and was wondering what some of the experts think of them, especially the rooster. All responses are welcome, but understand I am not looking specifically for show birds. I wanted them primarily for their original intent... beautiful eggs and wonderful meat. I do want them as well bred as possible, so a simple problem like eye color not the perfect shade or an extra point or 2 on the comb aren't as big of a deal to me. If I have the genetics to work with and get it all right, I will.

So here goes.

This is Lucian, an 8 month old Copper Blue Marans. Around him you can see Selene, a 1 year old Copper Black Marans hen. As I was told, Lucian's is lineage is from Whitmire Farms, though that's not where I got him. I'm still learning a lot of the technical terms, so be gentle please. lol

He does have the feathered shanks, while the hen does not. Both have darker eyes, and appear dark hazel up close. There eyes are much bigger than the birds have had before. Comb looks good to my untrained eyes, as does shape, though again I'm not fully up on some of the technical jargon. Legs are strong and thick, though the specs mention they shouldn't be too long. Comments? As for his color, again, it looks great to me, but I would like to hear from the experts. He does appear a little slim, and a bit narrow across the chest, but roos I have had before do tend to fill out later on. He's 8 months, and I have been told that most Marans now develop a little slower. ???

If anyone wants any additional info, just ask. Just got him, so I don't have tons of pics yet, if any feels a certain angle would be better, say so.

Ken

 

[jeremy]

My Black and Blue Copper Marans from Monique Wagner.

My Black Copper girl is a bit mossy, I'm hoping that's indication that she'll lay super dark eggs though... that's at least what I've read. They came from gorgeous deep red/brown eggs.

My Blue Copper girl, Ponyo. She's a bit smaller than the Black but I LOVE her color.

 

[Illia]

Super mossy?

I'll take her then!

- I'd consider her quite nice. There's mossiness, sure, but at least she doesn't have some huge ugly gold bib on her neck or something. And at least she isn't seriously lacking in the color dept. like my girls.