Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Debbi]

Good morning Jennifer

If he's only 4 months old, try to hold onto him a bit longer to see if his "teenage hormones" calm down a bit. When they first hit sexual maturity, they can be quite aggressive. That said, if by 8-9 months old he is still a "manfighter", I wouldn't use him for breeding. Mean does propagate more mean. Especially if you have kids, these roos can do quite a bit of damage! I've got two here right now that are nasty, and are destined for Freezer Camp. It's just me here, so I don't have to worry about kids or other folks getting hurt, and I can handle them both. You say he's perfect in every way?? I want to see pics! I sure could use some encouragement myself. I'm at the point now where I am thinking of selling off the whole flock and starting from scratch!

Try penning him up seperately if you can, that may cool his jets a bit, but please be careful around the kids. Once attacked by a roo, they will never forget it, and they can inflict some serious damage to a little person!

 

[jlgoinggreen]

Quote:
Thank you so much Debbi for your reply. That's what I thought. That mean would produce more mean. How disappointing!

I will wait the 4 more months though and see if there is any change in him. If not it's freezer camp. I've had someone offer to buy him, but I just wouldn't want to spread meanies to the world.

My boys are in charge of the feeding of the chickens and I recently found out that my 15 yr old has been sending my 7 year old in to grab the feeder.

Should I cull the whole group? Everyone else seems really calm, but is the meanness now in their genes and will it reproduce???

 

[Debbi]

I bet the 15 year old got flogged?? I sure wouldn't let the 7 year old around him. And DON'T WEAR RED clothing! Especially hats! Ask me how I know!!

No, I wouldn't cull the whole group, just the nasty ones. They are kind of like people. You sure don't want the nasty ones hanging around, so you avoid them. One child can be nasty, one sweet as pie. I really think it's an individual thing, but by breeding the nasties, it will pass on.

 

[jlgoinggreen]

Quote:
Hmmmm.... So are you stating we can cull our children?!!! I have a nasty attituded 15 yr old I'd like to cull. lol

j/k I love my babies.... I could do with skipping the teenage years though.

 

[jlgoinggreen]

Quote:
Just re-reading what you wrote above regarding pics. I will post pics of him when dh is home. Will not dare attempt on my own. He seems to behave when dh is around. I think mostly to make my children and I look like liars. lol

Now I wrote SQ and want to kick myself for it. I don't know anything at all about SQ as I have never shown anything in my life. I did join the Marans yahoo group and try to learn as much as possilbe there. From what I have read he has a lot of the qualities it seems are desired in this awesome breed. His sisters just started laying and I have to tell you their eggs are an amazing dark color. Of course I have been advised that can change since they just started laying, but I am really praying they don't. I really love the dark coloring of their eggs and my customers that have seen them have gone gaga for them. I haven't sold any yet because they are still so tiny and not too much in them for eating.

 

[Debbi]

Quote:
Hmmmm.... So are you stating we can cull our children?!!! I have a nasty attituded 15 yr old I'd like to cull. lol

j/k I love my babies.... I could do with skipping the teenage years though.

No, don't cull the kids, as much as you may like to. I know when mine were between 13-17 culling sounded like an option!

Luckily, kids seem to grow out of it...or at least they should. Now the Grandkids are nearing that age, so the pay back will be soooo sweet!

 

[jlgoinggreen]

Quote:
Hmmmm.... So are you stating we can cull our children?!!! I have a nasty attituded 15 yr old I'd like to cull. lol

j/k I love my babies.... I could do with skipping the teenage years though.

No, don't cull the kids, as much as you may like to. I know when mine were between 13-17 culling sounded like an option!

Luckily, kids seem to grow out of it...or at least they should. Now the Grandkids are nearing that age, so the pay back will be soooo sweet!

 

[Bravo]

Good morning everyone.

I wanted to put this out there, if anyone in Northern/Central CA has a quality BCM boy from a reputable breeder (preferably with Wade Jeane lines) I would be very interested. Dark egg color is a must. I'd even be willing to pay to ship a quality boy later this fall if someone in another area has one that fits the bill.

A few months ago, my foundation rooster was killed by a ninja skunk (with an IQ comparable to Einstein) and yesterday during the flippin' day a bobcat climbed into the large exercise pen (not covered) and got my 10 month old cockerel. I am so disappointed right now. I have so many gorgeous pullets that will be laying in less than a month and I have nothing now to continue on with

 

[AyeUpChuck]

Quote:

I'm so sorry! That's seriously awful! I have a boy from that kind of stock that I might be able to spare. He's a little darker than I'd like him to be but he's from dark eggs and from a local who's very serious about his breeding. I can go and take a few pictures later. Might be able to make a poultry chain to get him to you. If you're interested just let me know. I can take pictures later today.

 

[Bravo]

Quote:

I'm so sorry! That's seriously awful! I have a boy from that kind of stock that I might be able to spare. He's a little darker than I'd like him to be but he's from dark eggs and from a local who's very serious about his breeding. I can go and take a few pictures later. Might be able to make a poultry chain to get him to you. If you're interested just let me know. I can take pictures later today.

Thank you! I'd love to see pics. I'll PM you my email.

I'm so bummed but I have to remember that keeping them in the country comes with these types of risks. There are a lot of predators up there so I need to be even more diligent about keeping my birds protected. I just hate locking them down like Ft. Knox tho

My city flock has it so good--freedom, protection and most of the predators here are well fed thanks to the neighbors leaving pet food out