Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[marquisella]

Yes, she is beautiful,

& that is why I don't want to breed her to just a blue copper.

If she is truely a solid blue, the blue birchen is my only choice for her because I don't have a pure solid blue rooster.

Thinking is, and I'm not genetic guru, that there is a chance we could get one or 2 solid blues from the cross. And if we do get nice blue birchen, thats ok too.

I have one or 2 more pullets like her coming along, and a surprize solid black, black copper cockerel. I might pair them together to see what I get....I'm just hoping its not because of too much melanizing....and the cockerel has only 1 copper gene, that is why he is not showing copper.

Time will tell.

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[marquisella]

I seem to recall that Bev posted a photo of a Columbian Marans of hers...I could be wrong, but I think she has them.


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[Illia]

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Hi Jeremy,

I agree. I don't understand why they want to make breeds the same colors? Those Columbians look like a Sussex or Light Brahma to me. Same with the Golden Salmon, why not just get a Welsummer?? As for the Chocolate everythings, I don't see that either; it's a brown bird. That's just my thinking on it, so don't anyone get their hackles ruffled!

Now, when you come up with a PURPLE CHICKEN, true purple, not lavendar, or lilac neither of which look like their names, then I'm your girl!! I want a PURPLE COPPER FLOCK!!!

Pink, you've got a smart genetics kid, don't you??

Wouldn't this full under nearly ALL breeds then?

Black Copper Marans color is also found, but not entirely identical, in Ameraucanas, Araucanas, Gamefowl, Old English Gamefowl, etc. Wheaten is found in many other breeds too, the same as Golden Salmon and especially Blue and Splash.


To me it is important because it is so darn rare and it really does differ from the average Marans color. I'm not crazy about Columbian, I just like different things

And in the Marans breed, Columbian is different.



ETA - I hear ya on the Chocolate birds thing. Personally I like dun better because of what you can do with it (love khaki!) and even moreso, I love having dun with other diluting colors. Makes for some wild colored birds, like champagne and gold and brass colorations.

 

[jeremy]

Debi & Illia... I have to disagree with you both about the Chocolate color, I'm head over heels for it! I hopefully will be getting my own Chocolate Orpington bantams soon that I will then begin breeding to my LF English Orps in hope of making LF Chocs. Of course there will be many people doing this but I just love love love the look of a Hershey's chicken!

I for one think a Chocolate Marans would be to die for.

As for Dun, it's an interesting color that I'd like to work with more, too. I have a Platinum Sumatra chick growing out, I plan on breeding it to a Black Sumatra. I have no idea what colors will result from this pairing though? I guess we'll see in a few months!

 

[AspiringUrbaniteFarmer]

You know you can "worm" with diatomaceous earth & that way you don't have to wait to eat the eggs.

Google it & research it yourself. I am going to go add some to the feed after reading...
"Internal feeding of food grade diatomaceous earth helps eliminate most internal worms, including roundworms, pin worms, tapeworms, etc. It's also excellent when fed daily to keep down fly loads, since food grade diatomaceous earth is eliminated from the body, exactly the way it went in, it helps reduce the manure odor and kills flies that come in contact with it."

I spread it around the coop often... today I hit the coop with some Neem Oil, though. Gotta keep the bugs away here in FL.

My black copper girls just started laying... well, 1 or 2 outta 3.... they're around 5 1/2 months. They were wormed from the farm they came from a little over a month ago. Medications can affect the color of their eggs, as well as heat. The eggs seem to be getting darker... but I read that it takes about 12-20 eggs for color to "regulate" ...

Anyone else have kinda dull or lighter egg colors at first?

 

[gilavina]

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what a sweetie she is! I'm working on doing the same project. I'm in my second season of it.....it works indeed! I'm running two separate breeding pens for birchens to keep them straight. The lines look completely different...which is a good thing since most of the birchens out there for sale are pretty small in size for my taste.

I've been meaning to ask you by the way if you will have BLR wyandotte hatching eggs for sale next spring? I'm having a devil of a time finding a cockerel this year, so I'm looking into options for next year


really? Man...I've never wished NY and NE were closer ever! haha You have some really nice BLRs!! Whoever gets them is really lucky

 

[Debbi]

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Hi Jeremy,

I agree. I don't understand why they want to make breeds the same colors? Those Columbians look like a Sussex or Light Brahma to me. Same with the Golden Salmon, why not just get a Welsummer?? As for the Chocolate everythings, I don't see that either; it's a brown bird. That's just my thinking on it, so don't anyone get their hackles ruffled!

Now, when you come up with a PURPLE CHICKEN, true purple, not lavendar, or lilac neither of which look like their names, then I'm your girl!! I want a PURPLE COPPER FLOCK!!!

Pink, you've got a smart genetics kid, don't you??

Wouldn't this full under nearly ALL breeds then?

Black Copper Marans color is also found, but not entirely identical, in Ameraucanas, Araucanas, Gamefowl, Old English Gamefowl, etc. Wheaten is found in many other breeds too, the same as Golden Salmon and especially Blue and Splash.


To me it is important because it is so darn rare and it really does differ from the average Marans color. I'm not crazy about Columbian, I just like different things

And in the Marans breed, Columbian is different.



ETA - I hear ya on the Chocolate birds thing. Personally I like dun better because of what you can do with it (love khaki!) and even moreso, I love having dun with other diluting colors. Makes for some wild colored birds, like champagne and gold and brass colorations.

Of course you are right, but it's getting so a breed can't be recognized by their type and color any more. Maybe that's just my untrained eye?? On the other hand, I think you should get that Tolbunt boy back in with the BCMs. Now, THAT'S a Marans of a different color!!

The "Tolrans"? He is one flashy dude!

 

[Illia]

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You'll get 50% dun Sumatras (chocolate color) and 50%, umm, well they'll be a very neat color. They'll be dun and blue at the same time, which is what I was talking about - It will probably be a shade you've never seen before

I think Chocolate is pretty, but only on a nicely kept, shiny rooster. Seeing a flock of them, they're so dark and dull I could say they're nearly black, like a sun-bleached black. I'd rather have some heritage Rhode Island Reds - Those are glossy and rich in color, yet almost similar to Chocolate

To each their own.

 

[Illia]

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Breeding him back to Marans loses the color though. I'd need to breed him to another F1 cross, which I'd need to hatch all over again. My girls I sold months ago.


I'm using him and his color genetics for another project.

If I were to introduce a color to Marans, I'd do it through blue egg layers. It's a faster route, both with body and especially with egg color.

 

[jeremy]

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When Dun & Blue combine, isn't the result Platinum Illia? That's awesome that I'll get 50% Dun though!

I agree with Debi, you should work on Gold Laced/Tolbunty Marans, the rooster you pictured awhile back was really cool.

I have Heritage Reds from Paul Smith, they're the deepest mahogany red I've ever seen and are just gorgeous. They do have black in their plumage as well and when the sun hits them just right they glow.