Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[gilavina]

Quote:
indeed...I really do believe that there just is something special with blues in general and then you add a pattern like birchen and I'm hopelessly in love

haha...I'm such a nerd

 

[gilavina]

oh...and not gonna lie....sometimes it takes me forever to do chores in the morning cause I get lost staring at all the pretty birds...haha. I am hopeful I will have a couple of really nice breeding pens set up for next spring out of the best of what I raised this year.

 

[ChicksterJo]

I have to put off all my dreams of owning many different kinds of Marans for now..until I get to live on acres of land I will have to make do by staring at other people's birds.
I have had only one blue chicken so far but she is just so pretty, and whenever people post blues I always get

.

What are you thinking of breeding?

 

[gilavina]

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haha...are you sure you want to know all of what I raise? I've been in poultry since i was a kid, so I have 4 breeds and quite a few color varieties.

 

[ChicksterJo]

Have you narrowed it down to 4 breeds? There are so many I'd like to try and see if I like them. Right now I have 4 breeds but I'd like more of the Ameraucanas and Marans. Not gonna happen anytime soon though

.

I guess what I meant to say was, are you going to breed many different breeds together or are you going to focus on a particular cross?

 

[gilavina]

Quote:
Well...maybe I should say for now I have 4 breeds. I have a space limit and also take care of my dad's poultry as well, so for now these keep me happy since i have 17 color varieties I keep separated once they make it through the culling process for the breeding pens. I might be in trouble once I find a bigger place however haha....

I might do a test cross between breeds with the specific purpose of improving a color variety or etc. Or...might cross a color variety within the same breed for a specific purpose. For example...to work on my birchen lines.

 

[ChicksterJo]

That's great. I might dabble into breeding as a hobby but I don't think I could sell the results as anything more than just backyard chickens. There's just so much about breeding I need to learn about not to mention space. My Marans pullet has a comb that is a little 'off' but her egg color seems very good, and I got her just for her egg color. How are the birchens in terms of egg color?

 

[DMRippy]

Quote:
Thank you for the explanation! I personally don't see birchens very often on this thread or maybe I haven't roamed through the almost 2000 pages enough

haha...no its not you...there aren't all that many on the thread really...here is a so so pic of one of my black birchen girls...i think i might have posted it before, but don't want to try and hunt for it...not patient enough tonight me thinks. I'll post a couple pics of my overcolored blue birchen chicks I've posted a long while ago...they are full grown now, but it will give you an idea. Im working on some of the things they are lacking now...like leg feathering and size, etc.

she loves to groom her wings after a good dust bath
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/77986_img_2005.jpg

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/77986_img_2006.jpg

blue girlies

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/77986_img_1166.jpg

Did ya have to show those blue girls?????

Can I get some of those eggs???? I don't care if they are not SOP ish they are PURDY!!!!

 

[gilavina]

Quote:
the egg color is one of the things that needs work in the birchens as well...Ive heard of there being some that lay a nice and dark egg, but have yet to see them. so far mine are hovering at the 4...but am hoping with concentrated effort in breeding I'll make strides there this next year

 

[gilavina]

Quote:
haha...no its not you...there aren't all that many on the thread really...here is a so so pic of one of my black birchen girls...i think i might have posted it before, but don't want to try and hunt for it...not patient enough tonight me thinks. I'll post a couple pics of my overcolored blue birchen chicks I've posted a long while ago...they are full grown now, but it will give you an idea. Im working on some of the things they are lacking now...like leg feathering and size, etc.

she loves to groom her wings after a good dust bath
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/77986_img_2005.jpg

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/77986_img_2006.jpg

blue girlies

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/77986_img_1166.jpg

Did ya have to show those blue girls?????

Can I get some of those eggs???? I don't care if they are not SOP ish they are PURDY!!!!

haha Donna you crack me up. I don't currently have myself set up with the NPIP to be able to ship hatching eggs or chicks and etc. I have thought about looking into it more seriously over the winter...but I don't know...usually I never end up with enough time no matter what the season. And yes! I had to show the pretty girls...they just make my heart melt