Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[gilavina]

Quote:
It is actually pretty quick with express mail. I can get eggs in two days. Now what they go through before they get to me is another story. I just have to accept very low to zero hatch rates. I am happy to get one chick per dozen to hatch. I am bummed with a zero. If I could just get a couple more this year it would be awesome.

As I am learning, Marans are hard to hatch, period. So just hang in there. (I hatched 3 out of a dozen BCMs but 3 is better than zero or 1!!!) It's an addiction worse than cocaine, I'm thinking - but surely, not as unhealthy!!

And hopefully now, I've got a decent enough start from unrelated sources that will allow me to start hatching my own Black and Blue Coppers.

i certainly agree! how are your little stinkers growin by the way barb?

 

[stoopid]

Hey Barngoddess, are you going to NEPC show next month?
I don't know if you saw a certain BEEEUTEEEFULLL dark egg lady in this thread is hatching some cocaine, oops, I mean Marans, and taking the babies to sell there.
But, sorry. I think I beat you to the waiting list.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
I'm not going to NEPC. I am SO trying to control myself at this point. My next plan is to build some breeding pens over the winter so I can do some "single mating" in the spring using my own limited stock and see what I come up with. My passion really is Blue Copper some I'm hoping to make some progress there.

Gilavina - the babies are growing well. Just over 2 weeks now. Cuckoos may both be males (based on combs) which would be a total bummer but I was feeling more encouraged this afternoon. One's comb is growing very much faster than the other. Black Coppers are looking like 1 male and 2 females - today!

(That ratio seems to change every day. I told myself this morning to stop looking so hard. Marans reveal themselves soon enough - unlike my Ameraucanas who are likely to keep me guessing for WEEKS yet!!!!)

 

[gilavina]

Quote:
I'm not going to NEPC. I am SO trying to control myself at this point. My next plan is to build some breeding pens over the winter so I can do some "single mating" in the spring using my own limited stock and see what I come up with. My passion really is Blue Copper some I'm hoping to make some progress there.

Gilavina - the babies are growing well. Just over 2 weeks now. Cuckoos may both be males (based on combs) which would be a total bummer but I was feeling more encouraged this afternoon. One's comb is growing very much faster than the other. Black Coppers are looking like 1 male and 2 females - today!

(That ratio seems to change every day. I told myself this morning to stop looking so hard. Marans reveal themselves soon enough - unlike my Ameraucanas who are likely to keep me guessing for WEEKS yet!!!!)

i would say from the pics you put up...it looked like a pair. got any update pics?

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
I'm not going to NEPC. I am SO trying to control myself at this point. My next plan is to build some breeding pens over the winter so I can do some "single mating" in the spring using my own limited stock and see what I come up with. My passion really is Blue Copper some I'm hoping to make some progress there.

Gilavina - the babies are growing well. Just over 2 weeks now. Cuckoos may both be males (based on combs) which would be a total bummer but I was feeling more encouraged this afternoon. One's comb is growing very much faster than the other. Black Coppers are looking like 1 male and 2 females - today!

(That ratio seems to change every day. I told myself this morning to stop looking so hard. Marans reveal themselves soon enough - unlike my Ameraucanas who are likely to keep me guessing for WEEKS yet!!!!)

i would say from the pics you put up...it looked like a pair. got any update pics?

Legs, size, colour - still suggest one of each but BOTH are developing combs WAY ahead of the BCMs - and wattles. Makes me nervous. I've been working on pictures but they're hard to work with now! They're super friendly but poppin' hoppies! I'll see if I can come up with something.

 

[gilavina]

Quote:
i would say from the pics you put up...it looked like a pair. got any update pics?

Legs, size, colour - still suggest one of each but BOTH are developing combs WAY ahead of the BCMs - and wattles. Makes me nervous. I've been working on pictures but they're hard to work with now! They're super friendly but poppin' hoppies! I'll see if I can come up with something.

haha i understand they'd be hyper little things....the cuckoos i have do show combs earlier than my bcms...the pullets...if i were to go by comb alone....out of the last 7 a broody hatched in two batches...i had guessed 4 cockerels and 3 pullets....but nope i ended up wth 6 pullets and one cockerel.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
Legs, size, colour - still suggest one of each but BOTH are developing combs WAY ahead of the BCMs - and wattles. Makes me nervous. I've been working on pictures but they're hard to work with now! They're super friendly but poppin' hoppies! I'll see if I can come up with something.

haha i understand they'd be hyper little things....the cuckoos i have do show combs earlier than my bcms...the pullets...if i were to go by comb alone....out of the last 7 a broody hatched in two batches...i had guessed 4 cockerels and 3 pullets....but nope i ended up wth 6 pullets and one cockerel.

Suspected Cuckoo boy on the left, girl? on the right with a BCM suspected cockerel below her (with a wounded comb) .... that's an awful lot of comb for a girl if it is a girl - and wattles.

 

[gilavina]

Quote:
haha i understand they'd be hyper little things....the cuckoos i have do show combs earlier than my bcms...the pullets...if i were to go by comb alone....out of the last 7 a broody hatched in two batches...i had guessed 4 cockerels and 3 pullets....but nope i ended up wth 6 pullets and one cockerel.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/38460_img_0977-1.jpg

Suspected Cuckoo boy on the left, girl? on the right with a BCM suspected cockerel below her (with a wounded comb) .... that's an awful lot of comb for a girl if it is a girl - and wattles.

hmmm.....that indeed is alot of comb. mine never get the color...just the size right away...not sure what to tell you, might be a rally poorly colored cockerel...?

I'll see if I can get a few pics of the cuckoo girls I've got for comparison...they are a bit older, but might help?

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
haha i understand they'd be hyper little things....the cuckoos i have do show combs earlier than my bcms...the pullets...if i were to go by comb alone....out of the last 7 a broody hatched in two batches...i had guessed 4 cockerels and 3 pullets....but nope i ended up wth 6 pullets and one cockerel.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/38460_img_0977-1.jpg

Suspected Cuckoo boy on the left, girl? on the right with a BCM suspected cockerel below her (with a wounded comb) .... that's an awful lot of comb for a girl if it is a girl - and wattles.

The three facing the camera with comb are all males.

 

[snowbird]

They have very nice feathered Shanks and toes.