Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[ruth]

Yes Ruth, I can see 2 side sprigs in this pic, towards the front of his comb! They look like red pimples = sprigs. Anyone else seeing these, or are my eyes going wonkers??

Look at her other pics too. Let me tell you, I can smell a sprig or Carnation from a mile away these days!

Well Debbi - you certainly peaked my interest. I was wondering if maybe I missed something and maybe I still am but being the loon that I am I went out to the coop where I could catch him on the roost and pinned him down and took a close up. I'm afraid I still don't see a side sprig but I do see one mad, angry rooster.

 

[geebs]

 

[ruth]

Oh it doesn't bother me. I'm just trying to learn. I thought I knew what a side sprig was and that this roo doesn't have one but I could have been wrong in what I thought it was or about not seeing it on my project blue roo so I thought I'd take a closer look. I personally think he's got a pretty nice comb - still needs feathered legs though - a closer look at his legs didn't reveal anything there - there used to be some fuzz but it's gone now. Of course we've had rain non-stop, gully washers, and the pens are a muddy mess so feathered legs don't fare well over time. I've even seen my heavily feathered BCMs loose their leg feathers.

 

[Cadeau]

Question on the "pink" eggs:
Are those hens a cull or are they considered the color number they appear when they're wet (or when they're dry)??

I have a hen, who lays a cloudy egg like that, and put her in the layer house.
Her egg is barely a 4 when it is dry - probably a 5 or 5.5 and a normal dark brown when wet.

 

[gilavina]

Burst bubble where??? I don't understand... Side sprigs are a problem in every breed... Carnation comb is a pene related problem.. what do you take exception to? It is just Wrong to defame someone on here... just wrong.. No one knows intent... just the way it is... I have had the same stock as Ruth and have never had a problem with birds from it and so have many of my colleagues...no reports... not of pene prob... a side sprig here and there means nothing... IMHO

Ha ha Ruth... good grab!!! that is great...

It's all good, someone here last year raged an attack on my roosters comb because of a thumbprint or fallen over comb.. It was an illness problem.. I shouldn't have posted it for ppl...I was showing something else on the bird entirely not asking for a critique... I guess it is open game when you post a pic even if you already state project bird.. don't let it bother ya... I don't see anything in that last pic... sometimes it is just the camera angle... I have yet to get a perfect picture of an egg too!!!

i agree...its hard to get really good, accurate pics of eggs

 

[ruth]

Question on the "pink" eggs:
Are those hens a cull or are they considered the color number they appear when they're wet (or when they're dry)??

I have a hen, who lays a cloudy egg like that, and put her in the layer house.
Her egg is barely a 4 when it is dry - probably a 5 or 5.5 and a normal dark brown when wet.

Good question - I'm not sure they would pass the egg chart color number test. So far the only other pink egg layer I have is an "Olive Egger" who is being bred to an Olive Egger Roo. That may be where this girl ends up as well. I just need to figure out which girl laid which egg. Or, maybe since I'm still trying to get my blues up and running I'll use her and see what happens down the line.

 

[geebs]

 

[kathyinmo]

The mauvy eggs are too much bloom.... the coating that protects the egg from bacteria...It is a milky color and sometimes, especially in early layers they can have a really thick layer... It isn't something I would show because you would have to remove the bloom... likely you would damage the surface doing so... they are rather pretty though... Sometime the hen lays a thinner bloom later in the season and the eggs are more showable and hatchable... A way to see the color without washing.. and to evaluate egg color is to rub it down with oil so you can put it to the color chart... (I have used butter even) They are usually much darker than they appear with that covering on them.

Really? Hmmm, I have read that washing the egg will wash off the bloom. If that is the case, then the dark color should show after washing the egg.

I thought I read that that color of egg was simply that.... that is the color, not the bloom.

 

[geebs]

 

[kathyinmo]

Ya.. the bloom will wash off Kathinmo... but the color lies under the bloom and likely you will damage that also in the washing... It IS darker when you clean off the milky white that is eclipsing the rich color.... that is why oil works.. give it a go and see whacha think...

Believe me, I have washed plenty of them off. NO, they did not show any darker after washing. I got rid of them......