Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[gilavina]

Vicki: What was the cross on your silver-looking Marans again? I think you posted it before but I can't remember..

His papa was a silver cuckoo. The hen, this is where I am starting to wonder. I've had four boys come out that have been very similar to this and know the guy I got my blue birchens from was also working with wheatens...so I'm wondering if I have a girl in there that has some recessive stuff hiding in her. The kicker is that I've hatched out a handful of girls but never kept any of them.

So, I'm wondering if I need to maybe do some test mating and see where it might get me.... I'm hoping someone can come by that will be able to maybe shed some light on things and see if there is something I can work on with them

 

[flgardengirl]

You should contact the author of that article and send him some pics of your guy and see what he thinks.

 

[gilavina]

That happy accident might turn in to the golden goose! You got any pullets to put with him? What did he come from?

I just responded to Lenette with what he came from. I don't have any pullets, but I'm pretty sure I might have culled some without realizing it. I would say that I would go get some back, but those I sold at an auction as layers....so I have NO idea who got them. I think I might have to see if I can replicate the mating again to see if I can get some pullets and work from there.

 

[gilavina]

I will do some test hatchin' for ya!!! I will come get the eggs....

haha...If I can figure out what I've got and see if they might be workable, I might just take you up on it. I have quite a few other questions that I would love to bounce off of someone that might be able to rattle off some genetics stuff at me. So, I'm really crossing my fingers I can find some more info and a direction to go

 

[gilavina]

You should contact the author of that article and send him some pics of your guy and see what he thinks.

thats not a bad idea! i'm also wondering if I were to try to cross him with some ladies, what color ladies to try him with?

 

[flgardengirl]

Seems like whatever you do, you should mate him to something silver based. The article mentioned that they had a double dose of silver recessive genes. Maybe PM VillageChicken he will be able to tell you what to do LOL.

 

[gilavina]

Seems like whatever you do, you should mate him to something silver based. The article mentioned that they had a double dose of silver recessive genes. Maybe PM VillageChicken he will be able to tell you what to do LOL.

im gonna settle in later tonight and re read that article again. I know where this boy's brother is, so if I have to, I can get him back to work on things if it seems like I can make some progress. I think I won't have problems finding anything silver based...I'm swimming in birchens over here! By the way...that boy in the pic...his name is 'The Regulator'....he lays the smack down and keeps everyone in line and makes sure everyone is being nice to the ladies.

 

[flgardengirl]

Haha good name for him but he looks too sweet to be putting the smack down on anything but the females LOL! Okay I just reread that article and not sure if they meant double recessive silver or double recessive something else. I'm thinking silver but who knows lol. I hope you let us know what answers you get. This is really interesting. It would be cool if you could create a whole flock that looked like him. I think you need to start building MORE breeding pens/coops

 

[gilavina]

Haha good name for him but he looks too sweet to be putting the smack down on anything but the females LOL! Okay I just reread that article and not sure if they meant double recessive silver or double recessive something else. I'm thinking silver but who knows lol. I hope you let us know what answers you get. This is really interesting. It would be cool if you could create a whole flock that looked like him. I think you need to start building MORE breeding pens/coops

haha...I have the plans already drawn up for this spring to make that big u shaped set of breeding pens on the south end of the property. It should allow for 13 new breeding pen enclosures, not including the 4 I have in stalls and am planning on some individual test mate pens as well...so its possible I would have more room.

I'm wondering if this silver blood is coming from the cuckoos or the birchens. When I bought my birchen girls I also bought 6 boys as a package deal and there were two that looked very similar to Regulator as well...and I didn't keep them, but where I'm replicating them, I'm wondering if its not in the birchen line somewhere...I don't know. My head could probably explode overthinking things. I'm gonna shoot an email off to this guy that wrote the article and see if maybe he can shed some light on things.

 

[flgardengirl]

This makes sense and I hope it is just a hormonal thing.
I have had such bad luck with my Marans. This prob with my W/BWM and my BCM still lays a pullet size egg after 4 months of laying? Almost makes me want to give them up

Yes you have had some bad luck. Sometimes the younger girls take awhile to get a larger egg size but 4 mos does seem like long enough. The eggs do seem to vary in size and shape. Some people actually get very round eggs from their Marans and they like them. Sometimes they are very ruby red looking vs more brown. It just depends on the hens. Sooo don't give up: do what we do...GET MORE! lololol