Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[BarnGoddess01]

Pictorial update on my Marans ... a few days shy of 11 weeks old

Dualling Cuckoos. Unfortunately, it looks like I'm going to cull both of these guys. One looks rather more like a blotchy Birchen (and his body type isn't ideal.) The other has a seriously floppy comb and border line vulture hocks. So back to the drawing board on Cuckoos.


My Black Copper girls




Davis (cockerel) decided to check out the Olive Egger kids ...





This girl thinks she's a black swan - she does this alot. (I've truly never seen a prettier chicken ... )


This is how she looks when she's not being a black swan ....


Both girls

 

[DMRippy]

I was just thinking the same thing today.... REALLY!

What am I going to do? Dh and I spent all year building brooders and coops!
We just finished the last coop last week AND we will be working on the LAST brooder this weekend.

I narrowed down my breeds to .... BCM, Delawares, and Speckled Sussex. I have the original hens from the first season - comet, white leghorn, EE, partridge rocks, etc. NOW, I am making plans to get some buff leghorns and the exchequer leghorns are calling my name too!

God had better help me be strong before DH disowns me....

I NEED more chickens .. . REALLY!

I NEED To convince DH of that!
Maybe, I will just chat it over and over while he is sleeping!

I NEED more chickens .. . REALLY!

I NEED more chickens .. . REALLY!

I NEED more chickens .. . REALLY!

I NEED more chickens .. . REALLY!

I NEED more chickens .. . REALLY!

I don't have to ask my hubby while he is asleep

He knows ever egg I am getting, he may not be as aware of MY eggs that are going in the bator too.

I am getting some Exchequers too! Now that my birds are paying for themselves and I can kinda keep up with feed bill he has no care how many chickens I have, as long has he does not have to build more pens. I need more layers in my breeding pens. I only have 2-4 layers in most of my pens and I can't keep up with hatching egg or eating egg orders only getting 1-3 eggs a day from each breed. I think I will have to have FEWER breeds and varieties of colors.... IDK. Next year I will pick what I like and streamline.

 

[Arielle]

Donna, I've hit this wall too. Better to have just a few breeds but more of them.

FBCM. I have been picking up myFBCM roosters more often to look at them and test personaliies. I really like the FBCM. Good guys to have around. Very confident and run the barn yard, unless the turkeys are out. Then they look like a road runner. LOL

Love the BO. Just sweet girls. I bought a few roosters from a farm in CT to match up with my 3 girls.

Ameraucanas, blacks split for lav and 2 blues to go with my EE.

FBCM on some of the EE hens for OE.

I'm really trying to limit myself. REALLY. Oh, and buckeyes. someday buckeyes. ANd I really love the foraging SS. PRetty girls. Off rustling in the woods or in the way while weeding.

Do I really have to limit myself? CHicken Math is a problem. LOL

 

[gilavina]

Donna, I've hit this wall too. Better to have just a few breeds but more of them.

FBCM. I have been picking up myFBCM roosters more often to look at them and test personaliies. I really like the FBCM. Good guys to have around. Very confident and run the barn yard, unless the turkeys are out. Then they look like a road runner. LOL

Love the BO. Just sweet girls. I bought a few roosters from a farm in CT to match up with my 3 girls.

Ameraucanas, blacks split for lav and 2 blues to go with my EE.

FBCM on some of the EE hens for OE.

I'm really trying to limit myself. REALLY. Oh, and buckeyes. someday buckeyes. ANd I really love the foraging SS. PRetty girls. Off rustling in the woods or in the way while weeding.

Do I really have to limit myself? CHicken Math is a problem. LOL

it is hard to limit oneself with the number of breeds and varieties one has. I was told a long time ago by an old poultry breeder, the more breeds you raise the more you spread yourself thin. His belief was that you should know breeds inside and out and keep only the ones you are totally in love with as a main focus. This is most of the reason why I only raise three breeds. The one nice thing tho...is that breeds have different color varieties.

 

[DMRippy]

I have rocks... 5 colors, Marans 2 colors ok 3 with splash, Ameraucanas Lavs and Blacks, EE are not a breed really, Olive eggers are not a breed, Leghorns 2 colors, NH, RIR. 6 Breeds, BUT I am only really going to work on 3, Rocks, Marans and AMs. The others are for layers really not for improving other than egg production. OH Yeah I forgot SLW so 4 breeds, it is the colors that are going to get me in trouble.... The rocks are going to require 3 pens. The AMs are going to have 2 pens. the Marans I may just have one pen eventually, but I may have to have a pen for just the blacks. The good news is they will all be at different stages so I have time to pick and swap around. I may run my Marans and some EE or AMs and Oliver eggers together in a bigger pen. I have options now..... limited but options.

BTW We processed 2 little roos that was soooooooo not worth the feed..... Snack food really. Hubby told me to sell them and let someone else do the work

He wants to try a couple of more and see if we can get better at it. Didn't really take long, we just didn't know what we were doing. It is going to rain tomorrow so maybe Sunday or next weekend. Skinning was not easy really.

BUT I can still eat chicken.... There were no surprises in there that I could not handle.

 

[Arielle]

it is hard to limit oneself with the number of breeds and varieties one has. I was told a long time ago by an old poultry breeder, the more breeds you raise the more you spread yourself thin. His belief was that you should know breeds inside and out and keep only the ones you are totally in love with as a main focus. This is most of the reason why I only raise three breeds. The one nice thing tho...is that breeds have different color varieties.

He is 100% correct. THe EE and OE are no brainers. BO are just for fun. ANd as my SS are hatchery, they will also be put in the just for fun. FBCM I bought for the egg color but feel obligated to do right by them. ANd the BUckeyes, I will only buy stock from specific breeders who have been recommended by a master breeder. Hence, I wait with great patience to get that stock.

It is far better to breed a few things well. I'm constantly reeling in the urges that create chicken math! I promised myself I will not hatch any more eggs until all my breeding pens are set up and the chickens sorted into planned breedings.

THanks for the good advice.

 

[Arielle]

I have rocks... 5 colors, Marans 2 colors ok 3 with splash, Ameraucanas Lavs and Blacks, EE are not a breed really, Olive eggers are not a breed, Leghorns 2 colors, NH, RIR. 6 Breeds, BUT I am only really going to work on 3, Rocks, Marans and AMs. The others are for layers really not for improving other than egg production. OH Yeah I forgot SLW so 4 breeds, it is the colors that are going to get me in trouble.... The rocks are going to require 3 pens. The AMs are going to have 2 pens. the Marans I may just have one pen eventually, but I may have to have a pen for just the blacks. The good news is they will all be at different stages so I have time to pick and swap around. I may run my Marans and some EE or AMs and Oliver eggers together in a bigger pen. I have options now..... limited but options.

BTW We processed 2 little roos that was soooooooo not worth the feed..... Snack food really. Hubby told me to sell them and let someone else do the work

He wants to try a couple of more and see if we can get better at it. Didn't really take long, we just didn't know what we were doing. It is going to rain tomorrow so maybe Sunday or next weekend. Skinning was not easy really.

BUT I can still eat chicken.... There were no surprises in there that I could not handle.

YOu did it!!

THe dual purpose breeds are not in the same league as the modern meat breeds. ANd the hatchery lines are much smaller than the lines I see at the shows. A bigger bird , a bigger carcass? but not necessarily meatier. I'm trying to understand what the Indian games are.

 

[Christie Rhae]

Oh gosh I am trying so hard to keep it simple. I am planning on breeding black copper marans, Blue and splash are just for fun. I am doing B/B/S ameraucana but really really wanted wheaten so I ordered wheaten from John Blehm. They are so pretty!!
I also have some layers but I hardly count them, and some naked necks and a few plymouth rocks that I might breed just for fun.
I have my hands and brain full trying to understand just marans and ameraucanas!
I guess I am really not planning to raise birds for any kind of money. I would be stoked if someone would take my cull birds off my hands. People ask me if I sell my eggs but I like to just give them away because then no one expects anything.

 

[kathyinmo]

I narrowed down my breeds to .... BCM, Delawares, and Speckled Sussex. I have the original hens from the first season - comet, white leghorn, EE, partridge rocks, etc. NOW, I am making plans to get some buff leghorns and the exchequer leghorns are calling my name too!


I NEED more chickens .. . REALLY!

I NEED more chickens .. . REALLY!

I NEED more chickens .. . REALLY!

I NEED more chickens .. . REALLY!

I NEED more chickens .. . REALLY!

But, but, but...... what about blue or green egg layers?

 

[math ace]

But, but, but...... what about blue or green egg layers?

I must of forgotten to mention.... I have a couple of those too.
Plus, I have the roo to go with the hen and plan make some extra ones...

Can't do that right away because my one blue egg layer is broody right now and sitting on a clutch of delaware and marans eggs.

Boy, is she going to be surprised when those chicks hatch and look nothing like mommy!

Turn about is fair play though.... When the marans go broody in a couple of months, they will be sitting on her blue eggs