Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[math ace]

ok...so I have to ask for all those that plant chicken gardens...do any of you grow kale that you recommend? I've never grown any, but want one that's a good producer. Workin on seed orders for this spring to supplement my seed safe.

I plant chicken gardens!

ANY garden I plant and don't fence becomes a CHICKEN GARDEN!

 

[gilavina]

I plant chicken gardens!

ANY garden I plant and don't fence becomes a CHICKEN GARDEN!

I hear ya....I've got the same problem...and same goes for the goats....and the dogs thinkin its time to dig and the cats playing hide and seek between the plants. Its chaos here!

 

[Debbi]

I plant chicken gardens!

ANY garden I plant and don't fence becomes a CHICKEN GARDEN!

Oh soooo true! I have to laugh when I see some of those ads for Marans that say how "gentle they are on gardens, as they don't scratch much". ????????????? Mine must all have bulldozer blood in them, they can tear out a plant and dig a hole better than I can with a shovel!

 

[gilavina]

Oh soooo true! I have to laugh when I see some of those ads for Marans that say how "gentle they are on gardens, as they don't scratch much". ????????????? Mine must all have bulldozer blood in them, they can tear out a plant and dig a hole better than I can with a shovel!

haha....that totally reminds me of last year....I don't think I ever told you guys, its not about Marans, but its about gardens. I had just planted my pepper seedlings earlier in the week and I was out checking to make sure they were all happy. I noticed on on the next row over one of the plants was kind of droopy lookin, so I went over and thought I must not have watered it in enough of or covered it well enough.
I should add in here that I use 1 gallon cans as plant collars to protect from pests, weed control, and moisture control. Well, I stuck my hand down to push down the soil and get it ready for watering. Well...the second I started pushing down....I see a pair of eyes emerge from the soil...and then before I could register what was happening...the whole plant launches in the air and this GIANT...and I mean GIANT dirt clod with eyes hurls itself at my face

and I fell backwards ....turns out it was just about the biggest toad I've ever seen....he barely cleared the coffee can....When I picked him up to move him....easily he weighed over a pound... All summer long I was really careful whenever I had to reach down into one of those cans. I was so afraid he would pop out of one of those cans again.

 

[Debbi]

Oh, don't you just love those surprise toads!!? After I had lived in this house for a couple of years, the main water line coming into the house sprung a leak. I convinced myself, I could fix that! Now mind you, the crawl space under the house is probably 18-20" tall at the biggest end, and extremely dark. So, I called my friend to come over and hold a trouble light for me, that was lowered down through a hole I made in the bathroom floor. I took a couple of belts of Bourban to help summon up some courage, and slithered into the crawl space. Although it was only about 12 feet in, crawling on my belly was not my forte, and it took me some time to find the leak. Great, I find the leak, and the water is spewing out of the ground, so I start digging with my trowel to get to the pipe. Flo is standing in the bathroom shouting down, "everything ok? Did you find it?" Yes, digging now, think I just hit the pipe....AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH EEEEEEEEE AAAHAHAHHAHAHA!!! THUD! "what, what, what is wrong??" "Debbi, go to the light, come to the light! Oh please don't make me go into that hole!!" She was beside herself with fear. I dug down to a huge toad, and like you said, it jumped directly at my face, mud flying, and as I reared back to escape it, I whacked my head on one of the floor beams, and I mean HARD! I think I blacked out for a few seconds, and awoke to her saying come to the light!

Seems to me, I got out of the crawl space a whole bunch quicker than I got in there, and backwards to boot!!! Oh heck no! I'm calling a plumber! To this day, they don't make enough Bourban in the whole state of Kentucky to EVER get me back down there again!! Flo, was very relieved I got out safely, albeit with a huge knot on the top of my head....and that she didn't have to come in after me! Dad gummed toads!

 

[gilavina]

Oh, don't you just love those surprise toads!!? After I had lived in this house for a couple of years, the main water line coming into the house sprung a leak. I convinced myself, I could fix that! Now mind you, the crawl space under the house is probably 18-20" tall at the biggest end, and extremely dark. So, I called my friend to come over and hold a trouble light for me, that was lowered down through a hole I made in the bathroom floor. I took a couple of belts of Bourban to help summon up some courage, and slithered into the crawl space. Although it was only about 12 feet in, crawling on my belly was not my forte, and it took me some time to find the leak. Great, I find the leak, and the water is spewing out of the ground, so I start digging with my trowel to get to the pipe. Flo is standing in the bathroom shouting down, "everything ok? Did you find it?" Yes, digging now, think I just hit the pipe....AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH EEEEEEEEE AAAHAHAHHAHAHA!!! THUD! "what, what, what is wrong??" "Debbi, go to the light, come to the light! Oh please don't make me go into that hole!!" She was beside herself with fear. I dug down to a huge toad, and like you said, it jumped directly at my face, mud flying, and as I reared back to escape it, I whacked my head on one of the floor beams, and I mean HARD! I think I blacked out for a few seconds, and awoke to her saying come to the light!

Seems to me, I got out of the crawl space a whole bunch quicker than I got in there, and backwards to boot!!! Oh heck no! I'm calling a plumber! To this day, they don't make enough Bourban in the whole state of Kentucky to EVER get me back down there again!! Flo, was very relieved I got out safely, albeit with a huge knot on the top of my head....and that she didn't have to come in after me! Dad gummed toads!

hahha....I'm so glad I'm not alone! I mean, its just a toad....but when its like 4 times the size of any other large toad you've seen..and it comes launching at your face...it can make you freak out!! I love the "Debbi, come to the light." I can just picture it!!!

 

[Debbi]

Yeh, I sure wasn't going forward to the light! I should've had a beeper on me, like a dump truck. I was backing up in high range mode!

I swear that was one huge toad too, about the size of my pudgy male Silkie roo! Geeessssh.......

 

[gilavina]

Yeh, I sure wasn't going forward to the light! I should've had a beeper on me, like a dump truck. I was backing up in high range mode!

I swear that was one huge toad too, about the size of my pudgy male Silkie roo! Geeessssh.......

haha....way too funny!!!

I think I'm having stress over these eggs in the incubator. I had a dream about incubators and eggs and them hatching after 9 days in a busy hall way somewhere. People kept bumping into me and they just kept popping like popcorn....some were teensy tiny and others were humungous poof balls...but they all had lovely feathered legs.

 

[Debbi]

Don't stress, what will be, will be. I had a very poor hatch with my Silkie eggs. Power went out here too, and I only ended up with 4 chicks! Power went out here Sat. and yesterday for about 2 hours, for no apparent reason. Chicks in the brooder weren't thrilled, but I covered up their brooder and they were in the sunlight coming in the window, so they fared ok. At least I didn't have any in the bator...

 

[pinkchick]

Vicki~ I remember that cute little pullet! She's a sweetie! I am keeping my fingers crossed for you on these Silvers!


Debbi~ Glad you are okay!


Question~

What kind of Marans is this?
His under color is not a smokey blackish brown...it is blue/slateish color....it is in his tail and on his wings around the wing triangle and also on his shank feathering. He hatched out a yellow chick, also hatched out from the same eggs I had the funky chicks hatch from, it's just that he hatched at my best friends house.