Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[qball53]

I have an egg question. Besides the color shouldn't marans eggs be more on the round side not as elongated as other eggs? I know folks cull for color but do you also cull for shape of the egg? Does anyone know who most influences the egg color the hen or the rooster, genetically speaking?

 

[Debbi]

Oh, sorry to hear of your cat. I am not a cat person, per se, but I don't like it when they end up dead like that. I lost my Old Maw just last year to old age, she was 15. Her last litter was one huge Tom cat, and she cherished him so, I named him "Prize". He is the meanest, hissiest thing on the place, but he does his barn cat duties well, as do all the rest.

I never had Pygmy goats, used to have a small flock of Nubians for milk. After mowing and weed whacking yesterday, I was seriously thinking of getting a few head of either Katahdin sheep or a couple of goats. I'm leaning towards the sheep as I remember the goats eating EVERYTHING and lounging on the hood of my truck!!!

 

[Lark Rise]

I'm so excited about my marans! I feel so very blessed to have them. Some things you don't plan for and they turn out to be the best situation. I met a lady in January who lives near where my son goes to college and she was looking for some lavender orpington hatching eggs which I had. She offered to trade some BBS Marans which I had not even considered raising. I agreed and of the 7 eggs that hatched, 6 are girls and 1 is a roo. They are turning out to be such beautiful birds! The eggs they hatched out of were very dark, too. Now, I'm counting the days till I see their eggs. I love the lacing on the blues and the splash are like clouds. I'm just in love with them.

There is one black hen.....will she turn out looking like a black copper marans?

 

[Debbi]

I have an egg question. Besides the color shouldn't marans eggs be more on the round side not as elongated as other eggs? I know folks cull for color but do you also cull for shape of the egg? Does anyone know who most influences the egg color the hen or the rooster, genetically speaking?

Yes, they should be rounder in shape. I have had so many other problems, that egg shape isn't even on the long list yet! Some of the really round eggs are very hard to determine the air cell end, at least for me. Now, if you have a really bright candler, that would help. I would say both have to do with the egg color. If you have a hen that lays a dark egg, breed her to a roo with at least the same egg color, or the offspring's eggs will be lighter. Just what I have found here...

 

[Debbi]

I'm so excited about my marans! I feel so very blessed to have them. Some things you don't plan for and they turn out to be the best situation. I met a lady in January who lives near where my son goes to college and she was looking for some lavender orpington hatching eggs. She offered to trade some BBS Marans which I had not even considered raising. I agreed and of the 7 eggs that hatched, 6 are girls and 1 is a roo. They are turning out to be such beautiful birds! The eggs they hatched out of were very dark, too. Now, I'm counting the days till I see their eggs. I love the lacing on the blues and the splash are like clouds. I'm just in love with them.

There is one black hen.....will she turn out looking like a black copper marans?

Congrats! Sounds like you lucked out all around. If the chicks came from Blue Copper or Black Copper stock, the Black hen will genetically be a Black Copper, even if she never shows much or any copper. You know you'll need to post pics, right?? We love pics here!

 

[Peach2u]

I have a problem I need help with. This spring I hatched out a round 60 chicks. In that mix I have Blue copper, black copper and splash Marans. I also have blue Olive EE's. As babies I had the Marans and EE's in different pens in the first weeks. Then one day my 4 year old declares all the blue/grays go together. I haven't raised blue copper before so I don't know what shade they are suppose to be. So now I have the breeds all mixed up, but pullets in one pen cockerels in the other. I need to tag the marans. I know I had 5 out of the bunch. I want to sell off most of the EE's but having a hard time picking them out. The rooster to all the babies was a splash Maran. So picking out the ones with out feathered legs is a start. But that leaves about 30 birds. So you see my problem? They are 4-6 weeks old. All I need is an idea of the shade I'm looking for. So here is some pictures of the babies.


my blue EE Blu with babies that may or may not be hers LOL

Lots of shades of Grey/blue That's my problem

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:

 

[Hens and Roos]

I have a problem I need help with. This spring I hatched out a round 60 chicks. In that mix I have Blue copper, black copper and splash Marans. I also have blue Olive EE's. As babies I had the Marans and EE's in different pens in the first weeks. Then one day my 4 year old declares all the blue/grays go together. I haven't raised blue copper before so I don't know what shade they are suppose to be. So now I have the breeds all mixed up, but pullets in one pen cockerels in the other. I need to tag the marans. I know I had 5 out of the bunch. I want to sell off most of the EE's but having a hard time picking them out. The rooster to all the babies was a splash Maran. So picking out the ones with out feathered legs is a start. But that leaves about 30 birds. So you see my problem? They are 4-6 weeks old. All I need is an idea of the shade I'm looking for. So here is some pictures of the babies.


my blue EE Blu with babies that may or may not be hers LOL

Lots of shades of Grey/blue That's my problem

Does you EE have beard/muffs- you could look for that in the chicks, how about leg color- I think the marans have blue/slate color- off the top of my head. Depending on parent color you can end up with many shades of blue.

Good Luck!

 

[Hens and Roos]

Lost another cuckoo marans chick over the night- DH went out this am and checked and found another cockeral who didn't make it.

The others are still feeling poorly- but not a piled together under the heat lamps and a few were moving toward water and food. Second day of treating them with Sulmet and hoping they pull through

 

[Hollowoakfarm]

hey Debbi....I do a different method of potato growing than others I've seen listed. I will till up the ground (prefer to use the stock tanks I have full of soil in the garden and will take the potato eyes I have cut and cured for a few days in the top of the soil spaced out and then will put 10 to 12 inches of straw or hay. I just use the left over stuff I rake up in the goat pens. They've eaten all the seed heads off and only leave the straw like left overs and then water it well once I put the hay over the top. The potatoes come up through the hay when they are ready and harvesting is super easy. Just pull back the hay and the huge potatoes will be sitting on the surface of the dirt to about 6 inches down. Really easy, plentiful harvesting

I do something similar, except I don't bother tilling. I just put my cuts on top of the soil, cover heavily with waste hay from the sheep, and can add more as I feel the need. I harvest for a long time, just picking them off the surface under the hay. They might embed in the soil, but none are out of view in the soil. Pick what I want for supper, put the hay back, and let the plant make more!