Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Debbi]

Yeah

I hope you have an awesome hatch!!!

Well, thanks. I can wish, but I don't expect it. The SG eggs aren't doing anything, and only one other egg has started to zip. The SG eggs were the ones that took 6 days to get here. All I need is one stinking, NN roo!!!

 

[DMRippy]

Quote: I use 3 gall buckets and they will break after some use. We have been replacing them when they break with some thick wire. Copper is what we have so we just go through the handle hole and wrap the wire on itself. Rope would probably work pretty well too. Almost all of ours have been replaced now. Since we are using wire none have broken.

I did use a 5 gal bucket in the big coops before I switched to a 55 gall waterer system. I used rope there and never had a problem. The rope will stretch a lot with a 5 gal bucket. You could make a tripod with 2 x 4s and sit the bucket on the tripod and still support it with the rope.

 

[DMRippy]

Well I am back from my trip!

Now that I have FIXED everything that didn't get taken care of.... I can start HATCHING AGAIN! I didn't really quit, just didn't set as much and none to hatch while I was gone. These are mostly going to be for me. I have been keeping some, but I had so many people that wanted chicks, that I just sold them. SO it is my turn now.

Now if my Marans will just start laying again.... 6 eggs from 5 girls in 6 days

Good thing I can set eggs every week.

Good luck Debbi

SG and anyone else that is hatching.

 

[Debbi]

I use a 5 gal. bucket with the nipple waterers. This was my first attempt, and I made the mistake of putting the nipples on the sides instead of on the bottom. If you install them on the sides near the bottom, they will leak. That said, they still work, and they leak slow enough to still have water in them by night when filled in the morning. I keep this one out in the run, don't want it to leak in the coop. All the birds are fascinated by the dripping water, so they really get their fill in the summer. If you made one like this, you could put it inside a large oil pan so the drips get caught, then you could use it inside. I have my bucket sitting off the ground on a cinder block.

 

[Debbi]

Well I am back from my trip!

Now that I have FIXED everything that didn't get taken care of.... I can start HATCHING AGAIN! I didn't really quit, just didn't set as much and none to hatch while I was gone. These are mostly going to be for me. I have been keeping some, but I had so many people that wanted chicks, that I just sold them. SO it is my turn now.

Now if my Marans will just start laying again.... 6 eggs from 5 girls in 6 days

Good thing I can set eggs every week.

Good luck Debbi

SG and anyone else that is hatching.

Thanks Donna!

 

[gilavina]

Ya ya ya heard that one before...then you see the perfect compliment bird to a project you have going on LOL!!! = More chicken math

haha...I needs no more birds...esp since I've got those silver marans chicks coming. So, those will be my source of willpower haha!!!

plus the reduced feed bill! I've decided I'm going to send a juvenile pair of blue coppers and see who snatches them up. They are nice, but the color on them is a little lighter than I'd like. So, hoping a 4h kid will get them to raise for his 4h project then to show for the county and state fair. They will be just about the right age to show as cockerel and pullet by then.

 

[tuthillny]

Hi, I have a couple of question and I hope someone here will be able to tell me what direction I should go. First, I have 4 blue splash marans that hatched out on the 23rd of february making them around 10-11 weeks old. What is the correct leg color? I ask because the 2 pullets have blue legs and the 2 cockerels have white legs. I always thought marans had white legs or is that white skin? In this case will the blue legs be more dominant? Last question, one of the cockerels has no tail/rumpless/tailless, I assume this is a throwback or what? I most likely cannot breed him with the pullets, right? All this is giving me a headache. I am trying to add a photo I took a few days ago when we were moving everyone. Thanks

https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/image/view/id/5096813/album/6150678

 

[Peach2u]

Wow I don't check the thread in 2 days and I had 5 pages to read over lol. I lost a lot of chicks over the last few day. So I put all the babies on lock down. I set up traps and stayed outside alot. I caught a raccoon, opossum, and a feral tom cat. All where relocated. Yesterday I saw the real problem. A red tail hawk had a baby on the ground. The stupid rooster 3 foot away just making a bunch of noise. So, I put cockerels in one 10x10 pen and the pullets in a 10x10 pen. I still have babies from a broody running around free range with the adults. I had 12 this morning the count was 7. So tonight when they come in I'm going to catch them and put them in the pens. They are 6-7 weeks old now and I guess I'll keep them looked up till they are too big for the hawk. I hate to keep them cooped. Much rather see them eating all those ticks. I have ordered some silver eagle windsock. Very shiny mylar windsocks. I was told the scattered light scared them away. We will see. I read eagle statues work as well as scarecrows. I'm still not sure about them. fishing line stretched across the yard up high is suppose to keep them at bay too. That's a lot of line for an open acre LOL. I see a storm come in and line all over the place including the lawn mower. So now I'm worried about a broody who is on lock down. Within 24 hours her 12 eggs will be hatching. She is safe in a chicken tractor atm. It has a tight nest box that is lockable. But, it is only good for about 4 days with chicks. Then it starts getting too small. It was made to hold 3 large chickens. But is great for 1 broody. I need to make some room. I have a bunch of cockerels that need to go Blck copper blue copper marans and blue olive egger boys all need to go I"m not keeping any. I also have some blue olive EE pullets with feathered shanks to go as well. Dad to all blue babies is a splash maran. So anyone in the area interested let me know.

I have 26 pullets in this pen. I have a couple that might be cockerels in there. Some of the EE's maybe boys in hiding.

21 in the cockerel pen. Think a missed a couple pullets. Some have big combs but aren't dark so I don't know.

This one is in the boy pen. I'm thinking it is looking more like a girl?

I have 2 splash olive ee's im thinking are boys. They puff up and fight each other a good sign they are boys.

Mammies due hatch day is today. She is not pleased by me checking in on her. She is a cranky girl. Runs everyone off who gets next to her pen.

 

[Debbi]

Hi, I have a couple of question and I hope someone here will be able to tell me what direction I should go. First, I have 4 blue splash marans that hatched out on the 23rd of february making them around 10-11 weeks old. What is the correct leg color? I ask because the 2 pullets have blue legs and the 2 cockerels have white legs. I always thought marans had white legs or is that white skin? In this case will the blue legs be more dominant? Last question, one of the cockerels has no tail/rumpless/tailless, I assume this is a throwback or what? I most likely cannot breed him with the pullets, right? All this is giving me a headache. I am trying to add a photo I took a few days ago when we were moving everyone. Thanks
https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/image/view/id/5096813/album/6150678

Is there any way you can pin point the pic you want us to see?? I'm on dial-up, and running through albums is a real pain!

Splash birds should have light grey (slate) leg color. Is your cockerel a true rumpless? Can you feel a tail bone there or no? If the bone is there, he is not rumpless. More than likely he had his feathers pulled out by another. That said, the rumpless do show up from time to time in this breed, sooooo??? If he is rumpless, I would not use him for breeding, JMO.

 

[Peach2u]

Hi, I have a couple of question and I hope someone here will be able to tell me what direction I should go. First, I have 4 blue splash marans that hatched out on the 23rd of february making them around 10-11 weeks old. What is the correct leg color? I ask because the 2 pullets have blue legs and the 2 cockerels have white legs. I always thought marans had white legs or is that white skin? In this case will the blue legs be more dominant? Last question, one of the cockerels has no tail/rumpless/tailless, I assume this is a throwback or what? I most likely cannot breed him with the pullets, right? All this is giving me a headache. I am trying to add a photo I took a few days ago when we were moving everyone. Thanks
https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/image/view/id/5096813/album/6150678

My splash marans have pink toes and soles with a funky green tint leg. Same with the splash pullet I got from a local breeder. Also the splash ees that came off of my splash maran have pink toes and funky green tint legs. Rumpless can be a throw back only if it has an Araucana gene some where down the line. Like Ameracana's and EE's sometimes get the rumpless gene, Or a bad genetic fault. either way don't breed him breed. My first question would are you sure you got Maran chicks? Here is a pix of my splash maran over EE splash chick. Looks just like a maran except no feathers on their shanks.