Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Arielle]

Temperament, calm and sociable. Never made notice if they were noisy or not. I would think no more so than any other. Eggs.... well.... when they are laying, they lay great..... when they are not.... they don't lay great. I have not had them laying for a year yet and I see a cycle. They will lay for 2-3 months like gang busters and then.... slow ..... waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay............down. Then pick right back up at full speed, then SLOW DOWN AGAIN. I would go hungry if I had to have them for breakfast. My Cuckoo Marans, don't seem to be that way though...... From 6 layers I get 1-2 eggs a day right now from the Blue and Black Coppers. When they are in full swing 4-6 a day.

Question to all the Marans folks-- I have noticed the same thing as DOnna. DOes anyone else have this cycling? If not, perhaps you could share your management style so I can change mine ! LOL

 

[gilavina]

Those are absolutely gorgeous! Care to share any tips on getting the lacing to look like that?

I bet you I could write a post probably a page long with all the different factors and what ifs for breeding (and might possibly bore people to death). Especially when workin with a limited color pallette of birds and if the blue tones are light or dark and etc. I might try to see what I can come up with in the morning when my brain has had a chance to recharge if there is enough interest

 

[Arielle]

Quote: I'm up for it!

 

[Cadeau]

haha...that's good...cause sometimes I wonder about my sanity! haha

When it comes to the finer details of why I do or don't do something with my birds, I probably won't be able to rattle off a bunch of genetic sequencing or etc, but I can navigate practically pretty well haha. I sometimes don't even realize how much my dad taught me until we get to something like this for example. I've always wondered why on blue birds here I never have had trouble getting the lacing to turn out on most breeds I've raised, and why so many others don't seem to have them raised by others. All I know is I'm glad I know how to do some of this odd stuff cause I love me some blues with lacing! They make me happy!

here's some lovely lacing examples on some of this year's hatchlings
blue copper pullet

blue birchen pullet

 

[Debbi]

Good morning all

Finally got back into the 21st century! We had a storm here on Monday, that knocked out the phone lines for quite a distance. Needless to say, since I am on dial-up, that meant no puter either! I am sooooo going to get sattelite!

The phone company was very secretive about what all was going on, and lied to us, saying the phones would be fixed by 4:30 on Tuesday. I left my house at 1pm yesterday, Wed., and it still wasn't on! By the time I got back from town, I had a phone again, and from the minute I walked in the door, that darned thing was ringing off the hook, one call after another! One was from my friend Beth who has a B-day a week before mine, and she took me out to dinner last night. I was beat by the time we got home, tried to watch a movie, and saw maybe 10 minutes of it before I fell asleep. Woke up at 5am, ready to start the day!

I ended up with 3 Marans chicks from that hatch. One Wheaten, and the other two were my eggs, 1 Blue, and 1 BCM. I should be able to tell the sex of the Wheatie in a day or so, the wing feathers are starting to come in. Mine both look really good, lots of shank/toe fluff, now if they just keep it! Then there is the wait for the combs to find out who gets a stupid one, but I'm crossing my fingers that none of them will. We'll see in a few weeks...

Lots of chatter to catch up on in here, as usual, nice Blue babies there Vicki!!

 

[Debbi]

My gals seem to lay steady for months, then all of a sudden it drops off, then stops. Remember me saying that when I wormed the chooks I started getting lighter colored eggs?? Well, they are a tad darker now, but nowhere near where they should be. As soon as I find out who is laying the Barred Rock eggs, they are OUTTA HERE! I think the word "Cull" is going to become one of my favorites!

 

[laughingclown]

When does the Copper come in on the Blue pullets. I have 4 pullets that are 2.5 months and nothing. But I have some Black pullets that have the copper coming in on their hackles. I WANT ME SOME COPPER!

 

[Debbi]

When does the Copper come in on the Blue pullets. I have 4 pullets that are 2.5 months and nothing. But I have some Black pullets that have the copper coming in on their hackles. I WANT ME SOME COPPER!

Some just take longer than others to get the copper in, and some never get it. Here with my guys and gals, if the copper isn't in by around 7 months, they aren't getting any. Just keep in mind, even though they may not show the copper, genetically, they are still coppers and not solid blacks or blues.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Happy Birthday Debbi!!!! even if it's a little early, this thread flies so fast . . . I don't want to forget.

Lost me, which isn't hard, LOL, what do you mean one of the marans is laying a BR egg? the egg is too too pale? My CM are very pale compared to the FBCM. Ae we supposed to be working on darkening the egg on the CM, or is pale CM the norm?

 

[Debbi]

Happy Birthday Debbi!!!! even if it's a little early, this thread flies so fast . . . I don't want to forget.

Lost me, which isn't hard, LOL, what do you mean one of the marnas is laying a BR egg? the egg is too too pale? My CM are very pale compared to the FBCM. ARe wqe supposed to be working on darkening the egg on the CM, or is pale CM the norm?

Thanks Arielle, the B-day was yesterday. Yes, the eggs got very pale, two of them weren't even a 4. I suspect one cull BCM hen that was destined to go any way, and a Blue Copper pullet, who was also destined to go. This is the second year laying for the BCM hen, and her egg color dropped dramatically. Yes, you should always try to improve on egg color in any variety. If they are not laying at least a number 4 colored egg, they are not considered Marans. Lots of folks are really improving the color in the Cuckoo eggs, and I've seen quite a few online that rivaled BCM coloring, so it can be done!