Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Debbi]

thanks for the coop link it was great!

Ditto! That set up looks way too small for my Marans, but I can see me building 3 of those for my Silkies!

 

[Cadeau]

Cad & Vicki~ Thanks for the comments on the girls. I do love them. They are in with that Birchen boy for test mating right now. I am willing test out this guys comb issues to see what happens as I have lots of time to play around with until the Birchen eggies in the 'bator get done cooking and maturing.
Only one of these girls has lightly feathered shanks. These are my first 2 girls ever, out of my Bill, Sr., which explains the lack of leg feathering on one and the sparsity of the other. I used these 2 girls to help rebuild my flock after I culled so drastically with carnation comb thing last year.

Know that Black Copper chick that I just hatched out that I sooooooooooo wanted to be a male??? It's a Pullet.

I know, crying over a pullet, right? How pathetic! BUT I SO WANTED A COCKEREL!!!!!

Atleast she has wonderfully feathered shanks....well right now as a chick she does anyway. Hope she keeps them and is not one of those that has them for now and then they slough off and never come back again. I really hate when that happens.

Bummer on your pullet... (but at least she can stay and lay you some lovely cockerels!)

I can't figure out the feathered legs thing, either
- my one pen makes street sweepers and the other makes shorter, more sparsely feathered legs on most of their chicks.

BUT can canNOT tell for the life of me, which chicks will be the sparse feathered ones after they grow in their real feathers

As chicks, they are all feathered to the outer toe....then, as 3mths you just never know!...

 

[Cadeau]

haha...you aren't alone! This year I've been wishing for more cockerels than pullets in all my hatches since I have a few specific boys I'm looking for and know how much harder it is to get good cockerels. I feel better now...not being the only one doing wishing for cockerels. haha!

Count me in, too, for looking for that "special man" (or men

)

 

[Cadeau]

I usually will breed to a splash til the lacing is really dark and prominent, then in the next generation will cross those darkest pullets with the best lacing to the splash male and usually will retain the lacing just on a lighter blue. If you are struggling, it may be a good idea to see if you can cross some black copper girls onto a splash copper boy and derive a fresh set of blues. They should have the lacing at that point, and then can work your way forward.

(ugh!!! You can tell I'm really not awake yet. In that first line. I meant to write breed to a black til the lacing is dark and prominent)....grrr

haha - I thought I was going crazy for a minute!!

 

[Debbi]

Bummer on your pullet... (but at least she can stay and lay you some lovely cockerels!)

I can't figure out the feathered legs thing, either
- my one pen makes street sweepers and the other makes shorter, more sparsely feathered legs on most of their chicks.

BUT can canNOT tell for the life of me, which chicks will be the sparse feathered ones after they grow in their real feathers

As chicks, they are all feathered to the outer toe....then, as 3mths you just never know!...

Katelyn, What color are the feathers on their shanks when they first hatch? I have found here, at least with the BCMs, that if they have yellow fuzz on the legs at hatch, they grow up to have either very sparse feathering or none at all. I sure hope I'm wrong, cause the BCM I have in the brooder now has them all the way to the toes!

So does the Blue and the Wheaten, but I don't have much experience with either of those yet. The Wheatie I would expect to have yellow though?

 

[Cadeau]

Here is Chloe....one of my favorite girls. She had some copper but the copper lightened to almost nothing by the time she was 2 years old.



Here is "Slate" ........no lacing and no color in the hackle.

Pretty! Is the bottom girl really (really!) light blue or splash??

My blue girls have a darker blue hackle, except the navy blue girls, who are all one color.
I don't think I have much lacing - will have to go look.

More info for my file - I'd love to have beautiful lacing!

Now.....to get the roos, so I can do these crosses!

 

[Cadeau]

amen Debbi! And happy birthday lady!

Happy Birthday, Debbi!

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
x 3!!! Happy birthday, Debbi!

 

[Cadeau]

Katelyn, What color are the feathers on their shanks when they first hatch? I have found here, at least with the BCMs, that if they have yellow fuzz on the legs at hatch, they grow up to have either very sparse feathering or none at all. I sure hope I'm wrong, cause the BCM I have in the brooder now has them all the way to the toes!

So does the Blue and the Wheaten, but I don't have much experience with either of those yet. The Wheatie I would expect to have yellow though?

Hmmm - maybe that's the trick.

I watched specifically to see if the little YELLOW chick fluff on the shanks would come in - and it DOES come in black or blue (color respective, not white)....

BUT - I haven't watched to see if it STAYS after juvie molt

Hmmm....great food for thought - smart lady!

 

[laughingclown]

Laughingclown~

You can still breed the birds that are coppers that do not show any copper, they may or may not produce offspring that show copper.
I am having a difficult time getting copper back into the necks of my females as I am working with overly melanized birds in the first place, so finding the right balance between rooster and pullets is a challenge, but one I am still up for.
I can get good copper on the males, but for the life of me..... not on the girls. Don't get me wrong, I get girls that have copper, but they only get a few hackle feathers that are copper and never finish coloring up. The rest of the girls all seem to be just plain dark.
That said, I have seen some awesome colored birds come from 2 totally over melanized birds so the it really is all in the genetic luck of the draw.

I will say this.........I have found the best hackle color on the lighter blue colored girls......have not one clue as to why. Now......if only I could get back to a light blue instead of such dark blue birds.

Thanks. I just want the best birds I can. Also when it comes time to sell eggs or chicks I dont want to sell garbage. I would feel pretty crappy if I let go the offspring thinking they were quality and my customers are spreading reviews to say otherwise. Granted Im not out to make a quick buck, and I want to do the breed justice. im just planning for the future. Also, if your kinda limited on space, would you guys just say to stick with one color? I have Blacks and Blues but Im starting to think I got over my head with the Blues. I just love the fluffy blue color with the added copper. It looks just really good. Birchens are nice too. I wasnt a big fan of the Blacks at first but now that I have them Im digging it. Im just trying to manage them as smartly as possible.