Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Keara]

If marans are supposed to be sual purpose, why is the meat lacking? Bill excepted!

No meat lacking but they are slow to mature. Also as a duel purpose they will not have as much meat as say a cornish x, but will have lots more than a leghorn. My marans roos have had ok breasts but hugh legs and thighs. Love that silky dark marans meat!

Remember if you want to roast the bird, age the meat first than if you can brine it before cooking! Best way I have found and wow sooooo good.

-Keara

 

[Arielle]

Though he is bigger I would not keep an agressive rooster. And if you are having a baby you need to beware an agressive rooster can hurt a child badly. Also if you are going to breed your chickens and hatch eggs..... soon you will have to figure out what to do with all the extra roosters you hatch. Better get GF used to the idea of rooster soup if you are planning to breed chickens.


Good luck!


Quote: x2 IF you read other threads, you will find rooster attacks though not often can have dire consequences, especially for children. Good fencing is a good place to start = keep animals in and children out! I put a good fence around my kids sandbox area, so they could play safely if by chance a 300# ram got loose or a horse did. I'm sure I was over the top about my kids safety. Maybe even neurotic. Our first rule is Safety! It's the second rule, too! LOL

 

[Keara]

I breed for SIze always! If I am eating my culls I want them to be big.

haha....you can tell I haven't had my coffee yet.

I would guess that not a lot of people put a large amount of focus on developing the meat qualities on them. Here I do breed for heft and breast development (the BCM cockerel I showed the other day that's 14 weeks old is a good example), as part of how I feel the breed should look, and as a by product, the birds here usually do make nice processed birds as well. I don't think you will ever catch me saying that the Marans couldn't use some more work in meat development.

 

[gilavina]

I breed for SIze always! If I am eating my culls I want them to be big.

haha same here. when I'm lookin at ads online of Marans for sale, I see a lot lacking in the heft department haha

 

[Arielle]

I breed for SIze always! If I am eating my culls I want them to be big.

Quote: X2 I've learned there are two steps-- a big frame and big muscling!!

 

[pinkchick]

Regarding who told me that Marans would not have spurs...................I cannot go there, I don't believe it would be appropriate..........but if someone wanted to read through the old Marans thread and some of the new one it is posted more than once.

 

[gilavina]

mornin' all! Its lookin like another cooker out today. Yesterday the heat index was 105, not sure what it will be today... So, perhaps I won't be taking birds to the sale like I thought I might. I am however gonna shoot for some pictures of my middle hatch if they will cooperate with me. I think its about 75% cockerels that I held back (18 chicks total), but that's the main priority this year, to get some nice ones, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[pinkchick]

3riverschick~

I have often thought of the potato method and everytime I bring it up or think about something is mentioned or commented on that it is really not the best way to go. Do you use this method? What are your thoughts on it and how do you like it compared to other methods you have used?




Lotsa~ Whats the bloody mess like when the spur comes off when using the plier method and how soon do they heal?

 

[Debbi]

x2 IF you read other threads, you will find rooster attacks though not often can have dire consequences, especially for children. Good fencing is a good place to start = keep animals in and children out! I put a good fence around my kids sandbox area, so they could play safely if by chance a 300# ram got loose or a horse did. I'm sure I was over the top about my kids safety. Maybe even neurotic. Our first rule is Safety! It's the second rule, too! LOL

I agree 100%! If there were kids here, there would be no sneaky roos, ever! I was terrorized as a 5 year old child by a wicked Leghorn roo. That snake would wait for me by the milk barn, in the bushes. I swear he knew where I was at all times! He would jump out and flog the snot out of me! He cut up my leg pretty good one day, and my Mom told me to stay away from the milk barn. Well, that wasn't happening, so the next day I went out with a lasso in my hand. Here came old sneaky Pete, and this time I had the upper hand! Got him around the neck and under one wing. I then proceeded to drag his sorry arse across the barnlot, with all the other chickens watching, and screaming!

The farmer who owned the place came out when he heard the rucus, and when he saw that roo on a rope, he just about fell over laughing. He had seen that roo flog me, so he knew the back story, and he was glad I finally put my foot down. After that day, old sneaky Pete never bothered me again, and I could go to the milk barn, or anywhere else on that farm, without having to be on guard!

 

[gilavina]

3riverschick~

I have often thought of the potato method and everytime I bring it up or think about something is mentioned or commented on that it is really not the best way to go. Do you use this method? What are your thoughts on it and how do you like it compared to other methods you have used?




Lotsa~ Whats the bloody mess like when the spur comes off when using the plier method and how soon do they heal?

on using pliers to take off spurs, my dad used this method often and if done carefully and slowly, he had pretty good luck with very minimal bleeding.