Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[BarnGoddess01]

Seems as though a reminder is in order on raising Marans or any other breed to the SOP. If you are buying a few eggs and they come from the same mating pen and when they start to mature and you see that you have multiple Faults and DQs please do not breed all these fowl together thinking they will get better. If you do want to breed them you need a different genetic makeup or you will get nothing in the young fowl but a bunch of culls.

If you are buying eggs try and get the breeder to mark them and get them out of more than one breeding pen. Sometimes I feel no one is listening or wants to listen to any of this.

Where might we find a breeder willing to do this - and actually sell us eggs - or even birds, for that matter???? I will absolutely be on board.

I agree, in an ideal world, the guy with the best selection of birds and pens is going to sell us a combination of eggs so we can get started in the best way possible but so far, I have yet to find this breeder - in any breed. Most of us, especially those of us in far away places, have to start with what we can get (hopefully, at least from breeders with good, honorable intentions) and do our best to pick the best of the worst and slowly move forward from there.

I'm not really disagreeing. It's un uphill battle. But we all have to start somewhere. For me, I'm going to enjoy the climb and make the best of it - learning every step of the way.

(Here in Canada right now when I mention that I have "Marans" the first comment I get - "I don't care if they are SOP. I just want those DARK eggs." Folks here seem to realize we are a breed at the beginning. I am trying to breed with a view to SOP in the future but I'm also trying to be realistic. One tiny step at a time.)

 

[Hens and Roos]

Seems as though a reminder is in order on raising Marans or any other breed to the SOP. If you are buying a few eggs and they come from the same mating pen and when they start to mature and you see that you have multiple Faults and DQs please do not breed all these fowl together thinking they will get better. If you do want to breed them you need a different genetic makeup or you will get nothing in the young fowl but a bunch of culls.

If you are buying eggs try and get the breeder to mark them and get them out of more than one breeding pen. Sometimes I feel no one is listening or wants to listen to any of this.

this is very good advice to follow

 

[snowbird]

Barb, I know where you are coming from since you are in Canada. I also feel for Christie being as she is in Hawaii.

I have stated before that I would only buy eggs BC from two people. One is on BYC and the other lives in Wisc. and does show her BC. She has done some really heavy culling for a while now. If we look back the people selling eggs for the big money 3-5 year ago have all vanished now.

What I am saying is if we breed these BC with the white undercolor and feathers we will never have anything close to the SOP. The BC will never be easy to breed to the SOP.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Barb, I know where you are coming from since you are in Canada. I also feel for Christie being as she is in Hawaii.

I have stated before that I would only buy eggs BC from two people. One is on BYC and the other lives in Wisc. and does show her BC. She has done some really heavy culling for a while now. If we look back the people selling eggs for the big money 3-5 year ago have all vanished now.

What I am saying is if we breed these BC with the white undercolor and feathers we will never have anything close to the SOP. The BC will never be easy to breed to the SOP.

Good to know, Don! I'm not using a boy with white under-colour. Truly, the only fault I am putting on my boy is clean legs and I'm breeding him to females with very good leg feathering - with VERY good results so far. (VERY tiny breeding population here so far. But I couldn't be more pleased. Like I said - uphill battle but I'm learning every step of the way and enjoying myself.)

 

[Arielle]

Seems as though a reminder is in order on raising Marans or any other breed to the SOP. If you are buying a few eggs and they come from the same mating pen and when they start to mature and you see that you have multiple Faults and DQs please do not breed all these fowl together thinking they will get better. If you do want to breed them you need a different genetic makeup or you will get nothing in the young fowl but a bunch of culls.

If you are buying eggs try and get the breeder to mark them and get them out of more than one breeding pen. Sometimes I feel no one is listening or wants to listen to any of this.

Keep posting Don. I was glad to see this the last time you posted because I was starting to feel guilty for having bought stock from several different sources. If I understand this, outcross until I have something pretty good, THEN line breed. Correct me if I have missed something.

 

[DMRippy]

My goal is to have 2 lines to cross with all my breeds. Some lines are going to take some time. I already have 2 and 3 pens with my Marans. I have got to get in those pens and look over those pullets carefully. It is just time to start moving everyone for the winter.

 

[DMRippy]

Today was hatch day too! I only got 3 coppers IDKW out of 8 eggs (1 zipped and died. Odd really, he was not shrink wrapped) but I had a GREAT hatch of my Cuckoos..... Got 2 splash and out of 13 eggs I think I got 9 chicks.... one was still peeping in the shell but had not pipped

Over all it was a good hatch. Lots of Black Ams, EE and Wheaten Ams too. Tomorrow I will look them over really well and tag the culls.

 

[ChickenExtreme]

Silly question??? If I have 4 BCM's roos and all of them have 1 or more faults, and 2 really great looking hens, will the faults continue if I breed them? I need to breed to better my cock BCM's. And can I breed enough to get the faults out?

 

[TexasLady]

Texaslady, What you have in your flock is Coryza and need to get some Sulfur drugs into them. I would use Sulfadimethoxine and a Gallimycin combination.

That was my guess too. Thank you. But since I don't know much about raising chickens esp. diseases since my birds stay healthy (except these), I wasn't sure and was afraid to treat for it without knowing. The problem is that they do not seem to have any nasal discharge. They do not seem sick except, when late stage, they stop eating. All that have gotten it die. They always die in the winter when it is rainy and cold (makes sense it is a cold). They always get it in the eye only, and only in one eye. They do not have any discharge. (I do think I remember one bird had something it was spitting out while shaking its head.) They only have the eye goo, then, they stop eating, act listless for a day or two, then I find them dead. They do have considerable swelling under the eye as they get worse, and they always have about 1/4th to 1/3rd of the eye covered with the goop. If they recover, they are blind in the eye. I have tried cleaning the goop out, but it comes back. I've tried putting meds in the eye, but it does not keep it away. I've wiped it out daily, but it is always coming back. Finally, after a period of sometimes months, they bird dies.

Where do I find these meds? I don't think my local feed stores have them. They don't keep a lot of bird meds--mostly only feed.



Pretty birds, Mountain Sunshine.

 

[Arielle]

I buy from this catalog. I have talked with the vet/owner who is very nice to work with.

http://www.firststatevetsupply.com/store/