Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[vebyrd36]

Yes,very young. I have not had this in my show or breed pens but this pullet is an outside line. I wanted to add different bloodlines She is perfect so far for showing,minus the white, her full sister has no white and I thought that odd. I have had very light blue that darkened with age and this is not that,this is pure white about the last inch in both feathers. I won't use her for breeding until I see these gone. Thanks for the reply.

The white feather is very common in lots of breeds of chicken. I have tho since seen it myself in my Solid black Marans from time to time. Usually after their first molt they are true to type. The breeding of Marans is sometimes tricky. Many times Folks ask me if everything is going to breed true after the 3rd generation I tell them no I have found that it takes at least 4 or 5 generations to breed to color/type, even then you may have something hidden that may crop up every now and then. Example I have a solid white English Orp that is from BBS Orps. Genetics is always a mystery no matter the species. VIVI

 

[snowbird]

It is very common in Marans and other breeds for the young Juveniles to have white wing tips. Normally at 4-5 months they will molt out these feathers. If the white is still there after the Juve molt just ad them to your laying flock if you have one .

If you have the white in wing and tail feathers which is a DQ stop breeding the fowl that have the White and also quit using the WHITE leg Black Copper males as breeders. Do not breed any Black Copper with the white undercolor regardless of where it is located. I have used the Medium Slate and also the Dark slate with good results.

The best way to breed the Marans is try for two trios and single mate them. If you start with good type and breed shape you will be able to breed these for generations without adding new Bloodlines into your flock. The very worst any breeder can do is keep adding new Marans. When you keep outcrossing your flock there is no way of telling what you wipp get from a mating.

If you start with two pair or even two trio and keep records and mark all eggs and chicks after a about two generation you will be able to tell what the results will be before they even hatch. Being able to cull is very important if you are trying to breed your Marans forward.

 

[DMRippy]

Sad news today. We found my Light Blue Copper Roo from Pinkchick DEAD. He was the one throwing me pullets with copper hackles

He was fine yesterday. Hubby even caught him chasing a pullet. Must have been a heart attack. I do have one of his little blue copper roos growing out. He is looking to have about the same coloring. So BUMMED... he was key in my breeding pens next year

I am tossing all the eggs I have and will get for the next couple of days from his pen in the bator in hope of growing out more like him.

RIP

 

[desertmarcy]

Sad news today.  We found my Light Blue Copper Roo from Pinkchick DEAD. He was the one throwing me pullets with copper hackles   He was fine yesterday.  Hubby even caught him chasing a pullet.  Must have been a heart attack.  I do have one of his little blue copper roos growing out.  He is looking to have about the same coloring.  So BUMMED... he was key in my breeding pens next year I am tossing all the eggs I have and will get for the next couple of days from his pen in the bator in hope of growing out more like him. 

RIP



So sorry! You might get good fertile eggs for up to two weeks or more.
Good luck.

 

[DMRippy]

Sad news today. We found my Light Blue Copper Roo from Pinkchick DEAD. He was the one throwing me pullets with copper hackles

He was fine yesterday. Hubby even caught him chasing a pullet. Must have been a heart attack. I do have one of his little blue copper roos growing out. He is looking to have about the same coloring. So BUMMED... he was key in my breeding pens next year

I am tossing all the eggs I have and will get for the next couple of days from his pen in the bator in hope of growing out more like him.

RIP



So sorry! You might get good fertile eggs for up to two weeks or more.
Good luck.

Yeah.... I need to keep the pullets covered by a roo so I will set about 2-3 doz eggs in the next few days and keep them all. I didn't plan on a BIG batch of eggs this time of year

but a girl has to do what a girl has to do. I am getting about 4-6 eggs a day from that pen so I will be good.

 

[Debbi]

Donna ~ Sorry to hear about your boy!

Hope you hatch some great babies from him at least.

Kim ~ Yes, all of my bad girls love to rip open straw bales! It's the idea that they think it is taboo that makes it so fun for them! From now on, when I am trying to introduce youngsters into the flock, you can bet I'll be throwing a bale or two in the pen! Charlotte and Olivia finally had their first adult molt, at about 18 months. Charlotte's blue coloring has really evend out, and she now has some lovely lacing too! Olivia, still black as pitch, but she is just so plump and lays that lovely dark egg, so she is a keeper.

Don ~ Glad to see you in here! I need you to look at a pic of a chick I posted awhile back, the BCM (sans the copper), that had the no tail look going on. She, as it turns out, is now almost 24 weeks old, and although there is a tail there now, it points down? I have never seen this before, but looking at turkey pics the other day, it looks like a young jake turkey tail. Very odd, can't figure out where it came from or what is going on with it. The older she gets, it does seem to be rising, but is fans out to the sides instead of vertically. I'll try to post the pics tonight. If anyone else has had this problem, feel free to chime in as well! This pullet is by Clyde and out of Olivia. Clyde's tail is a bit on the high set side, Olivia's tail is great, so I'm not sure what is going on here?

 

[gilavina]

Sorry to hear about losing your bird. Hopefully you'll get some good options out of your eggs tho

 

[Hens and Roos]

Sad news today. We found my Light Blue Copper Roo from Pinkchick DEAD. He was the one throwing me pullets with copper hackles

He was fine yesterday. Hubby even caught him chasing a pullet. Must have been a heart attack. I do have one of his little blue copper roos growing out. He is looking to have about the same coloring. So BUMMED... he was key in my breeding pens next year

I am tossing all the eggs I have and will get for the next couple of days from his pen in the bator in hope of growing out more like him.

RIP

Sorry to hear this

 

[gilavina]

Hey Debbi Debs! Did ya see that blue birchen boy I posted the other day along with my blue and splash gal I'll be test mating? I've been doing quite a bit of research and I'm very much looking forward to the possibilities!

 

[Debbi]

Hey Vicki! I'm not sure if I saw that one or not. Seems I need to go back further. I saw the one with the silver birchen pullet, can't recall the boy? I have quite a bit of catching up to do, do you know what page it's on?? I'm going to post those pics I showed you of my odd duck Kiwi, see what Don and others might have to say. Only took me an hour to load 2 pics!