Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[snowbird]

Thanks for this link! I can't wait to show it to hubby tonight!

Lisa, hold off a few more days as I have a better Trap nest with rollout for collecting eggs and no mess.

 

[math ace]

Lisa, hold off a few more days as I have a better Trap nest with rollout for collecting eggs and no mess.

Don't take this the wrong way Don. I mean it in the most respectful Southern way possible!

I LOVE YA, Honey

 

[Cotton42]

How about a picture of the egg.

Sure, here you go.



It's not a bad color, just not as dark as I was hoping for. I have a Golden Comet that lays the same shade. Do you think it will get darker or do I need another Marans?

 

[math ace]

Sure, here you go.



It's not a bad color, just not as dark as I was hoping for. I have a Golden Comet that lays the same shade. Do you think it will get darker or do I need another Marans?

Do a little test on the egg. Run the egg under tap water for a second. See if the base color darkens up and then dries back to the lighter color.

 

[doubleatraining]

OK I think I'm ready for my marans review. LOL I have just started into the breed and know I have a long way to go so please feel free to prioritize what I need to work on first.

Reading today I realize their leg color is way off....oops.

Please forgive my photography....I have NO idea how y'all get such good pictures. My hens are fairly docile but after a VERY rough few months as a teenager my rooster gives me a WIDE berth. (Please ignore my 2 black AM in the pen)

I have about 9 more splash marans in the brooder that are growing out and their leg feathering is a lot heavier than what I have now.

The rooster is right at a year old and the splash pullets are POL.



This is my BCM that doesn't have copper and has the wrong colored ear lobes....ugh. Don't worry, her eggs are used for misc layer chicks and she is the broody queen so she gets to stick around. Her leg feathers are the best out of all of them though....lol

 

[snowbird]

Don't take this the wrong way Don. I mean it in the most respectful Southern way possible!

I LOVE YA, Honey

Lisa, Just remember I am about as Southern as anyone can get

 

[Cotton42]

Do a little test on the egg. Run the egg under tap water for a second. See if the base color darkens up and then dries back to the lighter color.

It got darker and the spots got a lot darker. It dried back to the original color. What does that mean?

 

[Debbi]

Seems to me it can't hurt to get an understanding of what is happening genetically to cause this white feather problem and, as you say, it happens in other breeds too. Our understanding of genetics is fairly new so obviously, there is a learning curve and different opinions but we have to start somewhere. My two cents worth, anyway.

I've been chatting with Sigrid Van Dort. I have tremendous respect for her experience and opinion. I believe she knows her way around the poultry genes, especially when it comes to colour, and she's the first to admit when she isn't sure.

And one final comment, I sincerely believe more is learned from building a bad bird than is ever learned from a good one. Like the saying goes, we learn far more from our mistakes ....

Lawdy, if that's true, I should be a feakin' genius by now!

 

[Debbi]

It got darker and the spots got a lot darker. It dried back to the original color. What does that mean?

Cotton ~ They call that "bloom" on the egg. Don't know how or why it is there, and it does come and go in individual hens. I had a hen that laid nothing but bloomy eggs, she is now gone. I have a hen here now, that once in a blue moon will pop one out, then resume with her normal color.

She may get better and the eggs will color out, or not. Just a matter of wait and see...

 

[Debbi]

Don ~ Do you see any correlation between the color of the legs and shank/toe feathering? I'm talking primarily BCMs here. From what I have seen here, the lighter colored legs have the better shank feathering. My two dark boys both have a lighter slate leg, white soles, and white toenails; but they are also the most heavily feathered. Although all of my BCM hens have darker leg coloring, the shades do vary, and the same seems to be true with my hens also. Granted, I only have 5 BCM hens to go by, soooo???