Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[slick4591]

I think what Don is doing is cooping the girls individually. Then on the first day the male is with the first girl, next day the male moves to the next coop and so on, but just one male is used for a group of females at a time. Just that this way the girls are separate so you can identify their eggs. I imagine then when he's got enough eggs from that male/female combo he might wait 2 or more weeks and introduce a new male to the hens. At least this is what I'm thinking would be an easy way to know for sure which hen laid which egg if you can't trap nest.

Okay, that make perfect sense. Why my brain wasn't figuring that out is beyond me. Thanks!

 

[gilavina]

I have no idea. Its crazy to think its been that long. I feel like just in the last year I'm getting things really established. I'm gonna keep working on photos so I can plan the test matings. I'll have 4 BCM, 1 Blue Copper and 1 Splash Copper males to work with. All have something the other doesn't. I'm most excited to work on the blue coppers this year tho.

 

[pinkchick]

Hey Slick!
Hope you are doing great!
I like your pen made out of the PVC...I have tons of it sitting around here that I use in my gardens. I think I may use some of the extras to make a run like you have for my youngins.

Great Job!

 

[pinkchick]

Question for all who breed the Marans???

More like an un-official poll.......



What was the thing that grabbed you most about the Marans to make you want to breed them and stick with them?
eta: Basically looking for what makes you tick when it comes to these birds.

Looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say.

 

[DMRippy]

Question for all who breed the Marans???

More like an un-official poll.......



What was the thing that grabbed you most about the Marans to make you want to breed them and stick with them?
eta: Basically looking for what makes you tick when it comes to these birds.

Looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say.

Eggs.... Then I fell for the birds.

 

[snowbird]

Just a reminder to the new Marans folks. When working for size on the Marans do not use the little undersize Gamey females. If you want the big beefy females you must use the big beefy females, there is no other way to get the job done. It is very important to weigh the females and the males we are using. If you have some little under weight fowl now would be a good time to cull before hatching chicks again and wasting another year.

What few Marans I hatch this year will put photos in my album and will post egg picture and chick picture and pictures as we go forward. I have the ccales and light box ready, now I just need something good enough to put in the cages. Remember also that the males with the long sweeping tails are not what we want in the Marans as they are mixed with something else.

will not be here much for a few days .

 

[pinkchick]

Thanks Donna! Do you mind going a bit deeper?
What exactly about the bird did you fall in love with? Personality, colors, the challange of the breed itself, etc. ?

 

[pinkchick]

Be well Don! Hurry back!

 

[snowbird]

Question for all who breed the Marans???
More like an un-official poll.......
What was the thing that grabbed you most about the Marans to make you want to breed them and stick with them?
eta: Basically looking for what makes you tick when it comes to these birds.
Looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say.

Kim, what drew me to Marans was the Gamefowl look and was never interested in egg color as long as mine layed #6 they were good to go for me. Will have to say I have always been more interested in the bird more than the egg. This is probably because of my show background.

 

[gilavina]

Question for all who breed the Marans???
More like an un-official poll.......
What was the thing that grabbed you most about the Marans to make you want to breed them and stick with them?
eta: Basically looking for what makes you tick when it comes to these birds.
Looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say.

When reading about them, they fit right into the pocket of what I love to work with. They needed work, were dual purpose, good temperament and as a bonus they lay the dark eggs. Something different than what I was used to and knew they would be a challenge. I read as much on them as I could find while I was finishing up my Masters degree and it just kind of clicked that they were for me. My first ones 100% sold me as they exceeded my expectations in personality and attitude. They've kept my interest precisely because they are more complex to breed because of all the factors that have to be in play to make a good bird in general and then you add the egg color, something I had never focused on alongside a breeding program before.