Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Wynette]

Boy, that female is awfully....fluffy. To me, she looks somewhat Orpington...ish. I prefer Marans to have tighter feathering, bu that's just me. Eye is a bit dark. I do like her tail, and wing carriage is quite good. JMO, I am no expert.

 

[heath_elisha]

Boy, that female is awfully....fluffy. To me, she looks somewhat Orpington...ish. I prefer Marans to have tighter feathering, bu that's just me. Eye is a bit dark. I do like her tail, and wing carriage is quite good. JMO, I am no expert.

I'm no expert either lol She does have quiet the bum on her.....

 

[Wynette]

Have you weighed her?

 

[heath_elisha]

Have you weighed her?

nope. I dont have a scale- but she seems to be the chunky one of the bunch. at least in the rear end lol

 

[Wynette]

You're cracking me up with all the "bum" talk!

 

[heath_elisha]

lol I know.... what can I say.... first thing that came to mind when taking those pictures is "baby got back"

Nothing beats fuzzy bums... except maybe my little people's bums

 

[Wynette]

Little peoples' bums are tough to beat for cuteness!

 

[OleMissChic]

A couple weeks ago I picked up this young chicken that I think is a Marans. I posted on the gender thread and everyone said it's a young roo. I'm new to this so I'm not sure what people are looking at to determine this? Is it because the comb and wattle are well developed? Coloring? Someone mentioned thick legs but he has feathers down them so I can't tell if they are thick or not. He hasn't made any sounds like crowing. I'd be happy to have a rooster but I am wondering how to tell?
The photos below aren't great but if someone can give me some things to look for I'd appreciate it.

 

[gilavina]

A couple weeks ago I picked up this young chicken that I think is a Marans. I posted on the gender thread and everyone said it's a young roo. I'm new to this so I'm not sure what people are looking at to determine this? Is it because the comb and wattle are well developed? Coloring? Someone mentioned thick legs but he has feathers down them so I can't tell if they are thick or not. He hasn't made any sounds like crowing. I'd be happy to have a rooster but I am wondering how to tell?
The photos below aren't great but if someone can give me some things to look for I'd appreciate it.

This is definitely a cockerel. Combs and wattles are a good basic way to tell a cockerel from a pullet, but legs, overall structure of the bird and stance can also be very good giveaways. Another aspect to watch is for pointed saddle feathers to begin coming in, those are also a dead giveaway for a cockerel.

 

[OleMissChic]

Thank you! Do you know what age they start to fill out and crow? I've been seeing some of what I think are his feathers around so hopefully he's not fighting with the girls. Waiting for him to crow is almost as exciting as waiting for an egg.