Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[flgardengirl]

Which varieties are you setting??
I set some BCMs and going to set blacks and blues next if they keep up the laying...
I am getting some nice dark reddish eggs from one of my solid black pullets (she is from that solid black rooster, 'I think I posted his pic on here before?'.. and a solid black hen) and they are pretty big for pullet eggs. DH calls them black cherry eggs, lol, since they are coming from a black pullet. Really, though they are more like chocolate cherry but its kinda funny. Her mother never laid reddish brown eggs

and the egg the daddy roo came from wasn't reddish either. None of the other blues or blacks lay reddish eggs, so I don't know where its coming from but I like it!!
Weird genes these Marans have popping up all the time..
She is only laying about every other day or so. So I am trying to get enough to set soon, all at once, so I don't have to stagger them. I want some of her babies so bad! I would love to have a whole flock of blacks laying dark reddish brown eggs like her.
I am actually hoping I get a few more little roos. I need some back-up black roosters. The way things have been going around here this summer/fall, with the predators, I really need to keep backups!

 

[gilavina]

Which varieties are you setting??
I set some BCMs and going to set blacks and blues next if they keep up the laying...
I am getting some nice dark reddish eggs from one of my solid black pullets (she is from that solid black rooster, 'I think I posted his pic on here before?'.. and a solid black hen) and they are pretty big for pullet eggs. DH calls them black cherry eggs, lol, since they are coming from a black pullet. Really, though they are more like chocolate cherry but its kinda funny. Her mother never laid reddish brown eggs

and the egg the daddy roo came from wasn't reddish either. None of the other blues or blacks lay reddish eggs, so I don't know where its coming from but I like it!!
Weird genes these Marans have popping up all the time..
She is only laying about every other day or so. So I am trying to get enough to set soon, all at once, so I don't have to stagger them. I want some of her babies so bad! I would love to have a whole flock of blacks laying dark reddish brown eggs like her.
I am actually hoping I get a few more little roos. I need some back-up black roosters. The way things have been going around here this summer/fall, with the predators, I really need to keep backups!

RIght now I'll probably be focusing on the Silvers, Columbian Wyandotte large fowl, Light/Coronation/Lavender Birchen Sussex, Birchen Marans out of one set of test mating, and out of one of my BCM roos crossed over some of my hens. We'll see who decides to give me what when it comes down to it. haha

 

[gilavina]

By the way, those eggs sound nice! A few of my girls lay very red based eggs instead of the more brown, and those are my absolute favorites!

 

[flgardengirl]

Here is the black pullet's eggs (the 4 on the far left next to the olive eggers). Sometimes they are speckled, sometimes not! The 4 lighter brown (in the middle of the OEs and the EE eggs with the white one on top) is what I am getting from my 2 regular cuckoos pullets. The cuckoos egg coloring are pretty much what I expected them to be but hopefully I can get them darkened up somehow.

Here is the pullet that laid the reddish brown eggs. Her name is Black Betty lol

Her big daddy, Black Bart, with the double serrated comb (grr) who also incestually (lol) is bred back to her. I hope she is still able to pass those red egg genes.

 

[gilavina]

Here is the black pullet's eggs (the 4 on the far left next to the olive eggers). Sometimes they are speckled, sometimes not! The 4 lighter brown (in the middle of the OEs and the EE eggs with the white one on top) is what I am getting from my 2 regular cuckoos pullets. The cuckoos egg coloring are pretty much what I expected them to be but hopefully I can get them darkened up somehow.

Here is the pullet that laid the reddish brown eggs. Her name is Black Betty lol

Her big daddy, Black Bart, with the double serrated comb (grr) who also incestually (lol) is bred back to her. I hope she is still able to pass those red egg genes.

its exciting to see that you have some solid birds there....I'm hoping to get some work done on some solid birds here too....just have to stay organized so I can get the hatching done I want to this year.

 

[math ace]

Here is the black pullet's eggs (the 4 on the far left next to the olive eggers). Sometimes they are speckled, sometimes not! The 4 lighter brown (in the middle of the OEs and the EE eggs with the white one on top) is what I am getting from my 2 regular cuckoos pullets. The cuckoos egg coloring are pretty much what I expected them to be but hopefully I can get them darkened up somehow.

I would be so happy with those eggs. I really prefer the red tones to the eggs versus the chocolate tones.

 

[flgardengirl]

RIght now I'll probably be focusing on the Silvers, Columbian Wyandotte large fowl, Light/Coronation/Lavender Birchen Sussex, Birchen Marans out of one set of test mating, and out of one of my BCM roos crossed over some of my hens. We'll see who decides to give me what when it comes down to it. haha

I still have my one Silver Sussex hen. They sure are chunkers!! She is always the first one to the food dish, she meets me at the gate and races me to it. I bet your Lavender Birchens are gorgeous now! Do you have both Lavender Birchen Sussex roos and hens? The Wyandottes sound cool too. I have one silver laced Wyandotte that has a single comb and pale legs. Every time I look at her, I think, hmmm maybe I should DO something with her lol! Like I need anymore projects :/

 

[flgardengirl]

Here are some of the solid blue mature males I have been working with. As you can see they still have some issues but the coloring is good and the egg color on the females are good. They could use much better lacing. I have two other ones that are older than these and one is the biggest butthead ever, he has better lacing than these but I think he attacked one of my blue ameraucana hens and she died. He is mean and I'm not giving his @ss anymore girls!! The other is a nice boy and a little darker than these but has middle toe feathers grrr.

 

[gilavina]

I still have my one Silver Sussex hen. They sure are chunkers!! She is always the first one to the food dish, she meets me at the gate and races me to it. I bet your Lavender Birchens are gorgeous now! Do you have both Lavender Birchen Sussex roos and hens? The Wyandottes sound cool too. I have one silver laced Wyandotte that has a single comb and pale legs. Every time I look at her, I think, hmmm maybe I should DO something with her lol! Like I need anymore projects :/

I wish I had some silver sussex, they would make me happy, but the problem is, until I finish building new pens and rearranging old ones, I don't have room for small flocks of more breeds or varieties. I only held back the Lavender Birchen hen and will be working with her on the coros and lights as I will be able to get a percentage of solid lavenders and some blacks if crossed onto the lights to be able to get a start to a project.
I have that same problem with projects. It makes me crazy. One of the projects I would like to explore a bit more is with the cross of Marans and Sussex. I've been joking around that I'd call them Marsex or Surans. They make a really nice dual purpose bird and the ones I've been working on are Gorgeous!! Here's a young pullet I've held back, she is only about 3 1/2 months or so in that shot and rivals the size of some of my Sussex hens (and they are not small by any means)

 

[gilavina]

Here are some of the solid blue mature males I have been working with. As you can see they still have some issues but the coloring is good and the egg color on the females are good. They could use much better lacing. I have two other ones that are older than these and one is the biggest butthead ever, he has better lacing than these but I think he attacked one of my blue ameraucana hens and she died. He is mean and I'm not giving his @ss anymore girls!! The other is a nice boy and a little darker than these but has middle toe feathers grrr.

If you cross onto a black girl or take your blue girls and cross onto a black male, you will get some with better lacing. If you have some that go a bit too dark, either cross back onto a blue with a bit of a lighter tone or onto a splash. Its a bit of back and forth at first when you are trying to establish lacing, but once you get it dialed in, you should be able to maintain it will little effort.