Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[gilavina]

Figure I can chime in here,,, thanks Vicki,,, I believe you were the one who first gave me information on " dry incubation ",,, and sorry if I neglected to thank you previously for that helpful info.

I followed the instructions on the last hatch,,,, and had GREAT improvements in the hatch ! Amazing difference from the previous struggles I witnessed.

THANKS SO MUCH AGAIN !!!

I highly recommend trying it with the marans, had a few cochin eggs in there too that did very well with it also. I have a batch in now, doing the same method with them, can only hope for the same results.

Listen to their advise,,, they definitely know what they're talking about !

Many thanks to all the Marans threads regulars.

Glad to hear your eggs hatched well! I have no problem with any breeds I raise doing well with this process of incubation. Some of it might be the climate here, not sure, but works well. The only eggs I have a problem with, and think most all of us do are those with the extra bloom on them, making them look mauve colored.

 

[K Epp]

I have been wanting to get a couple of Maran pullets or hens. I want them for the pretty dark eggs not for show or breeding. Is there that much of a difference in egg color in the different Marans? Looks like I will settle for chicks. Anyone have any suggestions on which type?

 

[RyeRanch]

The black copper marans have the darkest eggs. If you are looking for the dark chocolate colored eggs, those are your bird.

 

[Wynette]

I have been wanting to get a couple of Maran pullets or hens. I want them for the pretty dark eggs not for show or breeding. Is there that much of a difference in egg color in the different Marans? Looks like I will settle for chicks. Anyone have any suggestions on which type?

The black copper marans have the darkest eggs. If you are looking for the dark chocolate colored eggs, those are your bird.

Not necessarily - the eggs that have bin winning best overall at the egg shows of late have been BLUE coppers. When you go to pick up, ask to see an egg. That's the very best way to know what to expect the offspring to lay.

 

[Wynette]

Okay, Don - let's talk pinched tails.

 

[snowbird]

Hey Don,

How's it going getting stock to work with? Gonna do some hatching and such this spring?

Hey Vicki, We got one of the sportsmans out and done a cleanup job. Seems to be working good so will set some eggs shortly. I have not found any Blue Copper or Splash as of the present. Will most likely have to go the difficult route and make some. if I could find some Black that were bred Black I would work with them. I plan on Blue Copper, BC, White , and Cuckoo, also a few wheaten.

 

[snowbird]

What I would like to do with the pinched tail discussion is ad General Type and conformation in the discussion as they are all connected. Will do my part in short posts so they do not get lost.

First thing is everyone should know how to check their birds to see if they are wide in the Back all way back to the tail. The Back is mostlikely the most important part of a show bird.

My method of checking the back is simply putting one open hand under the bird from the rear and take the other open hand and run it from the shoulder all the way to the tail. This will give you an idea if you are having a dropoff in the width of the back. I have yet to see a bird with a very narrow back have a nice open tail. The balance of the width will determine several thing not just the Tail openess.


More in a little bit.

 

[snowbird]

When breeding the pinched tail out of your fowl , the wider the back on the female the quicker you can get the pinched tail gone. The male to use for correcting the pinched tail is one with good back and a big Bushy tail. Usually the first chicks from this male will be good in the t-pee tail area. In my breeding of all breeds this is what I do and have always been able to correct the pinch tail real easy. I would breed a female out of the big Bushy tail right back to her father.

Part of the story here is keep an eye on the back as it controls a lot of things that are important.

More later. This is open for anyone to comment.

 

[pinkchick]

Great stuff Don!!!!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us all.



Hi Everyone! Hope you are all doing great!

Congratulation on your hatch Keara!

 

[snowbird]

The Back also controls the width between the legs of your birds. if you do not have some nice width between the legs it will throw the entire balance of you bird off. If your birds has some good width accross the shoulders it should have good width between the legs. If you have a bird that appears to be close between the legs take your hand and check the width accross the shoulders.

I also believe the legs should come out of the carcass in the right location to give you a good balance. Different breeds are located at different locations. Just like on a Indian Runner Duck the legs have to be located as far back as possible to give you the vertical reach that is wanted.