Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[pinkchick]

Not to go off current topic, but I just got some great photos of very brown underfluff on some birds that I hatched out on NYD 2012 and thought I would share some photos of 2 of the mature birds from that hatch.
Just to be clear these birds are not my birds and not from any of my birds, they were suppose to be from the same lines as my most beloved and terribly missed, Bill, but thankfully I found out that they were not from Bill's lines shortly after hatch.
I have these 2 females back right now because when I hatched them out and they started feathering in, I didn't want them. My best friend wanted them instead for their dark eggs and let me say this, these 2 lay some very nice colored eggs, though they haven't given any up since they got here a month ago. Anyway, my bestfriend asked me if I would breed them to my Blue Copper boy Lil' Bill because she would like some blues and doesn't care what the bird looks like, just wants the eggs.


#1 as a chick

Now as an adult...............
note the brown fluff, shafting and what seriously looks like LACING on the upper breast.

#2 as a chick

Now as an adult..............
note the red eye color, may not look very red in the photos but trust me her eyes pretty red, also the white feathering around the head and face. She also has brown underfluff but it is not nearly as much as the other one.

 

[snowbird]

Not to go off current topic, but I just got some great photos of very brown underfluff on some birds that I hatched out on NYD 2012 and thought I would share some photos of 2 of the mature birds from that hatch.
Just to be clear these birds are not my birds and not from any of my birds, they were suppose to be from the same lines as my most beloved and terribly missed, Bill, but thankfully I found out that they were not from Bill's lines shortly after hatch.
I have these 2 females back right now because when I hatched them out and they started feathering in, I didn't want them. My best friend wanted them instead for their dark eggs and let me say this, these 2 lay some very nice colored eggs, though they haven't given any up since they got here a month ago. Anyway, my bestfriend asked me if I would breed them to my Blue Copper boy Lil' Bill because she would like some blues and doesn't care what the bird looks like, just wants the eggs.


#1 as a chick

Now as an adult...............
note the brown fluff, shafting and what seriously looks like LACING on the upper breast.





#2 as a chick

Now as an adult..............
note the red eye color, may not look very red in the photos but trust me her eyes pretty red, also the white feathering around the head and face. She also has brown underfluff but it is not nearly as much as the other one.

Kim, I wish we knew what these were really hatched from. The one with the brown spots on the breast has some really bad shafting going on there. I believe there will be a day soon when everyone will want a closed flock as there is just so much out there that is unwanted. Thanks for posting this for us.

 

[pinkchick]

Did you notice the shafting on the wing too?
I can't believe my eyes when I look at these birds...I refer to them as the Ugly Betty's....(no offense to anyone named Betty, I am referring to that sitcom Ugly Betty when I call them that)

I got some full body shots of them but the photos stink out loud..I will try and get more. These 2 birds are VERY NARROW in the body, both have pinched tails even though you can't see it, #2 had greenish legs at hatch and now has the weirdest looking white-ish green legs. #1 I just cringe when I look at her. Both are very short in the keel and it looks absolutely ugly. Never seen such a short keel and never knew how much it affected the entire look of the bird until I looked at my birds and then compare them to the Betty's.

Also.....what is your take on the what looks like lacing? This is definitely not just edging...see how thick the lace is on the outer edge of the feather?

I sure don't know what is in them but I am very glad they are under lock and key here in the coop called Ft. Knox and I am very glad none of the offspring will be staying here.


Gotta work on getting photos of that Splash Copper gal I got back. I think you will like her.

 

[Runawaylobster]

Did you notice the shafting on the wing too?
I can't believe my eyes when I look at these birds...I refer to them as the Ugly Betty's....(no offense to anyone named Betty, I am referring to that sitcom Ugly Betty when I call them that)

I got some full body shots of them but the photos stink out loud..I will try and get more. These 2 birds are VERY NARROW in the body, both have pinched tails even though you can't see it, #2 had greenish legs at hatch and now has the weirdest looking white-ish green legs. #1 I just cringe when I look at her. Both are very short in the keel and it looks absolutely ugly. Never seen such a short keel and never knew how much it affected the entire look of the bird until I looked at my birds and then compare them to the Betty's.

Also.....what is your take on the what looks like lacing? This is definitely not just edging...see how thick the lace is on the outer edge of the feather?

I sure don't know what is in them but I am very glad they are under lock and key here in the coop called Ft. Knox and I am very glad none of the offspring will be staying here.


Gotta work on getting photos of that Splash Copper gal I got back. I think you will like her.

despite the faults, it is amazing to me how different the baby pic is of #2 to the grown up pic... totally weird..

 

[pinkchick]

despite the faults, it is amazing to me how different the baby pic is of #2 to the grown up pic...   totally weird..

Yes, totally weird huh? I have watched her grow out and I was just as shocked to see how she turned out too. I was expecting her to be more colored like her sister. Just goes to show us that we really have no idea what is in some so called Marans lines. I am very glad I didn't keep anything out of that hatch. I shudder to think what I might have introduced into my birds. Bestfriend knows that I disagree with breeding them but they are her birds and she only cares about the egg color.


Working on an updated photo of one of the cockerels that hatched out of that batch as well. Have no clue what he is but he certainly isn't a BCM.

 

[Chickengirl1304]

Are black copper Marans auto sexing?

 

[pinkchick]

Are black copper Marans auto sexing?

Auto sexing and sex linked I believe are 2 different things.
I might be totally off and hope someone corrects me if I am wrong, but to my knowledge, no Black Copper Marans are not auto sexing, but they can be used to make sex linked chicks if they were bred to a barred bird.

The only varieties of Marans that are sexable naturally at hatch are Cuckoo. The Wheatens can also be sexed at a very early age, but not at hatch. It takes about a week to 10 days to see the color differences in the Wheatens males and females.

 

[BroosterSpringsteen]

I posted about a week ago confused about the breeds of some chicks I had just hatched. Well, now their feathers are coming in, and I'm more confused. The eggs I ordered were BCM, Golden Cuckoo Marans, and White Marans. He also threw in some extras. It has occurred to me the extras could have been other colors. He didn't label any of the eggs. The colors he raises are Black Copper, Blue Copper, White, Splash, Wheaton, Blue Wheaton, Blue, Cuckoo, and Golden Cuckoo.
The 2 chicks with dots on their heads now have barring. I'm assuming they're Cuckoo Marans? Any guesses on gender? Both dots were iffy...not too big or splotchy, but not that small either. Right now I'm guessing they're both boys:



This chick is the only one I thought was Golden Cuckoo Marans, but now that it's getting wing feathers, I'm not sure. I don't see any barring. It's just solid brown. Maybe a BCM? While we're at it, any guesses on gender? The chick already has a pretty long tail and thinner legs, but there's a hint of a comb too.

 

[pinkchick]

I posted about a week ago confused about the breeds of some chicks I had just hatched. Well, now their feathers are coming in, and I'm more confused. The eggs I ordered were BCM, Golden Cuckoo Marans, and White Marans. He also threw in some extras. It has occurred to me the extras could have been other colors. He didn't label any of the eggs. The colors he raises are Black Copper, Blue Copper, White, Splash, Wheaton, Blue Wheaton, Blue, Cuckoo, and Golden Cuckoo. The 2 chicks with dots on their heads now have barring. I'm assuming they're Cuckoo Marans? Any guesses on gender? Both dots were iffy...not too big or splotchy, but not that small either. Right now I'm guessing they're both boys: This chick is the only one I thought was Golden Cuckoo Marans, but now that it's getting wing feathers, I'm not sure. I don't see any barring. It's just solid brown. Maybe a BCM? While we're at it, any guesses on gender? The chick already has a pretty long tail and thinner legs, but there's a hint of a comb too.

Yes the first 2 chicks are Cuckoo, I think the one on the left is a pullet and possibly the other is a cockerel. I would say that the other chick is a cross of 2 different varieties of Marans maybe Black Copper and Wheatens, but I could be totally wrong. I also think it is a pullet.

 

[BroosterSpringsteen]

Yes the first 2 chicks are Cuckoo, I think the one on the left is a pullet and possibly the other is a cockerel. I would say that the other chick is a cross of 2 different varieties of Marans maybe Black Copper and Wheatens, but I could be totally wrong. I also think it is a pullet.

Hmm. Ok, that is helpful. It did occur to me that it could be a mix of colors. I also wasn't sure about the gender. The two you think are pullets are feathering in really quickly, so my fingers are crossed.