Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Frost Homestead]

Question on Blue Splash Marans?
Mary got 6 chicks 3 are white with the blue spots but 3 are a dark blue looking, is this normal?
1st time with the splash birds so we were just wondering about the coloration differences and also about sexing at a young age with them.

A quick pic of the splashes in with her WFBS chicks



You can see in order and in line at the back of the bunch a blue a white a blue a white and a blue.

the white/silver-ish ones are splash, the others look like blues

 

[Simeo]

We just got 4 BCM chicks. They're about 1 week old and they're all starting to feather.... they all also have small combs coming through. Please tell me this happens in both pullets and cocks. I have some wyandotte chicks which were sexed as pullets, they're 3 weeks old and don't have their combs yet. Is this just a BCM thing?

Wyandottes have different comb types than BCM,,,, probably the difference you're seeing.

Ok so combs at 1 week have nothing to do with the sex of our chicks. I didn't think about it but I did see the comb difference on the mature Wyandottes and BCMs. At what age will I be able to tell the sex of marans? What signs should I look for?

 

[Keara]

Ok so combs at 1 week have nothing to do with the sex of our chicks. I didn't think about it but I did see the comb difference on the mature Wyandottes and BCMs. At what age will I be able to tell the sex of marans? What signs should I look for?

Often at about 3-6 weeks the combs on the males will be noticeably bigger and the legs thicker. But you cannot assume that is always the case.

 

[Simeo]

Often at about 3-6 weeks the combs on the males will be noticeably bigger and the legs thicker. But you cannot assume that is always the case.

Alright so I have a couple weeks to go before I could tell. They're so sweet compared to our other chicks. Very very calm. Thank you.

 

[DMRippy]

I can spot the roos almost at hatch. The combs are just bigger on the roos. Not 100% but I can tell a good chunk of the time the roos early.

 

[Keara]

So I am raising up some Marans chicks and want to cull soon for size. At what age do you all cull chicks for getting the largest Adult birds? Does Chick size correspond closely to Adult size? Right now, at 2wks old, the chicks that came from the larger eggs are still larger than the ones that came from the smaller eggs, so I don't want to cull too soon.

-Keara

 

[Simeo]

I can spot the roos almost at hatch. The combs are just bigger on the roos. Not 100% but I can tell a good chunk of the time the roos early.

Well from what you said, only one of the chicks has a larger comb than the others. It was also the first one to hatch about 2 days before the others. That one 'might' be a roo. We'll see. Thank you for the help

 

[maryhysong]

So I am raising up some Marans chicks and want to cull soon for size. At what age do you all cull chicks for getting the largest Adult birds? Does Chick size correspond closely to Adult size? Right now, at 2wks old, the chicks that came from the larger eggs are still larger than the ones that came from the smaller eggs, so I don't want to cull too soon.

-Keara

I wouldn't hold it against them if they hatched from smaller eggs, it might take a bit for them to catch up to the others that had that advantage. for myself, I have chicks that were shipped and had a near death experience at the hands of the PO. Only 5 out of 20 survived. These birds are smaller overall than the ones I hatched and the ones that I bought as day olds. I will not hold their slightly smaller size against them when I am culling, as I feel their size is directly related to the poor start they had.

I have also noticed that the roos seem to grow twice as fast as the girls, so I wouldn't want to cull too soon, you might toss all your girls.

 

[Keara]

Maryhysong, thanks for your reply!

I am actually only interested in a Cockerels from these chicks.... to replace a backup rooster I lost to a weasel. I know, from experiance, that at 4 wks I can tell the boys from the girls, (already have homes for any pullets in this hatch). What I need to know from the longtime breeders out there is.... at what age is chick size comparable to adult bird size? Or is it ever?

In addition to my most recent incubator hatching; I have 3 cockerels and a pullet in a neighbors cow barn, being raised by a broody hen. At 4wks one cockerel is noticable smaller, in fact we thought he might be a pullet but the comb gives him away. Will this cockerel always be smaller should I cull him and grow out just the larger two?

-Keara

 

[Garrisonkidsduo2]

Maryhysong, thanks for your reply!

I am actually only interested in a Cockerels from these chicks.... to replace a backup rooster I lost to a weasel. I know, from experiance, that at 4 wks I can tell the boys from the girls, (already have homes for any pullets in this hatch). What I need to know from the longtime breeders out there is.... at what age is chick size comparable to adult bird size? Or is it ever?

In addition to my most recent incubator hatching; I have 3 cockerels and a pullet in a neighbors cow barn, being raised by a broody hen. At 4wks one cockerel is noticable smaller, in fact we thought he might be a pullet but the comb gives him away. Will this cockerel always be smaller should I cull him and grow out just the larger two?

-Keara

When we have extra Roosters if there is one that is being picked on yes it will be smaller then the rest but we separate ours into cages and feed them fresh greens and bird grower and they normal caught back up and turn out to be nice size birds, and them we kill and eat them if we don't plan on keeping them. I hate to cull any chicks unless there is something wrong with them and it is health wise, most of the time I will try and fix the bird because in the end it can still be a meal for me and my husband and kids. Just try and put him separate and feed him for a bit. If he turns around and turns out to be a good Roost there will be a little tension when putting him in with the flock but it is just the pecking order.