Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[gilavina]

howdy Donna

 

[flgardengirl]

I don't have the incubator going yet. I had a breach in the pens (goats helping me get doors to stalls open when they got out), so all the hens have to be cleared again from those areas. I have some other birds picking up laying, so will be starting with those while I wait. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

Sounds like things are coming together over there! Goslings are indeed so stinking cute, I just wish I had some space for them. If I did, I'd be going straight for the toulouse!

I'll be doing some more house clearing here in the next month or so. I have some birds that will make nice layers and need to thin out some various stock, so will go to sale the second weekend of March. I believe it will help me out significantly for being able to focus more. Also getting the garden going and will be planting hopefully this weekend. Its plenty cold outside at the moment tho. Luckily I put some hooprows up to start thawing the ground.

Haha I know how that goes with the compromised pens grrr. Still mad about that EE getting into my black pen.
WHat do you know? Once I got my incubator full, then the golden cuckoos and the lemon cuckoo project Marans start laying like mad!! I was really hoping to get more of those eggs in there..

Dh and I have been sick last few days with some type of pneumonia thing that's been really going around here. My oldest son and dd had it as well. My younger son never gets sick (I mean never-ever..just like my mom and grandpa lol) so he is still lucking out so far lol. I haven't been doing too much outside with the chooks and garden lately other than the necessary stuff. I need to pot up the tomatoes and peppers badly but just don't have the energy to do it right now.

I have had some of the chickens running around in the garden all winter and haven't really had much of a winter garden this year. Last week, DH went and dug up the whole garden and added rabbit, cow, and chicken manure to everything so all the chooks are really in there digging and spreading things around. They are such good little helpers!!

I think my two sebastapol geese are both male. They are equally sexually aggressive and I haven't gotten any eggs yet and they are a year old. The lady I got them from said hers from last year are already laying. I might get them DNA sexed so I will know for sure how to proceed from here. I was really hoping I had a pair

Barngoddess: Thanks for sharing the pics. It looks like the weather in Newnan is about the same as here in NE FL today. Mild and cloudy. That little blue girl looks soooo sweet!
I feel sorry for whoever has to clean that hotel bathtub LOLOL!!! It's a good idea for a brooder though.

 

[DMRippy]

howdy Donna

 

[flgardengirl]

I worked outside in the coops and the gardens all day yesterday, planted some John Smit green tulips...I absolutely can't wait for them to come up. Set up some hoop covers over my raised beds. Remodeled one of the coops to better suit my needs for breeding. Tore one coop down, saved all the necessaries off of it and put the rest on the burn pile. Time to get things organized and spiffed up I tell ya.
Planned the chicken garden and set up to start seeds....must get this done this weekend. Never enough time!

Ohhh sounds pretty we will expect pics when they bloom!!

 

[DMRippy]

I have got to head out soon, but I got a pullet egg the other day I got a pullet egg...... it must have been the DARKEST egg I have gotten yet.

If I could just get these darker eggs to hatch as well as the others too

My Marans are trying to be broody, and the others are slacking off in the laying. I have gone from 13 eggs a day to 7-8 now. Soon I will do one more round of hard culling. My poor roo needs a break from 16 pullets LOL

Vicki I think I am going to use Erik with some of these new pullets to see what I get. Some times I look at him and all I can see are his little faults, but other time he really looks so good. It will just be a test anyway.

 

[gilavina]

Haha I know how that goes with the compromised pens grrr. Still mad about that EE getting into my black pen.
WHat do you know? Once I got my incubator full, then the golden cuckoos and the lemon cuckoo project Marans start laying like mad!! I was really hoping to get more of those eggs in there..

Dh and I have been sick last few days with some type of pneumonia thing that's been really going around here. My oldest son and dd had it as well. My younger son never gets sick (I mean never-ever..just like my mom and grandpa lol) so he is still lucking out so far lol. I haven't been doing too much outside with the chooks and garden lately other than the necessary stuff. I need to pot up the tomatoes and peppers badly but just don't have the energy to do it right now.

I have had some of the chickens running around in the garden all winter and haven't really had much of a winter garden this year. Last week, DH went and dug up the whole garden and added rabbit, cow, and chicken manure to everything so all the chooks are really in there digging and spreading things around. They are such good little helpers!!

I think my two sebastapol geese are both male. They are equally sexually aggressive and I haven't gotten any eggs yet and they are a year old. The lady I got them from said hers from last year are already laying. I might get them DNA sexed so I will know for sure how to proceed from here. I was really hoping I had a pair

Barngoddess: Thanks for sharing the pics. It looks like the weather in Newnan is about the same as here in NE FL today. Mild and cloudy. That little blue girl looks soooo sweet!
I feel sorry for whoever has to clean that hotel bathtub LOLOL!!! It's a good idea for a brooder though.

that's too bad you guys caught that bug going around. There's two or three things here and they just won't let up. I've been sick off and on for the last two months, its the same thing, get sick, get to feeling fine and then wake up one day feeling like crap all over again. Its ridiculous and annoying. Its certainly made it hard to get going on projects when all you feel like doing is sleeping. The other thing that's been really irritating is lack of appetite, I have to force myself to eat. Everyone I know that's got this same thing says their doctors all say the same things, is some super virus and they are just trying to figure out how to get it whipped. So, the usual, lots of rest, fluids and etc.

 

[gilavina]

I have got to head out soon, but I got a pullet egg the other day I got a pullet egg...... it must have been the DARKEST egg I have gotten yet.

If I could just get these darker eggs to hatch as well as the others too

My Marans are trying to be broody, and the others are slacking off in the laying. I have gone from 13 eggs a day to 7-8 now. Soon I will do one more round of hard culling. My poor roo needs a break from 16 pullets LOL

Vicki I think I am going to use Erik with some of these new pullets to see what I get. Some times I look at him and all I can see are his little faults, but other time he really looks so good. It will just be a test anyway.

good deal, look forward to seeing the chicks.

 

[flgardengirl]

Donna, Do you set your pullet eggs? I set pullet eggs all the time without any problems. The chicks are sometimes a little smaller to start but catch right up and seem to have no problems...

 

[gilavina]

Do you set your pullet eggs? I set pullet eggs all the time without any problems. The chicks are sometimes a little smaller to start but catch right up and seem to have no problems...

I set pullet eggs with no problem as well

 

[pinkchick]

I have got to head out soon, but I got a pullet egg the other day I got a pullet egg...... it must have been the DARKEST egg I have gotten yet.    If I could just get these darker eggs to hatch as well as the others too    My Marans are trying to be broody, and the others are slacking off in the laying.  I have gone from 13 eggs a day to 7-8 now.  Soon I will do one more round of hard culling.  My poor roo needs a break from 16 pullets LOL

Vicki I think I am going to use Erik with some of these new pullets to see what I get.  Some times I look at him and all I can see are his little faults, but other time he really looks so good.  It will just be a test anyway. 

What color hens are you going to test him with? Oh and where's the photo of that dark egg lady? You know better than to tease us like that.