Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[xlboergoats]

I need another mentor! Anyone live in the central Texas area (Bryan, specifically)? My friend Jan, who helps me out soooo much with my birds is a two hour drive away, and she can't ever come here. She just gave me another 15 wheaton Marans hens!! Yay! But I really need someone who can help me sort my birds for type. I can look for feathered legs, dark eggs, and upright combs, but otherwise, I'm at a loss. I don't show (as yet) but believe if I'm going to be breeding, it should be toward the breed standard. Soooo.... anyone out there that can come help me prioritize the best to the worst? I have wheatens, blacks, black coppers, blues, blue coppers, splash, cuckoo, and golden cuckoo Marans.

I'd like to know what parts, of which hens, are good. Also, I have a few roosters of each variety, and would like to know how they stack up against each other. What things I am and am not tryign to breed for, etc. Anyone?

There is going to be a show in San Marcos on April 13. I am not sure how close that is to you, but it may be worth the drive to see a collection of birds and see how the judges place them.

Ernie

 

[pinkchick]

Sad news today...... My Blue Copper Roo Died he was yous Pink I don't know for sure but I think it was his heart. His comb had curled sideways and turned purple and had been for a couple of weeks I think. I removed him from the breeding pen and he seemed to be eating and drinking fine. I wormed him and gave him some antibiotics. He didn't seem any worse yesterday. Still alert and active and eating. I do have that younger Blue Roo that looks so much like him. I also have another younger Blue roo that I will hold onto to see how he turns out after a molt. Both look like their dad. I am also keep all the little roos I hatched from the other blue copper roo that died. I have culled a couple from my last hatch from him. Good news is NOW is the time to use Erik. Erik Vicki helped me pick. I have been using him in other projects because I didn't want to breed him to his sisters. This pen is full of his nieces so I feel better using him. When I see him in the pen he is SOOOO much bigger than the other 2 blue roos. He is going to give me some good size to next years crop. Wish me luck.... I am going to thin his pen down, I don't want to kill him by having him cover too many girls. This is Erik, he has a much better tail and is much bigger now.

Stink out loud! I am sorry to hear that Donna. How old was he and the other one that died? Gnarles was 2 when he died too. I suspect it was a heart attack, but he did not have a blue comb. You know, this is something Geebs and I talk about everytime we talked, Marans roosters and heart attacks.

 

[Raven1]

So Sorry Donna!

 

[DMRippy]

Stink out loud! I am sorry to hear that Donna. How old was he and the other one that died? Gnarles was 2 when he died too. I suspect it was a heart attack, but he did not have a blue comb.
You know, this is something Geebs and I talk about everytime we talked, Marans roosters and heart attacks.

They were surely close to 2. This is my second year with chickens and Becky pawned them off on me very early

The one was several months old, maybe 4-5 when I got the first roo and that was early summer of the first year, both were the same age.

Becky, can you shed some light on the age? I am guessing about 20-22 months old.

 

[flgardengirl]

So sorry to hear about your boy. I hope the other roo works out for you.
Once they start getting sick sometimes they get electrolyte imbalances from not eating or drinking enough and can have a heart attack. Other health issues can also cause imbalances. Either that, or they get dizzy and fall off their perches and break their necks. I have seen it happen.

I have had a scare with my solid black rooster the past week. He started going downhill. Initially, couldn't find a thing wrong with him. They had been totally wormed about a month ago (wazine then the valbazen etc), no visibile injuries. He quit eating, drinking and started to go down fast. I put him in the house and looked at him really good. I looked at his back end and saw that the oil gland seemed to be very enlarged. Seems like the girls picked his feathers and there and it got infected. Plus he was acting like his neck hurt and was holding his head down close to his body and not extending it much. I am thinking he must have taken a fall off the perch. I put him on some antibiotics and washed his tail and sprayed it good with blue kote, then triple antibiotic. He seems so much better now and yesterday was crowing in the house for the first time. I am keeping him in sick bay outside for a few more weeks until he tail feathers are grown back pretty good. Then maybe he can go back with the girls.

On the happy side, it looks like I might have 2 little solid black roos (if the feather sexing works) and 1 black pullet from the 3 black eggs that hatched

I really wanted some black roos!

 

[gilavina]

So sorry to hear about your boy. I hope the other roo works out for you.
Once they start getting sick sometimes they get electrolyte imbalances from not eating or drinking enough and can have a heart attack. Other health issues can also cause imbalances. Either that, or they get dizzy and fall off their perches and break their necks. I have seen it happen.

I have had a scare with my solid black rooster the past week. He started going downhill. Initially, couldn't find a thing wrong with him. They had been totally wormed about a month ago (wazine then the valbazen etc), no visibile injuries. He quit eating, drinking and started to go down fast. I put him in the house and looked at him really good. I looked at his back end and saw that the oil gland seemed to be very enlarged. Seems like the girls picked his feathers and there and it got infected. Plus he was acting like his neck hurt and was holding his head down close to his body and not extending it much. I am thinking he must have taken a fall off the perch. I put him on some antibiotics and washed his tail and sprayed it good with blue kote, then triple antibiotic. He seems so much better now and yesterday was crowing in the house for the first time. I am keeping him in sick bay outside for a few more weeks until he tail feathers are grown back pretty good. Then maybe he can go back with the girls.

On the happy side, it looks like I might have 2 little solid black roos (if the feather sexing works) and 1 black pullet from the 3 black eggs that hatched

I really wanted some black roos!

Ditto on the bolded! haha

Sounds like you are on your way with the hatching! I started collecting this week, so will hopefully get the incubator filled sometime next week or the week after, depending on how the girls in the pens that are ready are going with laying. Still waiting on clearing from a few pens, but have begun collecting from the Silvers! They are in the light egg cycle part right now, but hope they darken up soon.

 

[GeoKan]

Stink out loud! I am sorry to hear that Donna. How old was he and the other one that died? Gnarles was 2 when he died too. I suspect it was a heart attack, but he did not have a blue comb.
You know, this is something Geebs and I talk about everytime we talked, Marans roosters and heart attacks.

Sorry to hear about the loss Donna.

I had a really big boy that died last year. I found him face first in the coop. He appeared very healthy and lively at the time. I'm pretty sure he died of heart failure. It's the only thing I could think of. His comb was purplish when I found him. He was close to being 2-years old. That was a very sad day for me. He really wasn't breed worthy, but gosh, he was so huge and I think the size was too much for him to handle. He was mostly our pet roo.

 

[Irishgirl]

Wow, I didn't know roos had heart attacks that frequently! Sorry for your loss Donna.

I just lost a young roo myself.

 

[Raven1]

They were surely close to 2.  This is my second year with chickens and Becky pawned them off on me very early   The one was several months old, maybe 4-5 when I got the first roo and that was early summer of the first year, both were the same age.  

Becky, can you shed some light on the age?  I am guessing about 20-22 months old.

First I did not "pawn them off on you" I generously enhanced your breeding program!!
Yes I would say right at 2 years old.

 

[Wynette]