Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[gilavina]

got it -- thank you! i'll keep an eye on them as they keep developing... and is there a particular age when one can often tell marans' genders, or does it vary too much to say? (my only other marans are two cuckoos, they were easy!)

Consistency with Marans is not there so much yet, so things can vary from one person's pens to another. Here I can usually tell very early on, and only occasionally will one surprise me. Its really just a matter of getting to know one's stock and how they develop.

 

[lawatt]

Consistency with Marans is not there so much yet, so things can vary from one person's pens to another. Here I can usually tell very early on, and only occasionally will one surprise me. Its really just a matter of getting to know one's stock and how they develop.

thank you -- and in case of interest, i got some more photos of them just now -- starting to see what you mean by the reddish/brownish flecks, and also seeing them this "close up" makes it easier to start to perhaps see some differences besides wing feather length? they hatched on May 24, so are nearly 3 weeks old now:



standing together



shorter wing feathers




longer wing feathers



short on left, long on right

 

[Chickenman76]

I've got a mahogany male that I'm going to be using soon. A longtime, successful Marans breeder once said to me, "Say if you are mixing paint and yellow and red and brown (mahogany) make copper, if you keep taking out the mahogany eventually you end up with just yellow....straw. You just can't base a color as delicate as red/brown on one uniform cock bird or hen color. That is why things start going wrong after three or four generations. "

Here's a (really bad) picture of the male I will soon be using. He actually has excellent type and is quite large, it's a horrible pic, but you can see how dark he is in this picture:

Would this Roo be a candidate for the Mahogany color?

 

[SIMZ]

Does this young guy fall under the "straw" hackles category? Today is butcher day and I'm wondering if he has any redeeming qualities besides being a real sweetie. I'm trying to "cull hard" this year without letting emotions get the best of me.

Thanks!

He's about 10-12 weeks.

 

[snowbird]

Does this young guy fall under the "straw" hackles category? Today is butcher day and I'm wondering if he has any redeeming qualities besides being a real sweetie. I'm trying to "cull hard" this year without letting emotions get the best of me.

Thanks!

He's about 10-12 weeks.

This is not straw Hackle. This is just a lighter copper color and I would not have a problem using him if all else is right.

 

[snowbird]

Would this Roo be a candidate for the Mahogany color?

The male does not have enough color to say what color he is or supposed to be . For SOP breeding would not breed this male. For egg layer there would not be a problem.

 

[SIMZ]

This is not straw Hackle. This is just a lighter copper color and I would not have a problem using him if all else is right.

Thanks, Don. He has a problem with a bit of color on his chest, but not much. His body type seems to be longer than another male that I have. I've noticed I tend to like a body type that isn't quite what it should be. Do you see any red flags with his type?

 

[snowbird]

Thanks, Don. He has a problem with a bit of color on his chest, but not much. His body type seems to be longer than another male that I have. I've noticed I tend to like a body type that isn't quite what it should be. Do you see any red flags with his type?

The only thing I see is not much Shank feathering and I like the darker color shank.

 

[Wynette]

Would this Roo be a candidate for the Mahogany color?

This male is extremely dark...plus, I do not see any shank feathering (though the angles not great) - but what I see right off the bat is squirrel tail. This male should not be used for breeding. Sorry!

 

[desertmarcy]

Eye color can change at any time, I have seen them change up to 9-12 months old. Just let nature take its course.

All other things being equal, I have been culling for eye color much sooner than that, mostly because of space and feed/money considerations, can't grow them all out for 9-12 months. Do you think that over time I'd be then selecting for eye color that changes in a younger bird?