Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Blue Roo]

Yes my pen looks like they had a plucking party

 

[ladycat]

Hello glad the marans thread started again got a question my blue marans are going through a molting stage is there anything I can give them to help them through it so I can get them back to laying

You can give them extra protein, like mix some dry cat food in with their regular food.

. Can anyone tell me if this is a marans chick it was hatched by a marans hen but it don't really look marans to me

That looks just like the 2 black chicks I got in my Marans order from Cedar Creek Hatchery.

 

[Blue Roo]

I have two of these chicks a hen hatched three but one died they don't look anything like the marans chicks that I hatched in my bater so I guess I'll just haft to wait and see what they turn into they have a spot of copper on top of there head they have had it since they were born all pictures I've seen of marans chicks none of them have copper on them when they hatch

 

[DMRippy]

Hello glad the marans thread started again got a question my blue marans are going through a molting stage is there anything I can give them to help them through it so I can get them back to laying

You can give them extra protein, like mix some dry cat food in with their regular food.

. Can anyone tell me if this is a marans chick it was hatched by a marans hen but it don't really look marans to me

That looks just like the 2 black chicks I got in my Marans order from Cedar Creek Hatchery.

it is mossy and most would not breed a mossy chick. the rumor is they lay the darkest eggs if that helps....You might get some nice eggs.

 

[Blue Roo]

Ok thanks for the info

 

[Runawaylobster]

These are my Marans I ordered from Cedar Creek. They are now 3 weeks old. I ordered 10 Black Tail Buff and 5 Silver Cuckoo, but that isn't quite what I got.

I'm pretty sure there are some wheatons in there, and 2 black something that look like Marans but are not black coppers.

These are not the best pictures. I had my brother take them with his phone. Can I get some opinions about whether I really do have some wheatons? And do any look like BT Buffs?

BTB looks alot like wheaten when they are little, (and some try to look like wheaten when they are older). Your wheatens
will get white leg feathers (if you have any), and the BTB will have brown/caramel leg feathers. on some of the ones i got this was the only way to tell them from wheaten, which is of course incorrect coloring, but in my case i was warned ahead of time by my source that his BTB was a work in progress.

 

[LVMet]

Hi all.  It's been a while since I've posted anything about my dear chickens.  I believe a racoon broke the door to the coop and had gotten in and killed my beautiful Marans.  I had a lavender and a handsome rooster along with my other hens and it was so devistating to find them that morning.  I've fixed the coop and it's now stronger and ready for me to start another flock.  I also have a dog that's out and roams our property and is pretty good at protecting our property.  Any one know of a breeder in the Central Florida area that may have Maran chicks or pullets???  I'd appreciate it.

Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[pinkchick]

Can anyone help me identify my Marans rooster color and type. He was bought from a breeder who sold him as a blue copper Marans. His color is wrong for that, but I am wondering if he is another type altogether... maybe a blue wheaten Marans or a blue birchen Marans?? Can he be responsibly bred with a blue copper female to produce babies, if so what would their offspring be?? All information about him is greatly appreciated. Below are some pictures of him now at about 22 weeks and some from about a month and a half ago below those. I think he is gorgeous and he is super sweet. Thank you.

He is a mix of Black Copper and Blue Birchen Marans. The red on his shoulders tells us that he has both silver and red genetics. The silver on him tells us that he is a Birchen. He will not breed true if he is bred over Black Coppers or Birchens. What he will produce is a lot of work in making either variety correct, but for a pretty bird running around in the chicken yard.....he's great!

 

[pinkchick]

Hello! I was wondering if I could please have my young cockerels critiqued? I have two I kept from a very large batch and as I am still relatively new to breed standards of perfection, could someone more experienced please take a look and point out their flaws for me? It will help me improve my flock and help me learn! I would also like to know if these two are worth keeping and breeding. I am hoping I did alright in selecting them as the best of the bunch. These cockerels are about 5 months old now, and both are black copper. Their shank feathering could be thicker, but they do have feathers along the sides of their legs uniformly. I've thoroughly checked their wings and tails and they do not have any white feathers in there. They also have no side sprigs on their combs. Boy 2 is heavier and taller than boy 1, but boy 1 is wider in the chest. Boy 1 also appears to be a shade darker than Boy 2. Sorry for the low quality pictures, these guys were very shy of my cameraphone and wouldn't stop moving around. Here is cockerel #1 (click to view larger size!): And this is boy #2: Specifically I'd like to know if they look like they'd be good for breeding, one of the other, both, or neither. Also it would be really helpful if people could point out their flaws so I can improve my knowledge. Thank you for reading!!

Roo #1 is the better roo in my opinion. He has a nice back and tail set and looks proportionate in all the right places. His leg coloring could be a bit darker, but you can work on that in later offspring. Roo#2, IMO, from what I can see on my monitor, he has too much color or brownish coloring on his lower body and it should be black. Also, he has shafting on the breast, which is not wanted in Marans for breeding quality birds or show birds. Shafting will breed forward and is IMO, indicative of Wheaten genetics in the birds parental lineage.

 

[ladycat]

Your wheatens
will get white leg feathers (if you have any), and the BTB will have brown/caramel leg feathers.

Thanks for that piece of information!