Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[snowbird]

Quote:
Don,
I am going to show my ignorance & go ahead an ask what this "single mating" you talk about is? I am assuming that it is when you put one particular rooster with one particular hen & keep good records on exactly what they produce together. There being no chance that any other birds were involved. Correct???????????? If not please explain.
Thanks
Karen in Turlock California

Yes, you are right and double mating is where we make a mating for female and another for male chicks to be aiming at the SOP. With any parti colored fowl you will usually get better SOP male and female if you double mate. Don

 

[Hens and Roos]

Quote:
Don,
I am going to show my ignorance & go ahead an ask what this "single mating" you talk about is? I am assuming that it is when you put one particular rooster with one particular hen & keep good records on exactly what they produce together. There being no chance that any other birds were involved. Correct???????????? If not please explain.
Thanks
Karen in Turlock California

Yes, you are right and double mating is where we make a mating for female and another for male chicks to be aiming at the SOP. With any parti colored fowl you will usually get better SOP male and female if you double mate. Don

Can you explain the double mating in a bit more detail?

Have a good time in Ohio, Don!

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
Yes, you are right and double mating is where we make a mating for female and another for male chicks to be aiming at the SOP. With any parti colored fowl you will usually get better SOP male and female if you double mate. Don

Can you explain the double mating in a bit more detail?

Have a good time in Ohio, Don!

In double mating you are basically doing a single mating that will produce the best female and a single mating that will produce a good male. What we are doing is using averages with parti-colored fowl, in females you will do better with the males that have plenty of copper on the breast over most any of the female except the overly Copper neck females. For the Male mating if you have the heavy copper neck female use a male with very little copper on the breast. It is always trying to average out the color. As always if we do not have good type" broad chest, wide back and long, legs set wide and balanced , the color will not be very important without TYPE.

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
Kim, In my early years with chickens it was always taught to me right or wrong that the super chickens we produced was not the valuable bird, it was the pair that produced the good bird that was valuable. If you have the mother and father you can possibly reproduce that super bird. Now you can take pullets out of a proven mating and breed them in one pen to their father or uncle and possible produce some really good birds. Don

So in essence..... it can be beneficial to step out side of the box, yes?

Kim, I would be the first to say that I love the type of your Marans, as always we must use what we have available. Don

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
Debbi, I have my Camera packed and ready to go, The only drawback is I am on dialup and may to put the pics on my photobucket account and go somewhere and upload them to photobucket. We will see. Don

 

[Organics North]

OK,
We have not had pics for a bit..
I have posted this guy a few months back. Now he is 6 months old.

I do not know what color egg he came from. The pullets are laying 4's, 5's and 6's at best. So I assume he came from the same range. He is light blue his neck hackle feathers are blue not shiny black, so I assume he has some copper hiding.
Give me your thoughts! (Cull? or breed)
I will use him know, but thinking of ordering more eggs/chicks and not trying to get rid of the copper and work more with blue and black copper birds... Get my own breeding program going with better egg color then work on pure BB/S if so inclined in the future..

He has no white it is just glare from the flash..

 

[shesaredroan]

ON,
Is the girl in the 2nd pic, lower right.........the same hen in the 1st pic, on the left?
I wish I had a flock like yours in my yard!!!

 

[Organics North]

No
First pic left is one of the Marans hens
Second pic right is on of the Ameraucana hens

Here is a better shot of one of the Marans hens. (Not one that I plan to breed, she is clean legged, and I think her comb is a little big.) A pretty girl regardless though.

thanks

ON

 

[flgardengirl]

I like your blue hen. She looks full bodied and has good coloring and lacing on her feathers. It is okay for her comb to be large and flopped over in the back if she is a laying aged hen.
Leg feathers are easy to fix.

 

[The Point]

I am headed down to The Ohio National too! Got my camera, hope to see you down there Don