Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[sewchick]

Quote:
Well, as usual, you've got a nicely colored cockerel and purely black (no coppering at all) pullets. Don't worry about that though. I honestly think Black Coppers are just the kind that need to be double mated.

Otherwise, they're pretty young to judge. Pretty nice combs coming in, good tail and body so far. . . Otherwise they're still young, but nice.

Yeah they were hatched out on august 5th. A couple of them do have some copper on the necks but not very much. There is a little there. I probably with time go for the standard. I don't know what line I have. Once they are mature I will take better pictures. Maybe by spring they will look better. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Organics North]

In my novice eye they look nice for their age... Can not wait to see the egg color!

mathace.. Isn't that the truth! You tell the kids yuck you will not like it and then it is their favorite thing.......I need to try that with the dinner I want them to eat and they won't...

Pink and everyone else... You are always welcome here for a warm meal on a cold winters night..

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Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!

Well I am pretty upset. It looks like none of my Marans will be good enough for breeding. I was hoping one of my roos would be usable, but everyday I am seeing more white in his tail. I have five pullets that are supposed be from Bev Davis lines. They are pretty birds at three months. Three of the pullets have yellow in their legs. Would I be able to use the two with correct color legs? They all have the same father. Would it be better to just start over? I will be getting some hatching eggs from some of you on this thread hopefully. I see how this can be a frustrating breed. I guess I will have better luck next year.

This is the very reason why I appreciate the honest feedback and high "snob" standards of many of the folks on this thread. I am sorry you are disappointed... I hope you were not led on by the seller... Take solstice in the fact that this breed is anything but finished and "boring" Lots of work to be done yet! IMO that IS the fun part!!!!

ON​

 

[3riverschick]

Hi,
I am slowly learning what is needed to breed Golden Salmon Marans. Not an easy process.
Have been reading the thread in pages 296 thru 298 with interest. Some additional clarification
as to why David ascertained the chick as eb. Compare the chipmunk chick in post #2951 on
page 296 with the pic of the chipmunk chick in post #2973 page 298. The head of the
#2951 eb chick is characterized by a brown helmet. See how the head stripe spreads out
across the top of the skull and has vague, uneven borders? The e+ Salmon has a very distinct,
sharply defined dorsal head stripe. It is definitive for e+ Salmon. See the difference? The head stripe
should come up over the top of the skull in a distinct stripe, not spread across it like a helmet as it
nears the front of the skull.
Another comment, the head stripe should not be finely outlined in white as that bespeaks the Co gene.
So this #2973 chick is e+/eb. It will not feather out correctly, but it's feather deveopment should be
photographed as a visual lesson of what to look for in the future.
Best Regards,
Karen Tewart
western PA, USA
Waterford French Marans

 

[3riverschick]

poularde wrote:
Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!

Well I am pretty upset. It looks like none of my Marans will be good enough for breeding.
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Oh, don't be upset. You have a lovely laying flock with great eggs for the family and to share with neighbors. As for the show flock, well the timing of your "dissappointment" is pretty good. Get rid of everything that's not going in your laying flock. Now the huge BC meet is in Feb. Start an account for purchase of a new quad of birds(two cocks and 2 hens). If you need a new coop, you have time to build it. Time to study all the strains and colors. Chose your favs and root for them at the show. Watch who wins and buy from them. Buy started birds which have already be approved by the seller. Or birds which are still fertile but not being used by the seller any more. March-hatched chicks are best if you want winter layers. They are also hatched at a time when they will grow well in the Spring and Summer warmth and greeness. Plus they will be old enough to show at the Columbus National in Nov. 2011.
Cheer up! Next season is just around the corner.
Happy Holidays,
Karen Tewart.

 

[onthespot]

I started a new thread to talk about bantam marans, or dwarf, or small or what have you. I think any discussion here would be buried within minutes and hard to keep track of. If any of you have hatched out "small" marans, please feel free to post pics and share any info!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=5192922#p5192922

 

[Debbi]

onthespot ~ Do you have Bantam Marans??

 

[onthespot]

Not sure what I have. They are small. Their parents are full sized. They were in the same pen with birds that grew full sized on the same feed, light, space, time as this pair. Their parents were my Wade Gene/Ron Presley pen, big ol gentle roo and (of course) my one brown butted mossy hen. Gah!!!

 

[VillageChicken]

Quote:
If they all had the same father, they could carry a yellow "w" gene under the dominant white "W" gene. They will pass these on to their offspring, and will produce yellow leg chicks if mated to another carrier of yellow. You could grow them out, test mate them to a yellow leg rooster (pretty much any yellow shanked roo would work) and if they produce only white shanked offspring, they should be fine. I think you would need to hatch more than just a few to be sure though.

 

[Keara]

So..... one of my BCM hens has big fat RED comb and wattles, my BCM roo is mounting her, but I am finding no eggs! Do I need to start a 24-hr surveillance to find if she is hiding my dark eggs, or is it possible she is not yet laying eggs?

 

[Debbi]

Good mornin' all!


Keara ~ You didn't say how old they are, but my cockerel started mounting one of the pullets about a month before I got my first egg. Since then I've gotten 4 eggs, then the really cold weather hit, and I haven't had an egg in two days. My first egg came when the pullet was 5 months, and 3 days old. The roo is really mounting all three of them now, so I expect more eggs to come!

Watch your pullet, if she starts checking out nest boxes or corners of the coop, she should start laying any day, good luck!