Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Wynette]

Pink, FANTASTIC! Wow - what an odd & random thing to happen! I'm so glad you found her!

 

[austinfarm]

Could someone please tell me how old a Marans rooster needs to be to breed? I have 4 roosters and 2 pullets that are 13 weeks old. I have at least one rooster that is crowing right now. We bought them as straight run chicks and we live in town, so I have to find homes for the roosters but my husband was hoping to breed one to our Americana before we got sold all of them. I am just curious if we will have enough time before the neighbors start noticing Thanks in advance!!

Anyone??

 

[DMRippy]

Quote:
There are different opinions. You would for sure wait till their juvi molt. That will tell you more about your chickens. You would want to do a cull again after the molt. By then they should be ready to start mating. At my place I had to wait till the pullets were laying normal size eggs. Maybe 7-8 months old. Some people will not breed any chicken under a year old. For what you are wanting to do.... if he mates them he is old enough. Just try it, can't hurt.

 

[Blarneyeggs]

As much as I'd loooove to read 4000+ pages, my internet connection is quite wonky. I'm pretty new to the whole chicken keeping thing. It started out with RIRs and Production reds and then I heard about Marans. I just had to have them. I tracked down a few breeders and collected quite a few in different colors. I have whites, blue coppers, golden cuckoo and a few black coppers. After obtaining my white ones, I wondered if I could create splash by breeding the blues to them. Is this a no-no? Or not how it works? desertmarcy I've been reading some of your posts and I would totally love to come down south and pick your brain about the Marans. Will you be selling any of your Black Coppers?

Oh, I so want White Marans! Wish I could find some eggs.

 

[Blarneyeggs]

Austinfarm, I notice that my Marans Roos are 'Randy' well before their same age pullets are laying or even squatting. My 20 week old Marans Cockerel is in the layer pen and breeding some of the pullets a little lower in the pecking order, the hens are not letting him, but I think that soon will change.

If I were you, I would put the Marans Cockerel with your Ameraucana now and then look for bull's eye.

 

[Runawaylobster]

GOOD NEWS!!!!!!!! My little Birchen pullet that was missing is here and doing well, hungry and cold, but doing well.

She was under a medium to small sized rubbermaind tote that I use for putting their once a week special gruel into. It somehow fell off of the top of the old rabbit hutch where I had set it after they had eaten all their goodies stuff and rinsed out and managed to apparently fall right on top of her trapping her under it.

I didn't even think of moving it and looking under it for her.

I picked it up tonight to put their yum yums in it and SURPRISE! I think I must of jumped about 6ft when she shot out from there the second I moved it.

After my heart left my throat, I caught her and gave her the once over, she seems fine and wanted down immediately. She went directly to the food dish with the yummy gruel in it. I continued to watch her for a few minutes before coming in and when she finally finished eating she got a drink of water and then pecked her brother on the head.......me thinks this is a good sign.


Thank you everyone for the positive thoughts that she was ok........it worked, I feel so bad that she trapped for 2 days, atleast she seems ok. I will continue to watch her for the next couple of days.

that so awesome ... i bet that gave you a real freak out at first..

 

[Wynette]

There are different opinions. You would for sure wait till their juvi molt. That will tell you more about your chickens. You would want to do a cull again after the molt. By then they should be ready to start mating. At my place I had to wait till the pullets were laying normal size eggs. Maybe 7-8 months old. Some people will not breed any chicken under a year old. For what you are wanting to do.... if he mates them he is old enough. Just try it, can't hurt.

She's talking about making olive eggers, so I'm sure she doesn't care about conformation in the males.

It really depends on so many things, I am in agreement with your very last sentence! Just try, it can't hurt! Sometimes, they will get to breeding more quickly when put in with some "experienced" older hens who are more willing to breed right away. When the young females first start to get bred (in other words, when the cockerels begin to TRY), they often scream like the dickens and run the other way in terror! A seasoned hen will just squat down & spread her wings in acceptance.

 

[NJchixs]

GOOD NEWS!!!!!!!! My little Birchen pullet that was missing is here and doing well, hungry and cold, but doing well. e
She was under a medium to small sized rubbermaind tote that I use for putting their once a week special gruel into. It somehow fell off of the top of the old rabbit hutch where I had set it after they had eaten all their goodies stuff and rinsed out and managed to apparently fall right on top of her trapping her under it.

I didn't even think of moving it and looking under it for her.

I picked it up tonight to put their yum yums in it and SURPRISE! I think I must of jumped about 6ft when she shot out from there the second I moved it.
After my heart left my throat, I caught her and gave her the once over, she seems fine and wanted down immediately. She went directly to the food dish with the yummy gruel in it. I continued to watch her for a few minutes before coming in and when she finally finished eating she got a drink of water and then pecked her brother on the head.......me thinks this is a good sign.


Thank you everyone for the positive thoughts that she was ok........it worked, I feel so bad that she trapped for 2 days, atleast she seems ok. I will continue to watch her for the next couple of days.

Okay I didn't think anything like that could have happened to anyone else. I was using a heavy plastic feed style bucket as a block in the nesting boxes when the teeny boppers wouldn't stop pooping in them. I go out one morning to let them out and the head count is one short. I'm looking and looking. Nada. Go back to clean out the coop, pick up the bucket and out pops olive my blue marans. Scared the bejeezes out of me.

Anyway glad she was found safe.

 

[mountainvieworchards]

I have part of my large garden given over to growing feed for my chickens. This year I tried mangel beets, they produce excellent greens and huge beets, and the chickens eat it all. I just pull a few up each day and toss them into the pens. First they eat the greens and then they eat the root. Seed can be hard to find but try ebay. Sheep eat these too. I also seed cover crops of oats and clover after harvest and either let them into it once its 6 to 8 inches up or for breeding pens I cut the oat grass for a green feed. I have a source of whole oat feed grain that is not treated and germinates well at half the cost of forage oat seed.

 

[Zanna]

I have part of my large garden given over to growing feed for my chickens. This year I tried mangel beets, they produce excellent greens and huge beets, and the chickens eat it all. I just pull a few up each day and toss them into the pens. First they eat the greens and then they eat the root. Seed can be hard to find but try ebay. Sheep eat these too. I also seed cover crops of oats and clover after harvest and either let them into it once its 6 to 8 inches up or for breeding pens I cut the oat grass for a green feed. I have a source of whole oat feed grain that is not treated and germinates well at half the cost of forage oat seed.

OK, Give up your source neighbor