Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[flgardengirl]

haha the chicks sound like they are doing really well! And great job camoflaging the pens!

The exotic sale is animals, small livestock like goats, etc. But about 95% of the sale is poultry, pheasants, geese, ducks, guineas,peafowl, pigeons, doves, quail, and occasionally people bring in totally different things you don't see often, like chipmunks, and other rare animals. They also have caged birds, like parakeets, etc, poultry hatching eggs, chicks, ducklings, supplies,incubators, cages, etc.

I don't enjoy building all that much either mostly because I don't ever have too much time off in one lump sum, but what I was thinking was to get all the materials on hand that I need and premeasure and cut them, and assemble what I can, then get help with the parts that takes two people, then finish them off myself. I don't think it would take too much time at all to get the bulk of them done. I'm having problems already with the neighbor again treating us like this is a petting zoo and bringing over strange people and lifting kids over the fence to see the goats, and etc. I will not be held responsible for any injury, whether its from the goats or them dropping the kids. They are trespassing and this is after having a conversation that made it beyond clear. I also had to make it clear that it is never ok to tease and taunt the animals whatsoever. This is the same neighbor that's just come over and cut random limbs off of trees, just to assert some sort of dimented authority over the property.I feel if its already starting and its still cold out, I want them built asap. I have a neighbor to the south that is having the same types of problems, so we work together on stuff. He runs a landscaping business and said he'd come up when the ground was dried out from the rain and snow and grade the land to prep for building with his bobcat. I also have another neighbor that hauls rock and am planning on asking if he could drop a load of river rock or larger gravel up on the drive and see if my other neighbor will haul it down with the bobcat. Then I want the pens built along the fenceline on the two side the neighbor has access to and will be a nice barrier that is 6' and with a dark screened back that will give privacy to the animals and us. Its getting so bad,that something just needs to be done. Plus, if the bonus is that I have some awesome new pens, then Fantastic!

The exotics animal show sounds so awesome. Hmmm what will Vicki be bringing home?
I still want to get goats. I was going to get some Nubians last spring but when we went to go look at them, it was obvious they weren't pure Nubians which is what they advertised. Are any of your goats having babies this spring? I would also like to get some pheasant eggs and not tell dh what they are. I will tell him they are chicken eggs and see just how long it takes for him to figure it out LOL!

 

[gilavina]

The exotics animal show sounds so awesome. Hmmm what will Vicki be bringing home?
I still want to get goats. I was going to get some Nubians last spring but when we went to go look at them, it was obvious they weren't pure Nubians which is what they advertised. Are any of your goats having babies this spring? I would also like to get some pheasant eggs and not tell dh what they are. I will tell him they are chicken eggs and see just how long it takes for him to figure it out LOL!

haha you are so ornery! But that would be pretty funny to see how long it would take for him to figure it out.
I do have at least one doe bred, possibly two, but am not certain on the second. I lost my buck to a freak accident a couple of weeks ago and am still bummed out about it. Somehow the doe in with him must have tried jumping over him in the hut and miscalculated or something and broke his neck. In all my years raising goats, never seen that happen before. I do have a back up buck to be able to use on two of the does, but he's got some growing to do...he is teeeeeensy, and so is his sister. He'll be coming up to a year old in May and would never guess it except for the beard and horns he's grown. I'll see if I can get a pic of them for you soon with something to scale them.
I am hoping to no bring much home, I never do really, except for poultry supplies. I am occasionally tempted, but mostly just really enjoy being at the sales and etc. Its gotta be something pretty good for me to bring it home.

 

[desertmarcy]

mchlldickson - that chick you posted pics of, while super cute, is extremely mossy. That's what the brown coloring on the wings is called. If you were wanting to breed it, I would highly recommend not. But, if it's just a pet for you, carry one! They're lovely birds to be sure, and mine are excellent layers. First to start up in the spring, last to stop in the winter.

As far as candling eggs - I almost never do so, either, as for me, it really doens't matter. If they don't hatch, I pitch them (after checking inside). HOWEVER, since a mother hen will leave the nest once or twice a day to eliminate and eat/drink, that's really the equivalent as checking/candling. It won't hurt them at all. Now, upon LOCKDOWN, for sure you don't want to mess with them...just as a hen will lock herself down on the eggs those last 3 days.

I always candle my eggs, the earlier I can tell they are fertile, the better. For two reasons, one, get those infertile eggs out of the incubator to give me more room for the next batch, and two, I hard boil the infertile eggs and feed them back to the chickens. Best to do this early rather than a bunch of infertile eggs sitting in there for 3 weeks getting old. I used to wait 7 days to candle, but I'm getting better at it even with my weenie flashlight, I can tell at 5 days now. Not always on the Marans, but I rarely get infertile eggs on them either.

 

[Irishgirl]

My 3 Blue Copper Maran pullets have very small tails, and their tails look almost like a silkie's tail. Is this normal?

 

[DMRippy]

Quote: Mine is full and I have to almost be RUTHLESS about getting eggs out if not fertile. I will wait till day 14 on Marans though.

 

[Wynette]

I always candle my eggs, the earlier I can tell they are fertile, the better. For two reasons, one, get those infertile eggs out of the incubator to give me more room for the next batch, and two, I hard boil the infertile eggs and feed them back to the chickens. Best to do this early rather than a bunch of infertile eggs sitting in there for 3 weeks getting old. I used to wait 7 days to candle, but I'm getting better at it even with my weenie flashlight, I can tell at 5 days now. Not always on the Marans, but I rarely get infertile eggs on them either.

Mine is full and I have to almost be RUTHLESS about getting eggs out if not fertile. I will wait till day 14 on Marans though.

The only thing I will add to these is that if an egg does not develop, it does not necessarily mean it wasn't fertile. It could just as easily have been fertile, but simply did not develop.

I recently shipped some hatching eggs (not Marans) to a man who had been hounding & hounding me for months...he wanted me to reduce my price, telling me he was in it for the good of the bird, to please give him a chance, yadda yadda. So, I finally sent him some eggs. Shipped them on a Monday, they arrived Saturday, with two broken. (Anyone that knows my shipping knows that I do a really good job & take great pride in my packagine.) Well....upon day 10, he candled and was really ticked off that "only 2 or 3" of the eggs left (I shipped 10) were developing and that I should be ashamed to be selling unfertile hatching eggs.

Of course, you can't please all of the people, all of the time, but...I am fairly sure, as I check often, that all the eggs were fertile. I have a 3 to 1 pullet/cock bird ration in that pen, and I've not seen an UNFERTILE egg yet.

 

[DMRippy]

Quote:
Your are correct.... I should have worded that better. I was not thinking. I tell people the same thing all the time. Though my marans I just set are most probably not fertile since the roo was not feeling well, prior to his death, but some looked to be developing most are not.

 

[Irishgirl]

Here are pics of my maran roo at a month and a half.



Does he have to much coloring, or can you not tell 'till they molt for the first time?

 

[xlboergoats]

The only thing I will add to these is that if an egg does not develop, it does not necessarily mean it wasn't fertile. It could just as easily have been fertile, but simply did not develop.

I recently shipped some hatching eggs (not Marans) to a man who had been hounding & hounding me for months...he wanted me to reduce my price, telling me he was in it for the good of the bird, to please give him a chance, yadda yadda. So, I finally sent him some eggs. Shipped them on a Monday, they arrived Saturday, with two broken. (Anyone that knows my shipping knows that I do a really good job & take great pride in my packagine.) Well....upon day 10, he candled and was really ticked off that "only 2 or 3" of the eggs left (I shipped 10) were developing and that I should be ashamed to be selling unfertile hatching eggs.

Of course, you can't please all of the people, all of the time, but...I am fairly sure, as I check often, that all the eggs were fertile. I have a 3 to 1 pullet/cock bird ration in that pen, and I've not seen an UNFERTILE egg yet.

Amen, Wynette. We ship eggs all of the time. Most of our customers have great success, but every once in a while we get emails letting us know that one of our customers did not get a good hatch. We have to depend on the U.S. Postal Service to get our eggs from one place to another. Sometimes there are extreme conditions between here and there that damages eggs. It is one of the gambles that we all have to consider when ordering hatching eggs. We too have had good and bad hatches from shipped eggs, and have never blamed the breeder.

We set eggs on Sunday night that laid on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and Friday. We ship eggs on Monday that were laid on Saturday and Sunday. If we get a good hatch from the same breeding pens, we can only assume that the eggs we shipped with fertile.

Ernie Haire

 

[flgardengirl]

I seem to have the best luck with shipped eggs during the cooler months. Also seems to be better when they go from coast to coast and spend less time on a truck. If they are flown most of the way I have way better results.