Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[gilavina]

yowza, didn't realize how late it was! night all

 

[DMRippy]

Quote:
I expect anything to just pop up with marans. I culled the autosomal barred ones too. Didn't want that to keep showing up.

Did you see my question on the red chicks? WTH?

 

[Ray from PA]

Do you ever pick your birds up very often? I constantly am handling them here, especially as they are growing, by cradling them with one hand between the legs with the breast resting on the palm and wrist. I use the other hand to check for width on the back, and wings etc. There is nothing that can replace getting to know what a good bird feels like as much as what they look like. The more you can understand the structure of how they feel, the more you can tell when they are on the ground or even in photos. I learned from my dad who is legally blind, so particularly am sensitive to structure because of his teaching me how to feel for quality of structure without having to see the bird.

I do when time allows, between working 6 and 7 days a week, and the time consuming routine around here, there is often not enough time to spend with them. Wish it was different, but, for now very little time available. I do have a variety of structure here at the moment, another thing I want to narrow down. Sometimes amazes me how the change at different rates, they mature very differently among themselves.

I expect anything to just pop up with marans. I culled the autosomal barred ones too. Didn't want that to keep showing up.

Did you see my question on the red chicks? WTH?

"Autosomal"...... picking my brain and can't get this one,,,, could you clarify what it is?? A photo perhaps ? Referring to just the cuckoos I'm guessing ???

 

[Runawaylobster]

Well, I've determined in one of my brooders that I have a feisty one. I was separating them with my hand to be able to take a better look at them and one chick was not having it. He was rushing right up to my hand and flapping is wings with all his might and pecking me, little turd. I'll have to keep my eye on him, he's a lovely blue but won't be keeping him if he's going to be mean as he gets some more weight behind him.

He must be related to my Spike... Unfortunately spike is on his last chances.. Handsome doesn't always mean you get to stay.

 

[Runawaylobster]

So do Maran's mixes count? Because I just hatched 18 chicks that had assorted hens as mothers, Speckled Sussex, Buff Orpington, EE, Olive Eggers, Wyandotte, Barred Rock, Partridge Rock, so on and so forth...Anyway those assorted hens are all in with a Black Copper, and Blue Copper Marans. A lot of the chicks just look like Marans. 2 of them are 3/4 Marans...so I get it from those, but I really thought that the chicks would look different from each other, and some are...Only some have feathered feet, only a couple have beards, 2 appear to be partridge colored presently, but all in all they are all shades of black and gray...

I will not post pictures unless that would be alright...I know sometimes the breed threads do not appreciate mixes...but I would like to know how many chicks resemble a Marans chick more than anything else...or maybe some adult color guesses....

I just did this same thing and yes all my chicks at first impression look like their dad too... but many of mine have some serious leg feathering (from the Cochin, Dark Brahma and Faverolle crosses). I see some with pea combs too, BUT.. they are definitely not counting as marans, they are simply nice chickens that will lay brown eggs for someone. I did my hatch to test my new incubator with inexpensive eggs, which passed with flying colors at 100% hatch rate ...!!!! My chicks are going to some local folks who asked me for chickens, and a few of the remaining ones are going to the Swap in High springs with me. I just set 18 pure black copper marans eggs and 14 crested cream legbars, and i'm hoping my incubator performs just as well!!

 

[Runawaylobster]

My first two BCM pullets started laying quite early and for about 2 weeks were very prolific and laying nice dark eggs. One of them is still doing so, but the other one has become more sporadic and yesterday I found two (yes two) much lighter brown eggs that were soft and squishy to the touch. I know they came from one of the Marans pullets and both on the same day. They are not short of calcium since everyone else's eggs are just fine.

I was reading a conversation about eggs building up inside some pullets on another marans list and I was concerned that this might be the same problem? or is this just
something that can occur from time to time and I don't need to worry..?

 

[cluckcluckluke]

Hi I joined a while back but didn't have much to offer or ask.
But I do have a question now.

If I was to breed my French Wheaten Marans hen with my WLH rooster would their offspring have lighter eggs or would the dark egg gene be to dominant?

 

[Oil Patch]

He can have a home with me!

 

[Oil Patch]

Quote:
He can have a home with me.

 

[gilavina]

He can have a home with me.

haha by the way he's behaving now, by the time he's a few weeks older, he'll be able to do some real damage