Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[gilavina]

Thought I'd post a few pics of some of the birds from this year's hatches. I posted in the blue and splash copper and the birchen Marans threads as well. There's plenty more birds, but didn't have time to take pics of them all. They are still maturing and reddening up, but believe all in the older group will be laying soon.



Couple of the younger birds, hatched from the eggs out of Maryland. Mostly held back a handful out of curiosity to see how they develop compared to what I've been working on here.




My own stock

 

[Blarneyeggs]

This is my son's BCMs Cockerel being shown in New York this weekend. This was the only somewhat clear picture of the bird, I did however, find 15 clear pictures of the cage card! Silly boy. His hackles could use some color improvement, any idea how I fix that without bringing in faults from another line?

 

[desertmarcy]

Here is my young Black Copper Marans that does NOT have the white under fluff. I am guessing he is around 4-1/2 months old so I know he has a lot of maturing to do. The only thing I see so far is his topline is a little level and he is sparse on outer toe feathering. Other than that, I think he has potential. Opinions?

 

[DMRippy]

MY ISABELLES SPLITS ARE LAYING!!!!!! sorry....just had to brag. now to remove the stray roos in there.

 

[Wynette]

desertmarcy - I very much like this male! I think his topline is almost perfect right now, according to the pics you supplied. Hopefully, it will remain as is or reach a bit more uphill; if he doens't, it's still just fine! Tail angle is perfect, eye color is perfect, shank feathering is fine; not optimal, but quite close. Color balance is very good, overall balance is great. Is his breast solid black?

In the last pic, it appears he MAY have a white feather at the top of his shank but if he does, it's just tipped in white and barely noticeable. This is, overall, a VERY nice male, in my humble opinion. If he were mine, I would be EXTREMELY excited to watch him grow out. KUDOS - great job!

 

[Wynette]

MY ISABELLES SPLITS ARE LAYING!!!!!! sorry....just had to brag. now to remove the stray roos in there.

AWESOME!!!!

 

[Runawaylobster]

MY ISABELLES SPLITS ARE LAYING!!!!!! sorry....just had to brag. now to remove the stray roos in there.

lol, i had to google that to find out what they were.. they look really pretty... how exciting for you.

 

[Wynette]

lol, i had to google that to find out what they were.. they look really pretty... how exciting for you.

Some folks call them "Isabella" and some call them "Isabelle." Seems the last year or so, more folks are tending to "Isabelle." A good friend of mine devleoped Isabelle Leghorns (he's been working them probably 5 years now); they're gorgeous, and if I had the room, I'd take them in a heartbeat from him; they're oddly not flighty like "regular" Leghorns, and oh...so...gorgeous!

 

[desertmarcy]

desertmarcy - I very much like this male! I think his topline is almost perfect right now, according to the pics you supplied. Hopefully, it will remain as is or reach a bit more uphill; if he doens't, it's still just fine! Tail angle is perfect, eye color is perfect, shank feathering is fine; not optimal, but quite close. Color balance is very good, overall balance is great. Is his breast solid black?

In the last pic, it appears he MAY have a white feather at the top of his shank but if he does, it's just tipped in white and barely noticeable. This is, overall, a VERY nice male, in my humble opinion. If he were mine, I would be EXTREMELY excited to watch him grow out. KUDOS - great job!

Thank you, Wynette! It has been an uphill climb with these birds. I hope he does not develop anything bad, like squirrel tail or white tail feathers. He is still young and has a way to go. Yes, his breast is solid black. I have been culling heavily any that have color on their breast, even though the Standard allows for some, because if they start out with color on their breast, they seem to get too much as they mature.

 

[Wynette]

Thank you, Wynette! It has been an uphill climb with these birds. I hope he does not develop anything bad, like squirrel tail or white tail feathers. He is still young and has a way to go. Yes, his breast is solid black. I have been culling heavily any that have color on their breast, even though the Standard allows for some, because if they start out with color on their breast, they seem to get too much as they mature.

He won't develop squirrel tail; if he was going to have it, you'd definitely see it by now.