Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[math ace]

I h
I have 4 hens : that's it. They all 4 stay out. Nothing new or unusual in the coop. I even put treats in there one night and nope, outside they are.
I'm baffled. We have always had a low light in the coop. We even lowered the wattage thinking maybe they want it darker. They are freeing me out. And nothing bad has happened in the coop.

Once they start a new habit, you may have to re-train them into going back into the coop.
1st) Try raising the wattage of the light in the coop. You might get lucky and they will return to the coop on their own seeking the security of the light.

If raising the wattage of the light doesn't work, then you may have to carry all 4 hens to the coop at night.
Wait until it is too dark for them to venture back out into the pen. When re-training the hens like this, you will have to be consistent and do it every night for a week or so.

I have ONE group of birds that flatly refuses to go to the coop at night. They want to sleep on top of it! I have carried them to bed every night for months.
My alternative will be to block off the top of the coop so that they can not roost them. You may have to do some blocking of your own if the first two ideas don't help.

 

[TulsaChick]

Rh

...

[COLOR=800080]Once they start a new habit,  you may have to re-train them into going back into the coop.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=800080]1st)  Try raising the wattage of the light in the coop.  You might get lucky and they will return to the coop on their own seeking the security of the light.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=800080]If raising the wattage of the light doesn't work,  then you may have to carry all 4 hens to the coop at night. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=800080]Wait until it is too dark for them to venture back out into the pen.  When re-training the hens like this,  you will have to be consistent and do it every night for a week or so.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=800080]I have ONE group of birds that flatly refuses to go to the coop at night.  They want to sleep on top of it!  I have carried them to bed every night for months.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=800080]My alternative will be to block off the top of the coop so that they can not roost them.  You may have to do some blocking of your own if the first two ideas don't help.[/COLOR]
[/quotThank you! I lowered the wattage thinking they preferred the dark. But I wanted them to have one light. So I will go back to the previous bulb. I went out there tonight and put oats and fresh collard greens. Picked the "leader" hen up and put her inside with all the snacks. She ate, I watched in the dark, wrapped up in a blanket, waiting for the other 3 to follow. Nope. She ate a little and went back " down stairs". Glad to know they may have just learned a new habit that I need to break. It's getting too cold and windy outside.
Again- thanks for our reply!

 

[nlossing]

Hi, I'm new to the Back Yard Chickens, and I have to say these guys look very nice

I always wondered about the Marans. Do they all lay dark brown eggs? Or does it depend on the chicken. I wanted to try this breed but I read that not all lay dark brown eggs, is this true

 

[math ace]

Hi, I'm new to the Back Yard Chickens, and I have to say these guys look very nice

I always wondered about the Marans. Do they all lay dark brown eggs? Or does it depend on the chicken. I wanted to try this breed but I read that not all lay dark brown eggs, is this true

Welcome to the Marans thread. Glad to see you used on first BYC post on us.
To be a marans, the bird must lay at least a level 4 egg in color. With that being said... some lay a 4, some lay a 5, some lay a 6... Honestly, not too many birds lay eggs darker than that.

There is a school of thought that the darker the egg, the more time spent inside the hen. In other words, the darker the eggs, the less eggs the hens will lay. I only mention this because if there is any truth to this thinking, then you don't want to search out the darkest eggs possible if your goal is a hen that lays a lot of eggs.

I will tell you that I started out with welsummers and marans because I wanted some dark eggs in the egg basket. I culled the welsummers from my flock because I did not like their personality as well as I did my marans. Of course, my welsummers were hatchery birds and that can effect their personality. Good breeders will select birds based on many characteristics including personality.. . . So, make sure you ask some questions about the personality of the birds from the breeders you talk to IF your goal is some friendly birds for the backyard.

 

[jaybobrenn]

That is very much typical of a hawk attack,not exclusive but likely.

I've found a couple more the same way and they've taken a couple away too. Yesterday morning I found where something had dug under my pen and got in and got 2 more of my younger birds. I've already killed 5 coons in the last coupe weeks and an small opossum. I set my traps lastnight and found another small opossum in one this morning. Whatever is killing them does it at night so Im leaning towards coons and possums as I think hawks tend to do their hunting during the day. Although I did see an owl out there one night last week so thats a possibilty too.

 

[ladycat]

One of my splash roos tried to attack me yesterday. That's the first time EVER any of my Marans have shown any aggression.

This is a Marans I raised from chicks I got last year.

If he tries it again I might have to eat him.

 

[Wynette]

One of my splash roos tried to attack me yesterday. That's the first time EVER any of my Marans have shown any aggression.

This is a Marans I raised from chicks I got last year.

If he tries it again I might have to eat him.

Many folks eat their extra cockerels or cock birds; Marans are tasty...on my farm, I have no room for nasty birds. Some folks on here say you can tame them...I think it is Snowbird who says to pick them up & pop them under your arm, and hold a peeled banana right in front of them, carrying them around for awhile. Repeating this daily, and eventually they understand that you mean no harm. Mean cock birds are typically looking at you as a threat to them or their hens, so they are actually doing their job in defending their flock.

 

[gilavina]

One of my favorite splash copper cockerels from this year's hatches. He's about 6 months old and growing his tail back from juvie molt. The dark eyes on his father changed at about 10 months, so hoping the same will be the case with this one. They are pretty wild as I've not had much chance to handle them this fall, so the best photos I could get at a far range.

 

[gilavina]

Still working on the openness and overall consistency of width from the front to back of the birds, but loving the width on this cockerel. Its a terrible shot as he's mid duck and run, but is quite hefty and stands nicely when not scared.



nice open tail

 

[boorae]

Is there anything that stands out about our 'Big Doc' visually that would make him a bad candidate to make little FBCMs with? We picked him up at a swap is about the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Granted, I don't know my rearend from a hole in the ground when it comes to oicking a good Marans Rooster for breeding.
Thanks for any advice. Don't want to look for good hens to breed to a roo that has issues.