Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[bamadude]

And color

 

[ThatFarmerChick]

My avatar is a BLRW hen I bought from Jerry Foley.  

Blue Laced Red Wyandotte?

 

[H Diamond]

Hi all, I hope this is ok to post here. I am looking to get some Marans. I currently have a Splash roo and a black pullet that are roughly 19-20 weeks old. I'm sure the "real" breeders of this lovely bird get tired of hearing this, but yes I do want to add color to my egg basket. I don't show or anything like that, so I don't need ones that are necessarily show worthy. That being said, I hate raising animals just to raise them, so would rather not propagate hatchery quality birds. Could anyone point me in the direction of some decent chicks or hatching eggs that will lay a decently dark brown egg? I am in SE Colorado. Thank you!

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

Hi all, I hope this is ok to post here. I am looking to get some Marans. I currently have a Splash roo and a black pullet that are roughly 19-20 weeks old. I'm sure the "real" breeders of this lovely bird get tired of hearing this, but yes I do want to add color to my egg basket. I don't show or anything like that, so I don't need ones that are necessarily show worthy. That being said, I hate raising animals just to raise them, so would rather not propagate hatchery quality birds. Could anyone point me in the direction of some decent chicks or hatching eggs that will lay a decently dark brown egg? I am in SE Colorado. Thank you!

"I hate raising animals just to raise them, so would rather not propagate hatchery quality birds." Are your current Marans from a hatchery?

 

[ladycat]

Hi all, I hope this is ok to post here. I am looking to get some Marans. I currently have a Splash roo and a black pullet that are roughly 19-20 weeks old. I'm sure the "real" breeders of this lovely bird get tired of hearing this, but yes I do want to add color to my egg basket. I don't show or anything like that, so I don't need ones that are necessarily show worthy. That being said, I hate raising animals just to raise them, so would rather not propagate hatchery quality birds. Could anyone point me in the direction of some decent chicks or hatching eggs that will lay a decently dark brown egg? I am in SE Colorado. Thank you!

Nothing wrong with wanting to add color to the egg basket!

I raise Marans of several colors, and most of them lay decently dark eggs. And I ship eggs.

Or if you're looking for something more local that you can pick up, you might want to check Craig's List.

 

[Pine Woods Place]

www.secrethillsranch.com - Beautiful ranch in sunny Southern California. Very knowledgeable breeders that ship. No need to apologize, only feather pluckers will "pick"

 

[Pine Woods Place]

Secret Hills Ranch in sunny Southern California. Beautiful ranch with knowledgeable breeders that ship. No need to apologize for adding color! (Only the forum feather pluckers will "pick").

Great, sweet chickens are the bonus to the great eggs! Have fun.

 

[H Diamond]

"I hate raising animals just to raise them, so would rather not propagate hatchery quality birds." Are your current Marans from a hatchery?

No, they are not. I ordered some off ebay, and out of the 10+ only 3 actually made it through the hatch (several others got stuck on the membrane). Of those 3, one got wry neck.. the person who hatched them thought he "just was acting funny but would be ok". I ended up having to put it down because it was just getting pitiful and not improving. I also had some pure ameraucana eggs on that hatch that not a single one made it out. The only birds I got were the 2 marans and my mutts I threw in just to fill the bator. Needless to say I wasn't thrilled with the outcome of the hatch.
So, long story short, no they aren't. I bought them from dprather1968 on ebay if that username means anything to you, lol. The eggs were packaged really well, none were broken and they sent extras.

ETA: I believe the low hatch rate was due to length of time between incubating and laying. The person I had hatch these eggs convinced me that it was fine if they sat for like 5 days before she put them in the bator. Obvisouly, add that on to shipping time and well.. it was too long. That combined with lack of knowledge on assisting a chick out/improper incubation and it was a set up for failure. Unfortunately, it still cost me either way. "If I knew then what I know now".. lol

 

[Jungleexplorer]

Good looking bird except for his breasts to me

He was only 6 months old in the photo.

 

[Jungleexplorer]

No, they are not. I ordered some off ebay, and out of the 10+ only 3 actually made it through the hatch (several others got stuck on the membrane). Of those 3, one got wry neck.. the person who hatched them thought he "just was acting funny but would be ok". I ended up having to put it down because it was just getting pitiful and not improving. I also had some pure ameraucana eggs on that hatch that not a single one made it out. The only birds I got were the 2 marans and my mutts I threw in just to fill the bator. Needless to say I wasn't thrilled with the outcome of the hatch.
So, long story short, no they aren't. I bought them from dprather1968 on ebay if that username means anything to you, lol. The eggs were packaged really well, none were broken and they sent extras.

ETA: I believe the low hatch rate was due to length of time between incubating and laying. The person I had hatch these eggs convinced me that it was fine if they sat for like 5 days before she put them in the bator. Obvisouly, add that on to shipping time and well.. it was too long. That combined with lack of knowledge on assisting a chick out/improper incubation and it was a set up for failure. Unfortunately, it still cost me either way. "If I knew then what I know now".. lol

I have been selling eggs on ebay for several years and shipped over a thousand eggs last spring. I have never heard of waiting 5 days after arrival to start incubation. I recommend no more then 24 hours and only if the eggs are under 6 days old when the arrive. If older then 6 days old, I recommend incubating them immediately and just leaving the turner (if using one) off for the first few days. The fact the the chicks were candy wrapped (caught in membrane), indicates that there was a low humidity problem. Was the person doing the incubation using a home built bator?

Here are some basic you may already know about incubation and buying eggs off of ebay. Eggs are the best (for incubation) from laid to 7 days old. They are still good up to 14 days, but viabilty goes down after day 7. Never buy eggs from a seller that will ship once the day time temps are reaching 95 degrees. Once temps reach 95 degrees eggs CANNOT be shipped through the mail. Never buy from a seller that does not offer a "No Zero Hatch" guarantee. 99% of ebay egg seller pride themselves on declaring that they hold no responsibilty for your hatch. This is not true. There are dozens of factors that effect the hatchibility of eggs BEFORE and after they are put in the mail that only the seller has control over. A seller that does not have the confidence to offer a guarentee, is not doing his best to give you the best eggs he can, or they are assuming everyone is a dishonest crook that would only lie about their hatch to get their money back and that's how they are treating everyone (which is kind of insulting).

Honestly, it is best if you can find eggs or bird locally.