Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[MaLoTu]

What time of year? Mine is just returning to normal after laying an almost white egg in early February. Usually after molt I expect my darkest eggs, but this year was the first time I have seen this happen. The girls are 3 years old now, too, so I wonder if their age has anything to do with it

This happened over the winter and just returned to normal within the last couple weeks. My SM are almost 1 year old, so the one hen had been laying since late summer/fall last year. The other one just started this year within the last couple weeks.

 

[clukincrzy84]

I'm new to the marans market. I have some beautiful fbc roos and some young cuckoo hens. I was thinking of hatching some out what should I expect as far as auto sexing is concernee

 

[KF0002]

Male chicks will be barred and female chicks black. The males will have a white spot on the top of their head, and females will not. You will have Marans Black sex-links from that cross.

 

[Jmay402]

Do cuckoo marans chicks all look the same? Are both sexes black with white spots on their head or only the males? I hope I didn't buy 4 roosters. Mine all have white spots on their heads.

 

[KF0002]

Do cuckoo marans chicks all look the same?  Are both sexes black with white spots on their head or only the males?  I hope I didn't buy 4 roosters.  Mine all have white spots on their heads.

If the roos are double barred and the pullets single barred they can be very easily sexed at birth. Pullets will have darker legs and darker black down feathers with a smaller head spot. Roos will have lighter legs, lighter down feathers, and a larger headspot that can look splotchy.

 

[KF0002]

Do cuckoo marans chicks all look the same? Are both sexes black with white spots on their head or only the males? I hope I didn't buy 4 roosters. Mine all have white spots on their heads.

Sometimes the female headspots on mine can look splotchy too, but my female chicks are really dark, and my males are a lighter gray with some silver or white on their backs. This group I had 100% accuracy on sexing. The females' legs will have more black than male chicks as well.



As the chicks feather, the males will feather lighter with more distinct barring. The females will be darker and have less distinct barring. In the second pic, the pullet is on the left and the cockerel is on the right.

 

[scflock]

Do cuckoo marans chicks all look the same?  Are both sexes black with white spots on their head or only the males?  I hope I didn't buy 4 roosters.  Mine all have white spots on their heads.

If you got them from a feed store, and they are hatchery pullets, their heads will look like this

 

[Sessie]

Hello Sessie! Welcome to the forum and to the world of chicken keeping. I'd like to address all of your questions but don't have much time, so I'll talk about weather proofing your coop.

Frost bite is very hard to prevent on large single comb breeds like Marans. I live in Louisiana and applied vaseline to my Japanese bantams' combs and they still got a little frost bit this winter. It doesn't say anything about neglect or mistreatment. Chicken coops don't need insulation or heating. You want there to be adequate air flow so that there isn't a build up of humidity. The humidity is what's dangerous for a chicken. They can handle cold temperatures very well as long as they stay dry. So you want to figure out if you have air flow in your coop and make sure it won't become moist and humid when your flock decides to roost for the night. Secure gaps where the walls meet the ceiling help to funnel moist air out.

There isn't anything I know of you can do for a comb that is already damaged. Maybe someone else has some insight. Depending on the severity of it, I can't imagine you getting more than one or two points deducted at a show for it. I believe it is judged under conditioning.

I'd love to see photos of your new guy and your coop. We could give better advice on your cockbird and maybe some improvements to the coop and run.

Thanks!

Sorry I didn't respond sooner, but this is the fourth day I've been laid low with a really terrible migraine. I haven't had a migraine for about 20 years, so I was not prepared for this. I ended up (after passing out) in an ambulance taking me to the hospital. I had no idea what had happened. I was kept at the hospital overnight. I couldn't go outside in the daylight yesterday, either, to take some pix of the chicken coop - the light was KILLING me, even from behind the blackout curtains in my bedroom. Today, I'm up on my feet and I managed to get outside for a few minutes to take some pix. As soon as my cell phone's dead battery recharges, I'll post pix of the interior and exterior of the coop and run. And my side yard. 'Fraid my silly dog is in a few pix, sorry. lol

I won't be able to get pix of my rooster until I repair the coop and run, and bring him home. But, I did settle on a name for the roo. (Or is he a cockerel? What is the difference between rooster and cockerel, anyway?) My new boy's name is DeGaulle. He kinda looks a bit like Charles De Gaulle in profile. ;-) I gave my new boy a strong name that I hope he lives up to.

 

[generaldsherman]

What is the common size of a cuckoo marans? I just got one this last weekend (only a chicken geek would buy a broody hen on purpose). Mine looked only a bit bigger than a Japanese bantam.

The board next to her is a 2x8 about 10" long if you are comparing size

I rather expect she was bred with another bantam somewhere back because the whopping 23 eggs she was trying to sit on were all a cream color, no dark ones. (she now only has 8 eggs under her and the others are in my spare incubator.)

 

[KYBOY]

got a few nice BCM eggs this last couple days..