Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[pinkchick]

Huge Welcome to the new members and lurkers of the Marans thread!!

Illia~ Golden Salmons look like Welsummers...

....I can't wait until they become available from Bev. They are stunning birds and she has stated that their egg color is very nice. Yummy!!!!!!!! I'll be on the edge of my seat until I get some.

 

[pinkchick]

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I'm glad he got zapped, maybe he will remember that your chickens have an extra "bite" to them and hopefully he doesn't come back. Thank goodness he didn't cause any trouble or damage.

 

[pinkchick]

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SOMEBODY translate what Walt said . .. . .

1.) Why "Don't feed the bird any scratch feed" . . . . I don't feed very much, but I do use cracked corn as my bribe to get them to move from the coop to the free range area in the morning and then again in the evening to return to the coop.

2.) What does "The white in the wings / tails seems . . . . . I am confident that they will qualify for SOP" mean ? ?
The first sentence says is a DQ and then the above seems to imply that it would be ok,
so I KNOW I must be misunderstanding what was written.

Thanks - - - any one who wants to jump in here and help clarify this for me.

I'm going to take a guess here and someone correct me please if I'm off base, but I think what Walt meant by not feeding them any scratch feed is that it can turn white feathers yellow??????? Right? Geebs? Wynette? Illia? Lotsa?


Another guess at what Walt is saying about the DQ's is that "in general" pertaining to all breeds in the SOP that white in the wings and tails can be a problem and is considered a DQ for all, but he stated that after seeing one attempt at qualifying ( I assume a Marans with some white somewhere) and other birds with white at different shows that he is confident that they will qualify for the SOP. I believe that he stated that the SOP needs some more detail in this area and I think that he also stated previously that it is being worked on and possibly tweaked to accommodate this in the Marans. ???????? Anyway, that is my interpretation of it. Again if I'm off base somebody please set me straight.

 

[Debbi]

Good morning Pink!! Could it be the birds he saw with the white feathers were "young" birds, thus figuring they'd qualify for the SOP? If that's the case, I sure wish it was spelled out more clearly in the SOP. I can see the white adult plumage being a DQ, but the young ones may not have molted yet, and are still holding on to the white juvies. I didn't know that about corn yellowing the feathers, good to know! My fussy babies don't like scratch!

 

[pinkchick]

Mornin' Debbi!

It is possible that he is referring to the younger birds, we will have to ask him to elaborate, but makes perfect sense to me. They are working on revisions of the SOP and I'm sure it is a very daunting task, so many factors to consider and I'm sure that they can't all be addressed in one or two sittings as we well know. I deeply appreciate the folks working on acceptance and standards, they have their work cut out for them.

 

[Debbi]

Pink, I agree, it has to be a daunting task! The other thing I hope they include in the SOP is leg color. First it was white preferred, slate allowed (BCMs), then on Walt's it just says slate, with yellow legs being a DQ. Just makes it hard to try to breed for something, when the somethings keep changing!

Hopefully, by the time my chooks get to breeding age, this will all be figured out!

 

[pinkchick]

Yah.....I sorta get confused on the leg color too, but as I primarily breed for Blue Coppers, I only breed those that have leg color that matches their body color. I like that nice uniform look in Blues, one continuous color right down to their toes.
With that said, I do look for the slate legs in the BCM and they are the only ones that I breed back into my flocks. I don't care for the white/pink legs in the Marans unless they are a white Marans or Splash. I am going to start breeding BCM's as well in the following months, as I only used to keep them around for the blue breeding program and never really focused on them, just knew some things to watch out for, I've focused so hard on the blue and splash that I feel Ihave alot of catching up to do on the BCM, so I am right there with the rest of ya learning about them. This is why I don't comment on them very often when somebody asks for critique or they post photos of their birds. I rely on peeps like Wynette, Geebs, Bev, Walt and many others to school me with their opinions and experiences, then I take that info and run with it.

 

[pinkchick]

I need info geebs........please educate me with your take on the leg thing.

 

[Criskin]

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Thanks math ace! I'm going to have to file that tip away for now, though. It's too late...they already shipped! It kind of makes me nervous because I like my hatching eggs to ship out on a Monday or Tuesday to avoid the chance of a weekend layover, but I'm crossing my fingers they'll arrive all right. According to the seller they originally used all 3 bloodlines but they have been culling and focusing their breeding program on birds with the French standard feathering and coloring and, of course, egg color. For what I paid, though, I won't be disappointed if all I end up with are a couple of pets to play around with until I get the money and knowledge to acquire good stock. Speaking of, how far in advance do most breeders require pre-orders on eggs and/or chicks? Do you usually have to pay in advance or just make a deposit? I'm sure it differs from person to person but I like to be prepared!

Thanks for the warm welcome math ace, geebs and pink chick and hello to Kathyinmo, Illia, Berkley, Walt, Aalbury, Blackdotte, Wynette, Debbi, Germaine,BevDavis and everyone else!

I'll be sure to post pics of my eggs as soon as the arrive. I don't have a shade card yet and my camera is broken so I'll have to take them on my iphone but hopefully with good lighting I can manage.

 

[lildinkem]

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The second young man does look much better than the first. . . .
Do you have more pictures ? ? ? Do you have more roos ? ?

I really still hate this guys tail too. Last May I shared a 20 chick order from Ray V with Heather Perkins (seebrightmom). And the luck of the draw, she got all the best color egg layers. She needed a cockerel. And we hooked up at our Indiana Chikenstock. I did have one outstanding cockerel. He blows away the ones I kept. Perfect 45 degree tail. Equally good size. And I know Heather's Exhibition breeder's skills. So, to make sure one of us has a great flock I gave her the bomb of all our cockerels. I am sure he'll deliver quality for her line.
I only have 2 pullets I hatch from. Their bigger girls. IF I am ever going to make better male, he'll have to be from those two or it is pointless.
Oh yeah I have a few more.
I like this guys type better. I have no problems with his color. He is young and should fill out some more, he is only 5 months old. Eye color is not as good as my other 10 month ole. All this is my percieved opinion after reading along with us all here. Again far as the tail. I hate it. BUT, and this is a big BUT. IF I do show, I learned a technique of manipulating feathers to improve the angle for the shows. A pencil was reccommended to bend down to the angle you want of the feathers you want, hold that position for 2 to 3 mins a day starting about 3 or 4 days before a show. A repeat the day of the show as close as time permits before the judging begins. This will also work for twisted feathers etc. It won't remove the bad angle trait from the gene pool of the given bird. BUT, you can alter the feathers long enough before the bird getting judged to improve it for the judge. A great friend and very Exhibiton knowledgeable person was kind enough to pass this tip. I think it is far to share quality info on this site. That is what we are here for.