Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[BevDavis]

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Hi

If your splash is carrying a silver gene you could get silver birchen carrying the wheaten gene. If you do this, it is not advise you to breed it with anything else other than a wheaten. If you do breed it with a wheaten you will get some blue wheatens.

Bev

 

[BevDavis]

Quote:
Hi

In my opinion, they are a little bit lighter in color but I have seen some very dark ones but not as dark as the black coppers.

Bev

 

[fdnick]

HI Bev.. Do you seem to get less eggs out of your black coppers than the other colors? just curious as ours always seemed to produce fewer eggs..
thanks
Denna

 

[chasehope]

So these are my first golden cuckoo marans that I have hatched from our flock. I have 3, 2 brown ones and the mystery black one (so we are not going to count him/her). the brown ones are very different colored. One is alot darker than the other. Do I remember reading that the cuckoos can be sexed at birth by color?

 

[Newyorkrita]

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I had been showing Flopsey the water container but it did not seem to get the idea. Today I showed it again and it realised what to do and started pecking the waterer and drinking on its own. Funny thing is that this was the very first chick to hatch and it hatched really early. Then it had to sit there while the others hatched. It is the smallest chick but it is not weak, just doesn't stand. It has been eating from the start and I just have to dip its beak in the waterer afew times a day. I noticed it seems to be doing much better today.

I just have no experience. I guess I expected them all to be perfect and strong from the minute they dried.

I am sorry I did such a rotten job with my first try at incubating but I did my best first time out. I have learned about the humidity now. And I have learned not to cut the egg cartons to hatch them upright so far back. I would have had another BCM chick if those eggs had not rolled out of the egg cartons. It drowned because it rolled. I just didn't realise the egg crates needed to be stronger because the ones already hatched would flop all around on them.

I had one clear that did not develop BCM egg. I intend to open up all the other eggs when I finially give up on them to see inside. But I feel it was that excessive humidity and temp issues both that did them in.

Do you all think I should give up on the rest of the eggs already? I really don't think anything else is going to hatch now but left them just in case. Nothings happening on them.

Rita, don't apologize! These things happen! First of all, shipped eggs are a crapshoot...sometimes hatches are awesome, sometimes not. We do what we can! I think the thing to always remember is to just make sure and take something away from it, every time you hatch. I have hatched thousands of chicks, and every time I do so, I learn something! So - maybe the thing is to just feel good about what DID hatch, enjoy those little chickies!!

Also, it could just as easily been the post office & rough handling!!

If Saturday was day 21, I would go ahead & call it quits. You can pip a tiny hole in the top of each egg & slowly crack away the pieces...you will see if the hatchling is alive easily doing it this way. If you see a moving beak in the air cell, probably should put it back in.

Denna and Wynette- Thank you both for your suport and telling me it's not my fault. I do know shipped eggs are a crapshoot in that the post office can do a number on them so at least I have four chicks. I have learned from the mistakes I made with this first batch. And I really am enjoying my very first chicks ever

I went and opened the rest of the eggs to see what was there. Nothing live or that was going to hatch. I had one one fully formed but dead marans chick and the other two marans eggs were just gooey messes. I also looked in the olive eggers set at the same time and again I had a fully formed dead chick. I also had a partially formed but not finished dead chick and the rest were the gooyey mess eggs.

I am already incubating shipped eggs again, this time lavander Orps. I candeled last night at 8 days and all eight were developing. I have been keeping the humity were it should be this time. Using the dry hatch method and learned from my mistakes. I also needed lighter eggs so I could see thru them this time to learn so thats what I got. But those dark eggs and the dark egg layers are the ones that really appeal to me.

 

[Lotsapaints]

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Normally the darker ones are pullets and I find the boys have way more yellow on the top of their head Congrats on your hatch

 

[chasehope]

Thank Lotsapaints! I thought that they would never hatch! It was a LOOOONG 3 weeks! I will try to put up pictures of them side by side in a few!

 

[BevDavis]

Quote:
Hi

Some birds seem to lay better than others. I live way down south and my laying season is strange. They come into lay with the shorter days and stop when it starts getting hot so it depends on the weather to a large extent. I have found that wheatens and copper blues are better layers. When the blue and black Marans come into lay I think I'll start monitors how they lay. I have had BC lay every day with the odd day that they didn't. This year the birds are coming into lay earlier because the weather is cooler this year.

Bev

 

[BevDavis]

Quote:
Hi

Yes, the males have a large white/yellow spot on their heads and the females have smaller spots.

Bev

 

[geebs]

About the mossy and white wing thing due to wheaton etc...

Bev I guess I am a bit of a renegade... I know the wheaton gene is in there somewhere for the mossy... and that the feathers have the coloring probs... But those dark eggies... I am just over the moon for em!!! I figure if you show them as good looking adults and the faults are gone by then... Well then they never existed... (cake and eat it too breeding program!!)

Does that make me a bad person... Oh and I don't sell eggs.

(I hope this redeems me a little)... Just love them darkies... Can't wait for my pullet eggies.!!