Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Debbi]

Went out to check for eggs a bit ago. While there were no eggs yet today, I got to stand there and watch the flock. All of a sudden I feel something hit the back of my legs. Turn around, and there is PIP all hackled up looking for a fight!

Pip! He runs from the lowest pullet in the pecking order, and I am his ONLY allie in the whole world, and he chooses to pick a fight with me??? He got a nice little whack from my cane, and then got stalked all around the run, he was screaming like a little girl all the way. I believe he got my point but good! Sheesh, what is it with these males?

He'll be 5 months on Friday, so I guess his hormones are finally kicking in. Then I've got 3 more boys to go through it with...oh joy

 

[grammypam]

Oh,I so wish there was a video of that.

 

[Debbi]

Ha! Me too! Especially because he is such a wimp!! He definately had fire in his eyes, hackles up, and was leaning back ready to fly up at me...fooled him, this old bird fights back!

Welcome to the crazy Marans thread!!

 

[grammypam]

Finally !!! My first marans egg! Found it last night. From one of my 2 marans girls ( hatched July 1st) Sorry,not the greatest pic and used a flash. But I think it's beautiful and I love the speckles.

 

[poularde]

I can't believe your baby attacked you Debbi!

Ungrateful little twerp... I don't know what it is with the cockerels low on the pecking order. The only roo i have attack me is the lowest on the pecking order. It hurts my feelings when it is one of your sweet babies. I hope he doesn't try that again.

Nice egg... congrats!

 

[MNKris]

Quote:
The mossy hen probably has the partridge gene too. She was probably not a dark black chick, but had a reddish hue to her chick fluff when she was hatched. I have one of those too. She could also have the wheaten gene. She's going to go into my layer pen this spring, but I did hatch some eggs out of her because she lays rediculously nice eggs.

As far as the wheatens, yes, a rooster and a hen both have to carry the recessive wheaten gene. I've understood that if BC x BC delivers any wheaten chicks at all:
1/4 wheaten
1/2 are BCs that carry recessive wheaten
1/4 are BCs and won't carry wheaten at all

I have heard, and now I see in my own, that Wade Jeane birds tend to notorious for carrying the wheaten recessive gene than some of the other lines. Teasdales sometimes do as well, but I only have wheaten teasdales any more and no black copper teasdales, so I haven't had that issue. I believe mine have all had the wheaten fluff with the black line on the head and the two black side spine shadow stripes as well - not like a standard wheaten with all yellow fluff. Black copper breeders and some wheaten breeders consider this a fault. Black copper breeders don't want the recessive gene and will cull heavily to rid it, the wheaten breeders are a mixed bag - some cull it because of the other undesirable genes that were passed from the black coppers (a true wheaten wouldn't have the black in the fluff), others believe it is the path to darker eggs and the black in the fluff is immaterial.

BCM's can either carry wheaten OR partridge, but not both. There's only room for two possibilities, and ONE of them has to be Birchen or they wouldn't be BCM at all.
I think that the black chick stripe could be evidence of the Melanotic gene that BCM's are supposed to have, but Wheaten's don't. It is a dominant gene. It is possible that the black chickstripes on wheaten fluff is evidence that the chick originated from BCM/Wheaten crosses that give the wheatens unwanted genes from their BCM ancestry. I believe this is what may also cause the overly dark hens. BCM's carry Mahogany, Wheatens do not. Some folks try to bring in the darker egg laying capabilities of BCM into Wheaten lines without realizing all the genetic baggage that comes with it.

Pink- Bresse chickies are doing well. Same size as the RIR crosses who are 2 days older.

I meant either Partrigde or she could have the Wheaten. I should have been more clear. But that is an interesting thought. I am going to have to test her against a wheaten rooster to see what I get. All black then not wheaten. Some wheaten, then she carries the wheaten and looks partridge. She looked partridge as a baby but I am certainly not sure where the wheaten is coming from then as the rest of the hens are standard black copper phenotypes. I think most people agree that we don't fully understand the chicken gene pool, and even more so, the marans gene pool. There are a lot of genes that result in the same phenotypes, but are derived from very different genotypes.

 

[pinkchick]

MNKris~

Just for giggles here are some eggs that are from my Black Coppers and a couple Blue Coppers, these eggs are over a year old. This is the 4th time they have ever seen the light of day. I keep them in an air tight container in a closet in total darkness. They were all Bev Davis birds. I used the birds that laid these eggs to create the Blue Coppers I breed now.

First photo of them is when they were fresh just before I put them away for safe keeping. This photo was taken outside in full natural daylight.
Yes they have changed colors.

The same eggs today taken in full natural daylight........the photo that I took of them without a flash makes them look like "hershey" eggs. I had to use flash and macro flower setting to get the photo to depict their accurate color.

Here's the photo of them without the flash just for fun. This isn't even close to what they really are.....I wish! Note this is not flash glare but daylight glare coming through the window.

These are the eggs I am getting now from my Blue Coppers and a couple Splash Coppers....they're going in the 'bator sometime today or tomorrow, waiting to see what I get today because a BCM is in the nest box as I type. There is only 1 Black Copper egg in this photo.

 

[MNKris]

I totally know what you are saying. Your eggs are beautiful, but wouldn't you agree that they are 4-6s? Mine always darken after they are set in the incubator, but still, I would never call mine 8s or 9s. I've only had 1 "7" in all these years, and that one broke before it could get to the incubator...

 

[Debbi]

Yes Poularde, my baby! Little ingrate!

Congrats on your first egg Grammy!!

Pink ~ Lovely eggs as usual!! I too love the rubies

Got 5 positive rockers now in the bator!!!!!!

 

[pinkchick]

Congratulations Grammy! I love the speckled eggs!

Debbi~ Thanks! That boy is going to learn something he wasn't bargaining for, isn't he? Go Babies!!!!!!!!

Hi Poularde!

MNKris~Thanks, I agree they range from 4-6's on for the most part...but I love the lighter more red eggs so I am very happy, I really like your eggs too.
This is a photo that I took of the darkest eggs that I have had this year. They came from a Blue Copper and a Splash Copper....I was at the barn with camera ready but didn't have my egg color chart. I love this photo it's set as my desktop. I haven't got an egg from these 2 girls in well over a month. I don't like using the egg color chart because in my mind the eggs on them do not even come close to what we get in reality.

I go by the pretty factor.....lol! These 2 eggs hatched and I now have 2 little roos that I am growing out.

These are the darkest Black Copper eggs I have EVER been blessed with of course they are from a couple of the mossiest girls I have.