Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[pinkchick]

Quote:

Happy New Year Jan! Tell those babies to get a move on would'ya!

The second pipper here is almost out.....this little baby isn't wasting anytime.

 

[The Point]

My #2 just arrived

It is a fat thing! No more pips. Must find something else to do besides wait..

 

[Ivywoods]

Some of my roos have badly frostbitten combs. The dumb things are just too stupid or stubborn to stay in the hut we fixed up for them. They are getting better about it, but still not totally trained. In the meantime, I completed the work on the pop up door for my girls in the layer pen. They are scared to death of it. I put some cracked corn in the doorway yesterday to try to entice them out. The wind blew all the corn back inside the coop, so then they had no intention to go out. I put some more corn there today, along with a pan of it outside the door within their sight, and some scattered on the ground. They look and look, but so far none have gone out. It's cold out and windy, but the sun is out so it seems like they would want to get out and get some rays. I need to be patient, otherwise I'm going to go out there and physically throw them out. Don't really want to. Hopefully they will get the idea soon.

 

[lwarctic]

Quote:

Happy New Year Jan! Tell those babies to get a move on would'ya!

The second pipper here is almost out.....this little baby isn't wasting anytime.

Kim, it sure is funny how differently chicks are to hatch, some want out in 10 minutes and some want to wait for several hours. As soon as you get a pip you have to watch close often until you find out if they want out right away or not. I just love the suspense.

 

[Ivywoods]

How about some more baby chickie picks from all you guys hatching?

I have 3 that are a month old today. I think I have two pullets and one roo. They are at an "ugly" adolescent stage right now.

 

[Debbi]

Hey Tannis, does this little guy look familiar?? This is Roy, taken today at 4 months old. Too bad it was so cold and windy, he would not take his normal, more proud pose!

He is just now starting to get saddle coloring. He is dark, but his body is a HUNK! He is a real sweetie too...so far.

 

[Debbi]

...and then, there is Pip. I almost culled him out, but all of a sudden he is making improvements in coloring and body. He is supposedly from the Jesse Bryant flock, and seems to be a later maturer. He is 21 weeks today. His hackle color when it was first coming in was a goldy straw color, but the more that comes in, it seems to be getting darker. His tail is a bit high for my liking, I'm not wild about his comb, but I think (hope) he will bring some hackle color to my girls. So, I will breed him to the girls and see what comes about. My idea is to keep the good pullets, then breed them back to Roy. Guess we'll see what happens, eh??

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:

Happy New Year Jan! Tell those babies to get a move on would'ya!

The second pipper here is almost out.....this little baby isn't wasting anytime.

Kim, it sure is funny how differently chicks are to hatch, some want out in 10 minutes and some want to wait for several hours. As soon as you get a pip you have to watch close often until you find out if they want out right away or not. I just love the suspense.

#2 is here.....pipped 812AM and hatched 1036AM, that was fast, blue copper from a one of the 2 splash eggs, out of 4 Marans that made it to lockdown. 2nd splash egg is pipped and the 4th egg is from the first GFF pullet to lay, it's still rocking and peeping!!!!

No news in the Olive eggs.

Way to go Tannis! Go chickies!

 

[Ivywoods]

Debbi-He is really pretty. It looks like he has a pretty nice comb, too. I'm not totally satisfied with the combs on any of my roos. The ones with the best comb also have lighter colored hackle feathers, so they are not going to be considered for breeding.

Sometimes I wish I had chosen a variety that reproduces more consistently toward a standard, but I love these guys so much I'm going to stick with them..... plus I love the dark eggs.

Debbi-Glad you came through those storms okay. What crazy wether we have had. We have an outdoor woodstove (I'm assuming that's what you have) and I LOVE it! It is so warm and toasty all winter in our house. The hot water line runs the entire length of the floor over to the furnace, so it is totally comfortable to paddle around in my socks or bare feet all winter. The other great part is my hubby likes to be the one to go out and put wood in the stove when it needs stoked. I always go out and help cut firewood because I love doing that, but it sure is nice not to have to go out early in the morning to fill the stove when it's 0 outside.

 

[Debbi]

Ivy ~ Thanks. I wish I had an outdoor furnace, this is an old Victor that sits in a room off of the front porch. It is basically a glorified wood stove and is getting on in years. I used to cut my own wood up until about 4 years ago. Now I buy it and it is costing me a fortune!

I looked into some of those outdoor stoves, but gees the prices were ridiculous! The idiot that installed this one vented through the attic!! Nice warm attic, nice COLD FLOORS! If my insurance company would let me, I'd rather just have a small wood stove in the house. I love the wood heat, there's nothing else like it! Great for arthritis.