Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[snowbird]

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I have some experience with the blue fowl. You will find that you will get a very nice medium blue with good lacing if you use the blue splash female and a blue copper male. Don

 

[sewandgrow]

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Good for you Kristie......................So glad your broody Mama did her job well.
pm me your snail mail address & I will send you a painted butterfly egg. I have a Pink, a blue or an orange& black.your choice

I didn't have eggs to try my new incubator so I ordered some Black Jersey Giants eggs to hatch for a 4H project. They should arrive next week. This all is such an education.

 

[sewandgrow]

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Chickens like to lay their eggs in secure dark places. . . So they will instinctively check out the nests. If your run is open and without places to hide an egg, they should lay them in the nest or in a dark corner of the coop.

They like to lay them where there are other eggs. Hence, the purpose of golf balls.
I tried to remove golf balls from my nests but then there is this very LOUD traffic JAM where
all the hens wait to lay the eggs in the same nest. Nothing is funnier than seeing two hens have
a knock down over the nesting boxes. . . Two hens trying to lay in the same box at the same time

So, a golf ball in EVERY nest and then they will each take a nest. NO BODY wants to lay in an EMPTY nest !

My grand mother always left a "nest egg" in each place which was a real egg she marked to show which one stayed behind.She had to switch them out from time to time I am sure. Years ago I did ceramic eggs for nest & that worked great. This time I tried egg guords & the chickens kicked them all out & I found them scattered all over the ground...go figure. The egg gourds are very light because they are hollow so maybe that was the problem. Sometimes 2 of the Delawares get in the nest together......How they fit I do not know.

 

[Debbi]

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I have some experience with the blue fowl. You will find that you will get a very nice medium blue with good lacing if you use the blue splash female and a blue copper male. Don

Thanks Don! Glad to see you in here again

 

[pinkchick]

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I have some experience with the blue fowl. You will find that you will get a very nice medium blue with good lacing if you use the blue splash female and a blue copper male. Don

Don~ Thanks!
I will try it again but the blue to blue or splash to blue matings is where I have found that I lose crisp lacing....I don't lose lacing all together, it's just not as crisp as it is on the darker blues. The best lacing I get is from using Bill my very dark blue over Black Copper hens. I have 2 babies now from crossing Bill with a Splash Copper pullet so the wait for them to feather out is under way.

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
I have some experience with the blue fowl. You will find that you will get a very nice medium blue with good lacing if you use the blue splash female and a blue copper male. Don

Don~ Thanks!
I will try it again but the blue to blue or splash to blue matings is where I have found that I lose crisp lacing....I don't lose lacing all together, it's just not as crisp as it is on the darker blues. The best lacing I get is from using Bill my very dark blue over Black Copper hens. I have 2 babies now from crossing Bill with a Splash Copper pullet so the wait for them to feather out is under way.

Kim, Have you tried Bill over some splash hens ? With the using the splash females you would want to use a Dark Male like Bill. In all my breedings I find that I have better luck getting the color right if I use a male in the color I am looking for at the end. No scientific data here just oldtimer experience. Don

 

[Debbi]

Personally, I think the splashes are so pretty! I can't wait to get some. Is it just me, or do the splashes seem to have a more consistent quality in the roos?? I've seen quite a few pics of splash roos that were very nice in the conformation department!

 

[snowbird]

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Don~ Thanks!
I will try it again but the blue to blue or splash to blue matings is where I have found that I lose crisp lacing....I don't lose lacing all together, it's just not as crisp as it is on the darker blues. The best lacing I get is from using Bill my very dark blue over Black Copper hens. I have 2 babies now from crossing Bill with a Splash Copper pullet so the wait for them to feather out is under way.

Kim, Have you tried Bill over some splash hens ? With the using the splash females you would want to use a Dark Male like Bill. In all my breedings I find that I have better luck getting the color right if I use a male in the color I am looking for at the end. No scientific data here just oldtimer experience. Don

Kim, I would breed back some of the pullets out of splash that do not have good lacing to a Blue Copper male. Don

 

[pinkchick]

Yep, I have 2 blues that just hatched from Bill over a splash copper pullet. I have also put Bill over some Black Copper hens and that is where the blue girls that you like came from, they have awesome middle of the road to darker smokey blue color with very nice dark and crisp lacing. Will be crossing them to Gnarles my lighter blue copper roo in hopes of adding more copper and darkening the lacing and adding in Bill's size factor as an added bonus, IF they ever start laying again.

 

[Lotsapaints]

Good morning everyone we have fog now the rain has left for a few days and I hope to see sun sometime today. Morning Snowbird how are your projects going? Harris5 get that camera charged up I can't wait to see the Goldens and the eggs they lay. Welcome Mountain Mel you're very lucky living so close to Pink I wish I lived close to another Marans breeder who knows as much as Kim does. flgardengirl I have 9 Goldens all pretty young just trying to lay I have a couple with good egg color and a couple not so dark and their eggs seem to have a dusty rose shade to them very much like my White Marans. Terri O I'm very glad to have another Cuckoo person on here that's how I got into the Marans I do think it helps to be a little cuckoo to be breeding any Marans.... Geebs I'm so glad Remmie got home from her cruise I do hope her feet are okay.