Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Debbi]

Just went out to check on the wee ladies, and YES!! This morning they have red combs, wattles, and one has very red ear lobes!! I'm thinking the odd ball egg is a new layer's!! Her sister should be right behind her too. I should have expected this, as all the cockerels are chasing them now along with the bigger girls!

 

[Wynette]

Quote:
Illia, thanks for posting this pic! (Oh....my apologies, I'm catching up once again.) I really like her, but that comb....

YIKES!

 

[sewandgrow]

Quote:
Good for you Susie,
What a deal if all are well.............. Will you run them all together in a layer pen or separate by breed? I ned to do some serious re arranging & figure out what it is I REALLY want to do myself. At this point it is all OUT GO & no .......................... like so many others I am sure.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL

 

[Wynette]

Sew, I just love this time of year! Over the winter, I run several breeds together in a large run & coop; I love it when the end of January rolls around and I begin separating them. I'm not quite sure why, I guess just the anticipation of more eggs coming, seeing what my hatchlings will be like for the spring, etc. FUN!

 

[Ivywoods]

Quote:
Good for you Susie,
What a deal if all are well.............. Will you run them all together in a layer pen or separate by breed? I ned to do some serious re arranging & figure out what it is I REALLY want to do myself. At this point it is all OUT GO & no .......................... like so many others I am sure.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL

Right now I'm not sure if I will separate them or not. I have them separate from my other chickens right now as I want to keep them quarantined for a while. Gosh, they sure look healthy, though. I would like to get them into a bigger pen soon. I plan to keep them together unless we get into pecking problems or something. They were all raised together. I noticed the RIR hens have a few feathers missing on their backs, just ahead of their tails. I don't know if this is from pecking or not. The leghorns do not have any feathers missing that I can tell.

I'm thinking of moving them into the pen I have my marans and other hens in. It is bigger. I have 9 marans hens, 2 BO's and 4 BGJs. I'm going to leave them all where they are for now. I have plans to build a very large pen on the west side of our shop. That's a spring or summer project, though.

I did, however, build a 10 hole nest box for them last night. I got it all done while hubby was at work, then he helped me carry it into their pen this morning. There were eggs all over the ground by the time I got out there this morning!

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
Thanks Don,

1.) Where do you get the #7 box from ?

2.) So, if they order a dozen - - - you send a dozen (no extras) ? ?

3.) My Blue Copper marans lay a JUMBO egg - - it is really big.
I can not shut the carton on a Extra Large carton when I collect these and that is without bubblewrap.

Does this 3 x 4 egg carton have a lid? Do you add any extra fillings / protection in the box ?

Lisa, if you notice most of the egg sellers advertise 10+2 when selling 1 dozen. Much easier to ship 1 dozen than it is to ship 15 eggs. I would not use shredded paper since it will pack down and not be very good. Check some of the stores and small business in your area for Bubble and styra foam. I buy from Uline for my shipping needs. Don

 

[NicoleRM]

I mentioned this somewhere else recently, but I got a box of hatching eggs packed with popcorn once. It worked really well and my birds got a nice treat out of it.

 

[Wynette]

I only had 2 cracked eggs in the hundreds I shipped last year...I individually wrap them with bubble wrap pouches - they have an adhesive strip on the end and they work SO well. I do not put in cartons, but I am not opposed to that. I also do not double box. I used to do that, but found it only added extra weight and didn't seem to help the eggs in any way. I put 3-4 layers of large bubble wrap in the bottom of my box, then wrap each egg in their individual bubble wrap pouch (which also would keep any mess inside if one WERE to break, so as not to contaminate the rest), and put them fat end up, surrounded by peanuts. I put however many layers of large bubble wrap are needed on top, and sometimes will add an opened up egg carton on top, just to take up space. As indicated, I only had 2 cracked eggs last year in all that I shipped, so I'm sticking with this method.

 

[math ace]

Quote:
That is interesting.

I did find bubble wrap locally, but not stryofoam peanuts yet. I haven't looked too hard yet either. I wasn't planning on doing any shipping for another 6 months - 1 year, so I wasn't prepared this time around when someone asked for a favor. . . . .

POPCORN and the air popper to go with it I DO HAVE on hand. . .

Did they bubble wrap the eggs too? How many were broke?

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

I'm looking for bantam marans with very dark chocolate color. Hubby loves the chocolate color. Noticed another thread that had discussed but closed a while ago, without giving breeder info. Wondering if anyone here knew of a reputable breeder (not hatchery) that has bantam marans? ARE there any bantam marans in the USA? Thanks.