Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[pinkchick]

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They are 5 weeks old now. Really- it's ok if he/she is a roo- I have 12 hens now that are roo-less, and when my chicks that I just got grow up (all females), I will have like 40 girls with no guys other than the silkies off in a separate pen!

They will appreciate a boy to warn them of hawks. I will have to get a closer look at the combs - time to go close them up now. I didn't really notice one chicken's comb larger than the other- I'll have to look again.

Ok, I looked carefully at the two little ones' combs. One is noticeably larger- you are right - could be a roo. I am completely happy with that- he can stay with us as long as he doesn't attack me or the kids.

At least I have one girl to give me dark eggs. And then I already have two Wellies giving me dark eggs too, and my EEs giving me green and blue. Now I just need my Buff Minorcas to grow up and start laying- I'll have it made.

Thank you again PinkChick for selling me these wonderful babies!!!! I am looking forward to the dark eggs.

I am glad you are not unhappy with him and if you want another pullet just let me know. I'll get 1 or 2 your way.

I handle my roosters extensively from this age on so they are used to me. I'm sure you do, but play with them and spend as much time with them as you can with hands on, they build bonds and relationships with people just like other animals, some roosters just forget they once loved us when they hit about 6 mos. old. Thanks for posting photos and keeping me updated, I really appreciate you! Don't be shy and keep posting them, I will love watching them grow.

 

[pinkchick]

Math~

See the wing sexing thing is not always accurate.....

On the flip side.....VillageChicken posted what I was trying to refer to the other day the fast feathering gene from the male, he just explains it waaaaaaaaaaaay better than I ever could.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
Ok, I looked carefully at the two little ones' combs. One is noticeably larger- you are right - could be a roo. I am completely happy with that- he can stay with us as long as he doesn't attack me or the kids.

At least I have one girl to give me dark eggs. And then I already have two Wellies giving me dark eggs too, and my EEs giving me green and blue. Now I just need my Buff Minorcas to grow up and start laying- I'll have it made.

Thank you again PinkChick for selling me these wonderful babies!!!! I am looking forward to the dark eggs.

I am glad you are not unhappy with him and if you want another pullet just let me know. I'll get 1 or 2 your way.

I handle my roosters extensively from this age on so they are used to me. I'm sure you do, but play with them and spend as much time with them as you can with hands on, they build bonds and relationships with people just like other animals, some roosters just forget they once loved us when they hit about 6 mos. old. Thanks for posting photos and keeping me updated, I really appreciate you! Don't be shy and keep posting them, I will love watching them grow.

Right now I'm swimming in chickens and don't want to buy any more. But you are my "Marans store!" Beautiful babies! I'll let you know if I want to buy more for sure!

 

[pinkchick]

4 Marans are here.....1 Blue and 3 Splash......maybe it is going to be the hatch of mostly Splashes.

 

[sewandgrow]

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I wonder if mixing gravel in the sand would help. . . .

I was wondering about this myself. I am not experiencing the awful muck right now as we have had awhile without rain so the ground is walkable for now but I do have some sweet girls that love to dig & are almost under their pen & into the red Golden Phesants pen..........LOL. I thought of gravel along the bottom of the fenceline but wondered if they would eat it & it cause a problem???? What do you like out there?

 

[pinkchick]

PINK , once you add gravel to your pens - - - do you ever clean the runs?

Well.....here's the thing and truth be told.......I haven't seen the gravel or the 6" of sand that I put down in the runs for 3 years now.

They have this uncanny ability for digging and scratching you know.....the original sand is gone for sure, sunken into the layers of earth and mud that have come up with the unrelenting chicken traffic......I have seen some of the gravel that I first put down under the sand, but the majority of it has been sucked into the ground as well. The sand and gravel worked great for a time until I expanded the coop run areas removed the bottom plates of what use to the be the run....you know like when you frame a coop run up with wood and fence around it....well they all used to be like that and with the bottom 2x6's it used to hold everything in place, but once I revamped the runs and eliminated the wood framing and the bottom 2x6's, everything just kinda spread out and don't think the chooks didn't help spread it out even further, 'cause they did the majority of it....(who needs a rake to spread stuff, when we have chickens?

). The sand and gravel worked great for the first couple of years but I also didn't add anything to it and now we are completely 100% back to dirt. I don't have the time nor the energy to renew the sand and gravel so now I just deal with the mucky muck with straw and hay that has to be removed after a few days because it gets nasty, too nasty to leave in so I muck it out and put it on the garden. I also should have put down Typar under the gravel and sand at first but I wasn't thinking like I was building a road and Typar is very expensive, though it would have prevented all of the sand and gravel from settling down into the earth and would have allowed the water to seep through. Now I just rotate every coop out in to a common grassy space that is fenced off to keep them out of their runs as much as possible, especially when it is so wet. In answer to your question.....yes, I would take the apple picker in and take anything big off the top that would not get washed in by the rain, but it was not very often. To be very honest with you.....I will not use sand and gravel again, too many $$ and too much time, the way I have it going right now works great for me and the birds seem to be happy.

 

[sewandgrow]

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Hi Sue, Sorry for your bad luck lately hope things go along smoothly from now one.
As for roosters I haven't had a mean one in a very long time & when I did he didn't last 5 minutes after he showed his mean streak. My grand daughter was a toddler ( well, maybe 4 or 5) & he went after her & crawled up her back as she ran across the yard. She was traumatized. Now she is 9 & in 4H poultry & loves her Australorps but will only hold the hens. I am trying to introduce her to the fact that not all roosters are bad some of mine are quite friendly.

 

[gilavina]

Good Morning. I thought I'd come by and say hello instead of just only lurking...I've read through the thread and am happy to have found a place where I can learn so much about Marans. When I started working with them a couple of years ago, I knew next to nothing about them, except what I had briefly read online or in magazines. Of all the different breeds of poultry I've raised since I was a kid, I have to say that by far, these are my absolute favorite. I look forward to learning more from all of you...and gotta say, I love the pictures!

 

[pinkchick]

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Hey Girl!

Good to see you chime in and glad to have you here with us! How ya doing? Hope all is well since the last time we spoke. Can't wait to dig in to some of that knowledge you have tucked away.

 

[Debbi]

Mornin' Pink and all!

Pink, how many Marans are you hatching this time? Love those Splash chicks, can't wait for some of my own!!