Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Ivywoods]

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Too Funny - - - I just sat down this morning and designed my THIRD and BIGGEST brooder to handle all the potential chicks from this hatch.

Dh needs to put the sun roof on the last brooder this weekend. Those started speckled sussex chicks are shipping Monday or Tuesday!
They will need a place to call home.

The NEWEST and BEST BRooder - - - I will try to build during the week. I see a trip to home depot this weekend for wood.

Be sure to post pics of your newest project when you finish. I can't wait to get started on mine. The weather has just NOT been cooperating. Until I get the time and right conditions to do it, the chickies I will be getting later this month will just have to get their start in my old brooder.... a livestock tank with a welded wire cover.

 

[gilavina]

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Haha...you are right up there with the humor too

There are some truly funny people on here...I love the not knowing what people will say next.
So, how many eggs total do you have going into the incubator this time? This next batch with those few shipped eggs, I'm going to put them in the hatch tray and keep them stationary in egg cartons for a few days like someone had suggested to see how they develop. I'm hoping it will help!

I was suppose to count them???????

okay okay....I counted, ready?

16 eggs from CP, 32 of my own eggs all set for hatch on 3-23. OMG I think I need a bigger fish tank!

Just got home from work....sigh...loooong day. I don't remember if I replied to this before work or not...so I'm going to reply...possibly again....

That sounds like a great hatch you have started there! It looks like this next batch will be about a day or two behind you....I literally just put them in the incubator...and that reminds me...I forgot to write down exactly what I put in there....eeeekkk...I could probably figure it out in my head, but I am tired...so I'm just gonna pop the incubator open to jot down some notes... man...I must be tired that I didn't do that before i set them...
I shall be back shortly with my count...

 

[gilavina]

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Cool, Thanks for sharing. DON'T OPEN IT!!!! Just asking. I am sitting on the edge of my chair. Very interested to see how your hatch rate is with them at a higher humidity level. I have never been able to get the humidity up that high to try. The best I've ever been able to get was like 60% once and it didn't last that long. If it works great for you and you have a good hatch rate, I will try up'ing the hum. on my next hatch if I can get it that high and see if it makes a difference.

eta: I can't wait to see how everyone's hatches go and compare all the different methods that each person uses and see what all the different outcomes may be. I will learn tons and tons by this. Thanks for helping make that happen.

hey Pink....on your sportsman what sort of set up do you have for your humidity?

 

[math ace]

Quote:
Too Funny - - - I just sat down this morning and designed my THIRD and BIGGEST brooder to handle all the potential chicks from this hatch.

Dh needs to put the sun roof on the last brooder this weekend. Those started speckled sussex chicks are shipping Monday or Tuesday!
They will need a place to call home.

The NEWEST and BEST BRooder - - - I will try to build during the week. I see a trip to home depot this weekend for wood.

I wanna see it when you get it done! I am working on another brooder for chicks specifically hatched out for other folks, I have several chicks coming as well and also growing several out for myself, so the extra brooders will be greatly appreciated on my part, but, DH is not too excited about it being kept in the shop, but hey...atleast I put it on wheels and it will roll right out of the way, and he thinks I was kidding about making another one. NOT!

The first brooder I did had a flat roof. I had homedepot pre-cut almost all the wood for that project. It was nothing to put together

The second brooder we added a slant roof and used green house material for the roof so that the chicks would have light. . .
The third brooder will still have a slanted roof, but will only be 1/2 green house material. The other half of the roof will be plywood.
I am afraid brooder # 2 will have too much sun UNLESS I place it in the shade of our tree line.

Each brooder has gotten bigger because the hatches are getting larger

I post pictures in a couple of weeks on brooder #2 and Brooder # 3

 

[math ace]

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No Problem !

 

[gilavina]

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Oooohhhh.. its a pretty one!! Hope the rest of your hatch goes well!!

Oh and Les....guess what I found today when I was taking a closer look at the chicks I just hatched....I did get a chick out of one of Helen Byers blue eggs!!! (I feel like such a dope)....I totally forgot that I had because it was my first one hatched, then was followed by a bunch of my own that I put in at the same time..I had to refer to my band color list, but at this point it is looking like it is going to be another splash. Just thought I'd let you know since I had told in that email I didn't get any...I think I need to find a day this weekend where I do nothing...I've got too many projects going to get ready for spring...

 

[gilavina]

Ok Pink...back with my count that will hatch around the same time as yours....3/24 I believe is day 21 for me over here...

I've got 21 Coronation/Light Suss ex (first eggs out of my pullets, so may have some or may have none that are fertile yet), 5 from my Blue Marans pen, 8 cuckoos, 2 of my BCMs, and my first two eggs from my Bantam Marans experiment and one wee columbian wyandotte bantam eggs....
I have for shipped eggs 10 nice dark BCMs and 18 Dorkings in Dun, Fawn and Dark Brown. I put them into the hatching tray and will not turn them until I go to put a few eggs in the hatcher for lockdown. I surely hope that it will turn out well!
I'm working on hatching a few of mine here and there to get started birds ready for some orders I have. So, I am feeling thankful that they are not all staying here...

 

[seabreeze]

I was told to come to this thread and ask Village Chicken about these birds I recently received. The lady told me they were blue and blue copper Marans with maybe a Splash thrown in. Once I got them home, photographed them, they did not look like any splash, blue or blue/coppers I've seen pics of. Granted, I haven't seen piics of the aforementioned at the ages of 4 months which these birds are.

So, if anyone wants to take a shot at this, please feel free to do so. I need to determine whether these birds are worthwhile (ie breeding quality) or just stew meat for the dogs when they get bulked up enough. The story is the lady cannot remember where she got them from but she said definitely NOT a hatchery. Secondly, she hatched them out Nov. 2-3 2010 and sold off all the blue Marans hens because she wants to focus on her lavender Orps.

thanks.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=5822083#p5822083

 

[pinkchick]

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Sea~ They are Blue Birchen and don't you dare get rid of them!!!!

I don't know about the girl photo'd that is the Black and White Spangled looking bird as that is not any color variety in Marans, so maybe she has a little something else in her background or she is a recessive popping up from a long ago oops. The splash boy photo #5 looks to be carrying gold, I think that Illia may have touched on that for you.
If they were my birds I wouldn't get rid of them or feed them to the dogs anytime too soon. I would watch them mature a little longer and see if one or two of them is good enough to use for breeding and then I would find myself some girls to go with them. You could always send bachelor #2 and #4 straight up here to Washington to Pink's house. I will keep them nice and safe.

 

[pinkchick]

hey Pink....on your sportsman what sort of set up do you have for your humidity?

I just use the water dish that came with it and I just open the door and pour in more water when it is empty. I was using a tube to fill the water but you know it's much easier to just open the door.

BTW: Sounds like you have quite the gang going on in your 'bator girl! WoW!
I thought about just ordering all sorts of hatching eggs of different varieties and then just selling the chicks because there are alot of breeds of chickens that are still very unknown out here and hard to come by, but I am very afraid of getting stuck with all these chicklets that don't sell.