Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Bravo]

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Ah well....at any rate...

I'm hoping to get there eventually

I think your cockerel looks nice and I am sure Don did not mean his post to sound as snippy as it does . . .

Thanks Math! I have a few I think are decent but I'm always thinking how I'd like to improve each of them. Too bad we cant interchange specific pieces on different birds like a puzzle; If only I could consolidate the attributes of 3 nice birds I could make 1 really amazing one! lol

 

[wolftracks]

I just realized I hadn't posted in this thread since just before Bill died. It was when he bought me my Davis flock.

Since my girls have just started laying again I'll be hatching out as many as I can get my hands on. My girls were an older flock, so not your daily layers. Darn!

I also have Prestley/Valentine lines and working on hatching out the Jean lines now.

I'm hoping I can get some help here and with the Marans Club to cull what I need to and keep what I need to.

I have a couple of girls that I got that are mossy, so they were in with my blue AM until someone stole him. I've got some huge OEs hatching from them. Hated to get rid of them, so since I can sell OEs I'm going to keep them in with my AM roos. Next they'll be in with my black, since he's the olny one old enough right now.

I lost a lot of chicks to a cat yesterday. Much drama. Thing is I don't know the lines of what I have left in that brooder, because they were from eggs I won at the Stockton show from the Marans Club raffle.

I also have Cuckoos, and until the cat a blue splash.

I have a cockerel from Wade Jean lines right now that I think has too much chest color coming in, but I also have hens with no coppering or very little. I'd like to use him possibly to breed in more color for some future pullets. Until he's grown I time to figure that out, but then again, wouldn't it be better to breed to a better colored bird, or would I still have the problem with the hens?

I know what I've thought I was going to do, but since I decided to start post in here again, I want to breed the best birds I can.

 

[rsquared]

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Kim................what's going on with that?????? A broody hen won't lay anymore eggs for you..LOL What do you need more, the chicks or the eggs? None of mine have offered to go broody but I have a small flock & half of them are in the layer pen. I have heard of it happening on this thread somewhere I think. Hope someone else can help with personal experience.
Karen in Turlock

I've ever only had ONE Marans hen go broody on me. I put her in my breeder cage/broody buster with no nest box access & wire floors - it's on stilts, so the air can flow underneath....3 days there, and she was cured of her broodiness!

Oh wynette, wish I'd read this about 5 days ago.....had a BC hen broody in w/ my layers so put her in her own pen with several "test" eggs which she accepted and started sitting on soooooo gave her some Wheatens I had shipped in and have been checking on her several times daily and seemed alright however this am gave her fresh water/food and she got off the eggs and they were all over the place, some cold, some warm. In other words she had not tucked them under her wings soooooo into the incubator they went but my hopes are dashed on a great hatch. Ah well, only money and you can't take it with you. We'll see

 

[aussieheelr]

Ok here's a few pictures of my first two fuzzy butts BCM chicks from our starter flock... hooray for non shipped eggs

The one with its bum facing the camera was still a little "fresh" out of the shell and didn't want to stand up very much yet. But a cute little butt it is

I've had three hatch, one this morning day 23, and letting them ride until the morining just incase... but no pictures of the newest one yet. It does have thick lettle leggies though

 

[math ace]

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POINT - - Dh wants to know what exactly your incubator is made from - - -

Is it a wine cooler? Deli meats cooler ? ?

Who makes it ? ?

Give me more infor - - PLEASE - - BEFORE I have to HURT Dh!

 

[Batty about Banties]

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Holy cow! New Marans folks are popping out of the woodwork this morning!

Batty ~ You didn't say where "locally" was. You may have someone in here right down the road from you!

Then there are always chicks or hatching eggs, and yes, the wait for that first egg is EXASPERATING!!!

...but well worth it!

I live in Washington state.......across the river from The Dalles, OR. So if anyone has too many nearby then shoot me a line!!

I actually got 2 new chickies today.....that darn chicken math!

 

[VillageChicken]

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I've ever only had ONE Marans hen go broody on me. I put her in my breeder cage/broody buster with no nest box access & wire floors - it's on stilts, so the air can flow underneath....3 days there, and she was cured of her broodiness!

Oh wynette, wish I'd read this about 5 days ago.....had a BC hen broody in w/ my layers so put her in her own pen with several "test" eggs which she accepted and started sitting on soooooo gave her some Wheatens I had shipped in and have been checking on her several times daily and seemed alright however this am gave her fresh water/food and she got off the eggs and they were all over the place, some cold, some warm. In other words she had not tucked them under her wings soooooo into the incubator they went but my hopes are dashed on a great hatch. Ah well, only money and you can't take it with you. We'll see

I had a batch in the incubator get down to 50 degrees for more than 12 hours on about day 3 or 4. They just started right back up again when I got the power back on. Your eggs will probably be okay unless it's freezing cold outside still. You might just take a day longer.

 

[Mountain Mel]

So I went up to Pinkchicks' yesterday and picked up 7 baby chickies.

(Boy, Pinkchicks' sister is HOT!) We made it home O.K., and all the chicks seem to be adapting well to their new "Digs".

(Did I mention that Pinkchicks sister is HOT!?) I keep the temp around 85-87 degrees for the first week or so. I keep a close eye on the birds and see what they are doing. If they are sitting to the sides of my brooder box, then I figure they are too warm and I raise the light a little. If they huddle under the light, it is telling me that they are too cold. (I have never had this happen)....if anything, I err on the side of being a little warm. Usually within 24 hrs. I have it all figured out and everyone is happy. I must be doing something right, because of all the chicks I have gotten from Pinkchick, I have yet to lose a single one.

Is it all me, or does that girl just hatch out some great birds?

I give the credit to Pinkchick...she knows her stuff. ( God, it's great to be her neighbor!)

Did I mention that her sister is HOT!?

 

[Hens and Roos]

Off to the post office to pick up the eggs that Pink shipped to us

will give update later this afternoon! Thanks Pink

 

[math ace]

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MEl, we have missed the awesome communication style that you have. I think I will change my avatar just for you

Where you been? It was so seriously serious around here. There was no MALE humor to keep us wondering about the difference between Venus and Mars

One day you may find all of Pinks birds missing from your yard if you keep bragging about having her stock while others are on a long waiting list for eggs. . .

The girls around here can get vicious if they smell "Pink" blood in the water.