Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[math ace]

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My hatchery speckled sussex never have, BUT I know someone who has a hatchery LEGHORN who went broody AND hatched a clutch of chicks. So, ANYTHING is possible. It sounds like your hen wants to be a mamma.

I have a bunch of extra hatching eggs setting on my counter RIGHT NOW. . . Hollar and I'll run them over to you

 

[Ivywoods]

I have one pen of BCM's with one rooster named Goliath. None of those hens are broody. I have another bunch of BCM hens in with my leghorns, BJG's and BO's. The one BCM rooster in that pen is named Fuzzy. The leghorns peck his feathers. He hangs out with his BCM and BJG ladies. Today I was missing several BCM hens from that pen. They free range. I decided I should look around. Sure enough, there they were in the old tumble down hay barn. One was on a nest of BCM eggs and one was sitting on a clutch of BJG eggs.

I've got a buff orp hen in that group, too. She has been broody for a while now. She sits in the corner of the "community roll out nest" so you know what happens to the eggs. I tried to take her out of there and put her in her own pen on some eggs. She got all excited and wouldn't sit. I put her back in the pen. Now she's sitting in the roll out nest again. All the eggs roll right out of there, but she is still sitting. I don't know what I'm going to do with her!

 

[Debbi]

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I'm not sure if the Marans whites are dominant or recessive, I don't do whites. But check this link out, it will drive you chicken color crazy!

http://kippenjungle.nl/kruising.html

 

[flgardengirl]

Quote:
My hatchery speckled sussex never have, BUT I know someone who has a hatchery LEGHORN who went broody AND hatched a clutch of chicks. So, ANYTHING is possible. It sounds like your hen wants to be a mamma.

I have a bunch of extra hatching eggs setting on my counter RIGHT NOW. . . Hollar and I'll run them over to you

Oh noo! I don't want any more broodies right now. The duck on the patio is still sitting on eggs and she beat the crap outta the cat yesterday because she walked too close to her nest. Crazy hormonal animals lol.
The SS girl's babies would be mixed with a silver phx rooster or possibly my dark blue copper roo that freeranges by her pen. I know she has been out to freerange a few times last week. Soooo N0 she can't hatch any of her own eggs LOL! I will stick some Olive egger eggs under her if I have to.

Maybe I will build that wire cage deal someone posted about to break broodies. I really really don't want any more broodies right now. Geez its only March!! Last summer they all kept going broody one after the other starting in the middle of the summer but they are starting early this year.

LOL@ the broody on the roll out nest box that is a dirty trick! Maybe I should get one of those.

 

[Ivywoods]

I wonder what she thinks every time one of those eggs rolls out?

"OOOPS... there goes another one............Darn! Lost that one, too................Whoa! Come back here!............Oh, no! Come back! Come back!..........."

 

[seabreeze]

Debi, OMG

....that color genetics chart made me dizzy!! EGADS, how complex!!

OK Garden Girl, quit the bragging on your broodys!! If you weren't so darn far away, I'd take them off your hands for ya!

 

[flgardengirl]

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haha "those eggs are slippery suckers aren't they?"

Seabreeze be careful what you wish for lol. Last spring I was wishing for at least ONE broody. Then they all started....

 

[jlgoinggreen]

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Those are some gorgeous eggs. I'm Eggcited for you!

 

[jeremy]

I have 2 Black Copper eggs with pips! These are my eggs from Monique! (ruth).

 

[VillageChicken]

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I'm not sure if the Marans whites are dominant or recessive, I don't do whites. But check this link out, it will drive you chicken color crazy!

http://kippenjungle.nl/kruising.html

Marans in France and I believe throughout Europe are usually recessive white. Some will also have barring and could also have dominant white.

It is not consistent because white covers a lot of things. But if they are simply recessive white, as I believe most are, you get solid black Marans in your first generation, and about 50% white when crossed back to the parent white bird. It is not recommended to cross whites to your BC to improve egg color - it has a negative affect on shank color and BC's carry gold, mahogany and even potentially autosomal red genes that can bleed through in recessive whites.

If your whites carry barring as well, you'll get some cuckoo offspring that are split recessive whites, meaning they carry the white gene but don't express it.
If they also carry dominant white, a separate white gene that works differently than recessive white, you'll get white birds in your first generation, but they will show red in the hackle and wings like pyle leghorns.