Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[math ace]

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I am seeing some BIG and PINK COMBs - - - you are expecting some cockerels - - - RIGHT ? ?

A variety pack is nice . . . . Makes it easier to tell everyone apart.

I got some leghorns my first time out AND had to zip tie their legs to tell them apart.

I still have those girls. .. . they lay when no one else is laying. HOWEVER, without the leg bands, I stil can not tell them apart.

 

[math ace]

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WOW! BAD to the BONE is not an understatement. NICE JOB!

I am gonna show that bad boy to my Dh

He keeps talking the talk about making one for me!

 

[Bravo]

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Ehhhhheeemmmm....I don't think he's worth keeping so you should just send him to me and call it a day

I'm still learning but for what it's worth I think he's a nice looking cockerel! I love his dark coppering--this is something I am trying to improve in my birds. He looks nice and broad, appears to have a solid black breast and a short back.

I cant really see the comb or his eye color in the pics too well so I cant comment on those. The only thing I can see is the feathering on the legs. Per the proposed SOP the outer-shanks are supposed to be moderately feathered and his looks a little sparse. From what I've read that is a pretty easy fix.

I think you have one pretty boy there! I am very curious to see what others with more experience say.

Oh and your incubator is SWEET!!!

 

[seabreeze]

That is some awesome incubator!! WOWSA! What is the casing? How many eggs will it hold? Have you hatched with it yet? How'd it do? Did you have to do any tweaking on temps and humdity? Its gorgeous to boot!

 

[seabreeze]

Math Ace, my white Leghorns are laying fools too!! when everyone else stops, they keep laying! I switched them over to a smaller barn to make more room for the ever growing Marans population and they stopped for a while. I think in protest. But now that they are back to free-ranging in areas uber rich in *live protein*, the eggs have gone from delish to absolutely out-of-this-world!! The yolks are almost as orange as the Marans and the egg white is thicker. Those girls are amazing!

 

[Spitman]

Yah I made it last year , it has 1 1/2 styrofoam sandwiched by 3/8 plywood all panels and doors. It holds temp . to within 0.5 degree , I've had 2 100% hatches out of 3 But my wife made me stop . To many chicks in the basement lol . It's awesome. My page has more pictures I water from the top never have to open it up. humidity is cake as well no problem getting to 75-80 % for lock down I could hatch 164 at once but have it set up for 82.

 

[seabreeze]

Now THAT is awesome Spit! What is the casing made of/from? Would you mind sharing (approximately) what the total project cost from start to finish? Did you work with any blueprints or.......are you an architect or contractor? That's a very VERY very cool 'bator!

 

[pinkchick]

Gilavina~ I use vet wrap to hobble them. When I get a chance I will hobble one and snap a photo for you.I like the vet wrap because there is no sticky anything and doesnt stick to their little feathered leggies and it lasts for up to ten days before it needs to be changed if needed. I also use it for identification purposes upon hatch. Its cheap and a few different colored rolls has lasted more than a couple years now with plenty more to go before I have to get more.

 

[Spitman]

yah , Im a Builder / concrete contractor / artist / chicken lover/ organic farmer LOL. It wasn't cheep but I'll pull some numbers together and post it or you can message me , I took some Ideas from alot of different posts on BYC and drew up my own plans . The temp controller was the most expensive part of the project about $135 . But other than that probably had $300.00 total cost . Ball Park

 

[gilavina]

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yeah...I'd love to see a pic sometime of one all hobbled (ok, just reread that sentence, that sounded weird

). Good tip on the vet wrap too, where did you pick your colored rolls up from?