Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[seabreeze]

Vicki, everything crossed

for your mystery hatch, I can't wait to hear about it! see pics of course

after being all depressed over a non hatch of several batches/purchased eggs, upon opening I found the reasons why nothing succeeded. Some had nothing in them, some were scrambled with what appears to be an embryo and a couple had chicks that stopped forming. Figures right? My own BCMs in the bator due tomorrow are already starting to pip yet the ones I spent big bucks on (for me anyway), got me 2 hatches out of 12 and one died. The surviving chick appears to be a blue but its so sickly looking I just don't know.

anyway, best of luck and living vicariously through everyone else's hatches

 

[gilavina]

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Thanks Sea!

Its going really well. I got my first standard blue wyandottes out of the trio I got about a month ago....they are gorgeous little fatties. Nearly all the Marans I hatched from my stock were for an order for someone. They are looking good tho...I want to try to get some pics today of some of my older stock that I have in holding/grow out pens for my own stock. They are looking very nice.

I know how you are feeling about the buying eggs and not having them hatch. Last year was a disaster in that way for me...but live and learn...made some adjustments and got up the nerve to try some of those shipped eggs again...letting them rest in the hatching tray to start the incubation before putting them in the turners has been a huge plus for me!!

Gotta get myself organized and get ready to run a few errands so I can get back here and work on shifting a few birds around and work in the garden a bit.

Glad you have some chicks hatching...even if they are from yours!! I'll keep my fingers crossed for that little blue to pull through!

 

[flgardengirl]

I planted 6 huge brugmansia trees today out front and then it started raining on me lol. So I gave up on gardening and went in the house to make strawberry shortcake for dessert tonight. So the chickens got a bunch of strawberry hulls and other treats. They are all hanging out on the front porch crowing and making a racket since it is raining today.

 

[hippiehen]

Hi!

Just wanted to share - today is my first time hatching and my first ever marans! They are black copper, b/b/s and wheaten I bought from Gerry Farms in GA! Today is day 20 and so far I have 5 chicks beeboppin' around - 12 more to go! 4 of the 5 are some mutts (noblest of breeds!) of mine and I think one wheaten maran! I'll take pics when they've all hatched so yall can help me sort them out.

Soooo excited!!

 

[Hens and Roos]

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That's great

hatching is so fun to watch! We are at day 19 with our Marans eggs from Pink, nothing yet

Good Luck with the rest of the hatch and pictures would be great!

 

[math ace]

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DON't OPEN THE INCUBATOR!

DON'T OPEN IT UNTIL THE HATCH LOOKS DONE!

DON't be SURPRISED if the hatch goes a couple of days past Day 21 either !

 

[snowbird]

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Lisa, here is a picture of some of the stack brooders with GQF heaters. These units are 48"x24" and 12 high. Don

 

[hippiehen]

Quote:
DON't OPEN THE INCUBATOR!

DON'T OPEN IT UNTIL THE HATCH LOOKS DONE!

DON't be SURPRISED if the hatch goes a couple of days past Day 21 either !

Waaah I know! I'm not! I think I'm going to have to leave the house though and luckily I work all day tomorrow, which I did purposefully because I thought they would hatch then! Those 5 in there are squished against the window like "LEEEET ME OOUUUTT!!"

I won't do it! I won't I won't I won't!

 

[VillageChicken]

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I agree Sue. And aren't pure Black, Blue and Splash based on the Silver gene and created from Cuckoo's and not the Coppers ER Birchen gene? So creating a pure Black, Blue and Splash variety from Coppers would be virtually impossible and would be ER birds that are WAY over melanized?

There is a line of BBS Ameraucana that are ER based for the slate shanks, and Black Leghorns are also ER based (clear yellow shanks). It must not be that difficult to melanize ER to self black. Although conventional standards have BBS Marans being Extended black EE based like cuckoos, without the barring to lighten the shanks, there is, in theory, some advantage to having BBS Marans be ER based. The ER shanks don't melanize as easily as EE based shanks, so you get lighter shanks on the ER. It would be an interesting comparison, though I think it will be many years before there is a line of good BBS Marans, & whether they are ER or EE based at that point will probably determine what the standard is for shank color.

I know that BBS egg color right now does not approach that of Black Copper or Birchen, what would take longer - to breed the darker egg into the BBS or add melanization to the Birchens? I don't think BBS will ever be as popular as BC until the eggs get darker.

 

[math ace]

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How long can they stay in those brooders and how many do you put in each ?