Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Hens and Roos]

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Congrats on the chickies Cheryl! I wish everyone had better hatches like Poularde and Enggass did. I'm kinda dissappointed in the hatch rates on them after being shipped. But then again I know eggzactly what to expect from shipped eggs.
Slightly off topic but keeping on the track of low hatch rates...the 4th round of Barnevelder eggs from my friend Farmer Johan were just as dissappointing as the first 3 shipments, 2 chicks hatched. Just like last time one boy and one girl. ARGH! Now these are some tough eggs to hatch...but I will keep buying new blood from him every year he offers them up because of the superior quality of his birds...even if it means 2 chicks at a time. Heck even my own Barnevelder eggs from my mature birds have the same hatch rate their parent stock from Johan. Frustrating!

Here's a photo of the hobble I make for the chicks if needed. It's just a piece of vetwrap cut into about 5/8" strip and I wrap one leg and press together and then wrap the other leg and press together. I leave just a touch more than natural distance apart in the legs on the hobble.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/11170_hobble.jpg

thanks Pink, I have them done correctly! We'll see if that helps the legs. Off to get something done today.....

 

[pinkchick]

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Don,

Could this possibly be that it's because the Marans is virtually "new" to the show ring, and that many judges will pick the BCM over other colors because they know so little about the breed as a whole? I've got to tell you, I've seen quite a few outstanding blue and splash birds that would make me pick them over a nice BCM any day! Look at Kim's birds. It was the same in the Doberman show ring when the Blues and Fawns first started coming out. Judges had NO idea what they were, so the Black and Red dogs kept on winning, even though some were grossly inferior to the dilute colors! Just a thought...

Debbi, Never been a blue hatched in the good olde USA that would beat a good Black Copper under any Judge. I will try and extract myself from this discussion as it is so difficult to talk Breed type when non showers only see color.

Another hatch coming up this weekend. Good luck to all, Don

Don, Don't extract yourself from this discussion....if you do it will go nowhere and even less will be understood. You are a vital part of this topic, I am not trying to be difficult over this...just trying to understand.
My Blue Copper Roo was created from a Blue Copper roo and a Black Copper mother......both of excellent blood lines that has already been establish. My Blue Copper roo may have some faults but his faults are not in his type...simply rather his comb and his diminishing 2 white tail feathers and perhaps as you would call it a small amount of some blue fluff at the tail break......this to me is not inferior quality....this to me tells me that when I look past the color Blue that he is an outstanding specimen of this breed and I can see no reason not to use this rooster over a Black Copper female to produce more Black Coppers. If he had come out a Black Copper from that same crossing of his parents and still had all the same attributes that he has as a Blue Copper......I would not hesitate to use him in a breeding program. What I don't understand is that the Blue and Splash in this breed of birds has been around since the beginning of the breed...or perhaps for all we know the Black Copper is not the original color and perhaps the Black Coppers were sports that popped out of the Blues or Splash'. Who knows....you know..it's kinda like who came first the chicken or the egg....so for all we know every Black Copper line or bird probably does or did come from or has some sort of Blue or Splash in their background. Whose to say that the Black Coppers didn't inherit their good genes from the other color birds and since they are so special and sought after or the favorite so to speak and are receiving the majority of the hard work of breeders to improve...maybe the good Blue and Splash birds were neglected along the way thus leaving some of them inferior and lacking, then those lacking birds some how made it back into the gene pool. What I am saying is that we shouldn't discount a very nice bird produced from a Blue or Splash mating if they have what it takes to produce more of the same in any of the three colors...Black, Blue or Splash.
I'm not stuck on the color thing....but I am stuck on the fact that if a good bird is produced and it will produce a pure Black Copper then I see not one issue in using it. Certainly I can't be the only one out there that has this feeling. I am no stranger to the showring and understand fully what you are saying but I disagree that when you say that any other color of this variety of birds won't take it in the showcage. I believe one day they will.
By the way....good luck on your hatch...I don't have any hatching until Easter. I promised my oldest sister that I would have babies hatching for her when she came over for Easter. LOL! Everytime she comes over she missing them hatching by a day. Hope she gets to see them this time.

 

[pinkchick]

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should, they are the same dimentions I believe.

Are they the same dimensions? My neighbor has Hovabators and she purchased a little giant with a turner for giggles and an extra hatcher because it was last minute and she needed it....I thought she told me that the turner from the LG did not fit in the Hova......That would be awesome if they did because they are way cheaper than a turmer for the Hova....the only problem I have found with the LG turners is that the motors go out. I bought 2 of them for my home'mator and after one season of incubating one motor went out and then the next one did. They start to make funny noises and if you watch them closely you can see some heat marks on the metal and label of the turner motor itself because they do get hot. The last 2 I purchased have not gone out yet but then again I haven't given them the workout that the others got since I purchased the Sportsman.

 

[snowbird]

Just a little on the splay leg or spraddle leg chicks. In years past I have studied this in my chickens and found that if you lower the humidity in the incubator it will lower the size and weight of your chicks. When you raise the humidity this also ads extra water in the chick. If anyone hatches under a hen, have you ever had one hatch a splay leg check ? Sometimes you can also cause this if the surface where they are at is slick. I use the brooder paper from Cuttlers that is Neomycin treated, gives a firmer footing and helps neutralize droppings. from me to you, Don

 

[math ace]

I am going to jump in real quick and post some pics of the latest brooder.
I KNOW I have some reading to catch up with - - - but I am busy trying to find a nursing home for my dad and am only taking a short break to post pics!

EVERYONE have a GREAT day today !

The brooder has two doors because it can be divided in half for two different ages of chicks. The divider is only stapled in and can be removed easily when chicks get bigger and you want them to have to whole space - - - ie a grow out pen / cage.

This is screened side for air and light.

Ventalation for colder days when the screened side has been closed in to keep it nice and toasty.

REMEMBER - - - this is a FLORIDA design . .. . It is not meant for them crazy northern temperatures

 

[Hens and Roos]

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thanks for the info, we have a small gage wire rack that we lay the eggs on from the turner to hatch out on. For this hatch the first 18 days humidity was between 35-42 % and at day 18 we raised it to around 55% and then up to 62% as they seemed to be have a problem getting out of the clear membrane. I have a home made incubator that we hatch in and for the most part due pretty good. I will probably candle the 4 remaining eggs to see if anything can be seen. I guess time will tell on how the chicks legs do.

 

[pinkchick]

Math~

That is an awesome brooder! Love IT! How are the eggs that were still peeping doing? Anything going on there?

Hope you have a good day yourself my friend. Sorry I abruptly logged off last night...my DH came home and I was getting the stink eye for still being on the puter.

I made him some homemade Split pea and ham soup with cornbread for dinner and he was all better. I hope you have lots of luck looking for a place for your father. DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS!!!!!!!! What if questions? Worst case scenario questions? You have to be prepared as I know you will be.

 

[Hens and Roos]

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nice brooders! I don't think they would do well by me today, very windy today- probably have winds gusting around 30 mph at least- but they would work well in our garage area!

Good luck with finding a place for your dad.

 

[pinkchick]

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thanks for the info, we have a small gage wire rack that we lay the eggs on from the turner to hatch out on. For this hatch the first 18 days humidity was between 35-42 % and at day 18 we raised it to around 55% and then up to 62% as they seemed to be have a problem getting out of the clear membrane. I have a home made incubator that we hatch in and for the most part due pretty good. I will probably candle the 4 remaining eggs to see if anything can be seen. I guess time will tell on how the chicks legs do.

Are you going to leave the remaining eggs in for a couple more days? You know that often I have sneaky peeps that like to show up.

 

[Hens and Roos]

Quote:
thanks for the info, we have a small gage wire rack that we lay the eggs on from the turner to hatch out on. For this hatch the first 18 days humidity was between 35-42 % and at day 18 we raised it to around 55% and then up to 62% as they seemed to be have a problem getting out of the clear membrane. I have a home made incubator that we hatch in and for the most part due pretty good. I will probably candle the 4 remaining eggs to see if anything can be seen. I guess time will tell on how the chicks legs do.

Are you going to leave the remaining eggs in for a couple more days? You know that often I have sneaky peeps that like to show up.

yes, unless with the candler DH made we can tell that they are no good.