Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[flgardengirl]

Looks like its been kinda quite around here lately.

Ivy Happy Bday I hope you did something fun

Syble those are some cute babies you have there.

I have some bad news: something got one of my nicest blue roosters early this morning. I should have kept him locked up but lately him and his 3 buddies have been sleeping on the top step of the enclosed porch and they don't go into the yard until daylight. This morning whatever it was, took off the black copper roo from my avatar egg's tail so it must of almost got him too. The remaining 3 roos are petrified-totally unlike any of them. No sign of the blue roo except some blue feathers so it must of carried him off. I searched the woods around the property and didn't find anything.
I also found some more holes dug around the fence to my main coop where my laying hens are locked up. Here we have the right to shoot dogs or varmits (except protected birds of prey etc) to protect our chickens or whatever, so...
Its my own fault for not locking those roos up. I guess if its not locked up around here its dinner or breakfast or whatever. I was letting them sleep on the porch until I got my breeding pens finished. Putting doors on a couple of them today and they will be in there tonight for sure.

 

[gilavina]

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Awwww that's too bad Lynette! Hopefully you will not have any more problems....

But I'm certainly glad that your wee birchens didn't get snagged

 

[flgardengirl]

Thanks. I am glad too but still bummed about the blue roo. I was gonna use him for my male for my blue breeding pen. He wasn't the biggest and his tail was a little too high but was real sweet and had the nicest coloring. I was looking at that little blue birchen male yesterday out in the sunshine, he has silver hackles coming in !! Its faint but definitely there. The blue birchen girl was chasing the cat yesterday and ran up to another hen twice her size and started a fight. Bet she will be the lead hen in her pen someday. I think its because she hangs out with the baby turkeys, that she is more aggressive. I think she thinks she is a turkey lol.

 

[gilavina]

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I don't blame you for being bummed at all. Losing a hopeful for breeding stock is never easy...that's how I felt at the beginning of this year when I lost my black birchen boy...I was bummed for a while about that....
How old is your birchen boy now? that's great he's getting coloring...I know on mine once they start getting that coloring that every time I look at them there is more...its pretty exciting really.
And that is hilarious if your little birchen girl thinks she's a turkey....waay too funny.

I'm getting rain here today and am not too motivated to get outside to work and do chores...I'm about to head out, but I am pretty certain that there will not be a good chance for photos today...I'm plugging away at moving all my chicks to larger grow out pens and that has been a task and a half...and I've kind of gotten the idea in my head to finally build some more permanent breeding pen structures...so...that is going to be a project and a half, but I think its time.

 

[AyeUpChuck]

Morning!

Wow I was out of it yesterday! I think my body just got angry at the clouds and shut down but now that we're in for our "heat wave"

Mel! I think I've recharged my batteries with the little sunshine we've had just this morning! Well that and a few cups of coffee!

Happy Birthday indeed Ivy! Hope it was a great one.

A little bummed as two of the eggs I was shipped were heavily cracked

I'm not sure how as they were very well packed but well I guess that's just how it goes sometimes!

Did I mention that the SUN is shining?!?!!?

In fact I gotta get in the garden! Hope ya'll have a great day!

 

[AyeUpChuck]

Lynette! I'm so sorry to hear about your blue boy!

It's too bad you don't live closer! He's still really young but I have a blue that looks really promising that I could've gifted you. He won't be ready to breed for sometime now though.

that he somehow turns up!

 

[seabreeze]

Happy Birthday Ivy!

Sorry to hear about your blue boy Lynette, have had that happen more often than not

 

[BarnGoddess01]

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SO SORRY to hear about your loss.

Every time I start getting a bit braver about letting my birds have a bit more liberty, somebody posts something like this and I get reminded - they are chickens. EVERYTHING and EVERYBODY wants to eat them.

Bummer.

 

[flgardengirl]

My son just told me he heard hawks screaming this morning @ 6am and the guineas were going crazy. Darn, I am usually up by then and I didn't hear anything so musta kept sleeping. That still doesn't explain all the holes I have been finding dug up around the runs. I wonder if a hawk can carry off a full grown Marans rooster? Anyone know? I can't even find the body....

Ayeup. Thanks that is so sweet. I have a few other blue roos but the next one in line is huge and very nasty! Not a good combination for me LOL! I guess I will have to deal with him now. I keep hoping my blue roo got away and will come back somehow. The missing one was so sweet, everytime I sat down anywhere in the yard he hopped right up on my lap to get his neck scratched.
Here is a pic of the mean roo I will have to use from when he was little. He was a little stinker even back then

Barngoddess: Yep EVERYTHING loves chicken! I usually only let mine freerange in the daytime when/if someone is here to watch them. They don't go into the woods but stay on the couple of cleared acres around the house. The most problems I've had in the daytime was when a few eagles sat up in the pine trees and stared down at them. All the chickens ran into thier coops and squawked and carried on till the eagles finally left. I have had a few of the neighbors dogs come chase chickens and take a duck once. That's when the dog catcher told me I had the right to shoot a dog if it harrassed our livestock. Wouldn't want to do it but if it became an ongoing problem, I might. I need a huge livestock guardian dog!! Our lab is too lazy lol.


Here is a pic of the recent blue hen I lost Bella (RIP)she is the light blue one on the right. The other darker blue hen is Cocoa (named for her egg color lol) It was a hot summer day last year when this pic was taken so they were panting and hot.

Here's those two girls eggs (old pic). The big fat speckly eggs are Cocoa's and the longer shaped lighter ones were Bella's.

 

[AyeUpChuck]

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Well the closest I could get him to you right now would be SE Louisiana. My parents are coming in July, maybe with a baby armadillo in tow! I know you're like

WHAT?!?!??

No seriously?!?!?!?

But GnarleyDog up in WA wants one as a pet. If they can get a baby dillo on a plane, I don't see why they couldn't come home with a lil blue guy! He's not into crowing.....YET!

And FOR REAL with those eggs?!?!?! It's gotta be the sunshine?!?!? Maybe if I put vitamin D in the chucks water........

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