Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[math ace]

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I just named the first of my 5 month old roosters.....

MARSHMALLOW.... He is soooo sweet !

 

[xyresicchick]

lol.... okay everyone!! sorrrry that my roosters didnt start to crow til 3-4 months. i don't know why they took so long. they were in my silkie pen (and still are) and I had only one silkie rooster in there (Fred) and I think they never crowed til now because they were afraid of Fred's crazy dancing!!! He would dance at them, and show them his massive wing... (OH NO!!!) So I think they finally are starting because they are getting as big as he is now and aren't really as afraid of his strange dancing and flashy wing moves!!! lololol....

ANYWAYS. I'm looking for people w/ experience with cuckoo marans.... what do you think I have for sexes on the cuckoo/barred ones?????? seriously!!!! I neeeeed input!!!!!

 

[MuffsnFluff]

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Cute! My boys are Willow, Jackson, and Uriah (aka. Curly cuz he has a curly toe). The pullets are Ruth, Bobbi (cuz she only has feathers at her ankles - Bobby socks), and Naima - because she LOVES to sing.

I did get really lucky with my hatch - 50/50 pullets and cockerels. Not so many to cull/rehome.

My EEs and Ameraucanas are trying their crow voices. I've heard one EE and one Ameraucana - once. Just the 3 Marans crowing up a storm.

My Marans are about 8 weeks and no crowing thankfully! I was counting this afternoon and I've got 7 pullets out of 13 so far, unless another turns out to be a late blooming rooster. Bad when your a vegetarian and don't eat chickens! On the other hand, we've got the luckiest chickens in the world!

I was laughing my head off watching my new EE rooster attempt to get the hens to go to roost with the threatening storms yesterday afternoon. The old three could do it just fine but I guess 23 hens are just too many to for one rooster manage, lol!

They give him the look, like are you kidding? Who do you think you are anyways?

And go about there buisness despite darkening skies and strengthening wind

Chickens, you've gotta love 'em!

 

[xyresicchick]

only one is crowing and its the 4 month old. the other 3 barred/cuckoo ones are 3 months old. only one black one is 4 months old. I had another 4 month old cuckoo (with a TINY comb) but I sold her.

 

[MuffsnFluff]

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[edgarmongold]

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From the looks of the pictures all the Cuckoo are males and all the Black and Black Copper are female.

 

[Mountain Mel]

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Thanks Mel! There IS a lot of knowlege here, and I love learning! I use to live up your direction, over in Yakima, WA, on the desert side, lol. Now I live in East TN, and revel in being able to plant a garden and not have to water it twice a day! Your calf is so cute! Have you figured out if its a girl or boy yet?

She's a heifer!

 

[MuffsnFluff]

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Yay!!!!!

 

[sabella]

Well I had to give my dear Sherman an attitude adjustment yesterday! I shouldn't have told him that I thought he was the nicest and handsomest roo around. Little bugger bit me! I was shooing a hen and he reached out and bit me. I pulled his tail and growled at him. Then I carried him around and loved on him. After he was sufficiently embarrassed he just sat in my lap unrestrained and let me pet him all over.

OH and one of my BCMs has started laying!

I was happy that the Marans eggs were coming with increased regularity but confused why the color changed from one to the next. DUH!

The blue copper hen's egg is on top, the BCM on bottom. The EE egg is there for scale (even though it is larger than your average egg)

 

[xyresicchick]

Edgar, yo think so?? Photos #4 and #10 are the closest representation of their color in real life. I was under the impression that in barred/cuckoo birds the males always have lighter and bigger white barring, and the females are more muted and dark looking. I was hoping the two "pullets" were just fast maturing. they always seemed pulletish to me but now their combs are just getting obnoxious so I am not 100% sure. I really thought the feather color was a deal breaker.