Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[gilavina]

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Thanks Ivy!

Reminds me of a peacomb/straight comb cockerel I had when I was younger...it was the funkiest looking thing....it looked quite a bit like that.

Got some boys that will be staying around to take his place?

 

[Ivywoods]

Well, I think so. I've got one rooster that has too much coppering in his chest, but I am thinking I can use him to get a little more coppering on my hens. We will see. I'm pretty happy with some of the offspring I got this year. I still have to weed through and pick the ones I want. I sold a couple tonight that were pretty young, so I'm not too sure how they would have turned out. I do have my eye on a couple that are a little older. Since many of them free range it is so hard to get a good picture, especially with my camera that has a delay when you shoot the picture. It's rather aggravating!

 

[gilavina]

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haha...sounds like you need a good SLR with a telephoto lens...and go all national geographic on them with stealth moves....hiding behind bushes and etc! heehee I do a lot of different kinds of art and photography so I had already invested in an SLR a while back and never would have dreamed I would use it to capture my birds more than anything else haha

I'm glad that you are seeing improvements in your hatches from this year too! isn't it such a wonderful feeling?

 

[Ivywoods]

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haha...sounds like you need a good SLR with a telephoto lens...and go all national geographic on them with stealth moves....hiding behind bushes and etc! heehee I do a lot of different kinds of art and photography so I had already invested in an SLR a while back and never would have dreamed I would use it to capture my birds more than anything else haha

I'm glad that you are seeing improvements in your hatches from this year too! isn't it such a wonderful feeling?

LOL! I don't even know what a SLR is...but it sounds good to me. If it had a "W" behind it I would think you were talking about a silver laced red wyandotte or something.

This rooster with the stupid comb... I'm kind of wondering if the thickness of it is at least partially caused by the fact that he froze so much of his comb. Maybe the blood is "congested" in there since so much of it was frozen.

Guess I will never know. Anyway, he is a nice big rooster with nice coloring, other than a little lighter color on some of his hackles. Freezer camp one of these days.

I am eager to see just how this new batch turns out. So far I like what I see with the exception of one pullet that just looks WAY to dark around her comb, eyes and all over her head. Melanistic, I guess?

 

[gilavina]

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haha...sounds like you need a good SLR with a telephoto lens...and go all national geographic on them with stealth moves....hiding behind bushes and etc! heehee I do a lot of different kinds of art and photography so I had already invested in an SLR a while back and never would have dreamed I would use it to capture my birds more than anything else haha

I'm glad that you are seeing improvements in your hatches from this year too! isn't it such a wonderful feeling?

LOL! I don't even know what a SLR is...but it sounds good to me. If it had a "W" behind it I would think you were talking about a silver laced red wyandotte or something.

This rooster with the stupid comb... I'm kind of wondering if the thickness of it is at least partially caused by the fact that he froze so much of his comb. Maybe the blood is "congested" in there since so much of it was frozen.

Guess I will never know. Anyway, he is a nice big rooster with nice coloring, other than a little lighter color on some of his hackles. Freezer camp one of these days.

I am eager to see just how this new batch turns out. So far I like what I see with the exception of one pullet that just looks WAY to dark around her comb, eyes and all over her head. Melanistic, I guess?

haha too funny. An SLR is a digital camera that takes instantaneous shots...no camera delay at all and the quality of the pics is great. The one of Gigantor I wasn't too impressed with...I think the humidity from the rain that was coming clouded the clarity, but most of the time it is an awesome asset to have.

hmmm...I don't know if I've seen a pullet like that. I wonder if you might be right.

Are you thinking of going to the Sedalia show? and also...think you might be able to make it to the HOAGBA sale in Garland? I'm definitely going to the HOAGBA sale...not sure about Sedalia yet.

 

[susanbird]

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I dont know if Crele and golden Cuckoos Marans are genetically the same thing but they look similar. Some people do have golden cuckoos. I have four of them. 2 girls and 2 boys

Are you talking about mean chickens in general or just mainly mean roosters? What age are these meanies? SOmetimes adolescent roos will go through a hormonal stage where they will challenge you to defend their ladies, food, territory what have ya. Usually they grow out of it, if not they you have to decide if you want to deal with them or cull.

Hi, I have read that it is genetic, so if the behavior is atypical for the breed, it should be culled. I bought some BOrpington eggs, hatched 12 . 3 were hens, all mild mannered. ALL 9 boys were mean - a few from just a couple days old. The boys all went to freezer camp, and the girls were kept just to be layers. Very disappointing, as I had bought and hatched those eggs to improve my stock.

The first meanie was brought to me by a neighbor. He saw it in his yard and on the freeway and thought it was mine. I told him that it wasn't but I'd try to find the owner. None of the neighbors claimed him. I found out why soon enough. He got locked up right away. I don't know how old he is. Next, some people brought me two Mille cocks who had just started crowing--they couldn't have roosters. One of them got mean about a month after I got them, the other one is still running around and not causing problems. I can't remember where I got the next two cocks. One started turning mean and a man wanted to buy him, because he was mean. He felt he would be a good flock protector. The other one that came with him was fine and he is still running around. Each mean boy is with two hens, very protective! I have sold all of their chicks and no one reported back about their temperament. If they hatch out their current clutches I think that I will keep the chicks and let them grow up just to see what they are like. If they have mean "kids" they will have to go. I have not come across any mean large roosters and I have about 10 of different breeds.

That's a bummer to get chicks and have them be mean, especially at such a young age. :-(

I'd like to see the pics of your golden cuckoos. Since Crele coloration is in a lot of breeds I think it just describes the coloring of the feathers. I had a crele Old English but he didn't make it through the winter. His girls did. The large crele that I have was running around a friend's ranch with a lot of other chickens. She had too many so I bought him. He is the greatest. One of my hens had chicks in the field. One day she and all of the chicks were gone except for one. Crele took over being it's mother LOL He would let the youngster perch next to him and cover him with his wing.

 

[berkeleysprings]

im just jumping in here and havent gone back to read but i have the meanest wheaten marans they are so nice to people but put anopther chicken in with them and they will just about kill it , they have a big coop and loads of out door space but there just mean to outher chickens . im gunna tatoo them and put spiked collars on them there so bad . i should say iv never had a mean rooster to people . now my silkiee are a different story if u laugh at him or sneeze he will attack i dont always approve of kickin chicken but some times ya have to

 

[Ivywoods]

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Gosh, my wheaten roosters are some of my nicest. They are super friendly and nice, and for the most part some of the other roosters pick on them. They definitely are not the dominant rooster in the yard. Such a difference... just like kids in the same families.... all so different.

 

[Ivywoods]

Gilavina-I am definitely going to the Sedalia show Oct. 22. I am going to meet my sisters there, and from there we will go back to my sister's place and do our annual jelly making "sister's week." I also have some folks from BYC who are going to meet me there to buy some of my ameraucanas. It should all be fun.

As far as the HOAGBA sale, I'm not sure when that is going to be. I work weekends, so I don't know if I can arrange it. I'd love to go, that's for sure.

 

[Debbi]

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You are not alone there Randy. It is a chore to introduce the young ones to the flock, the girls are so mean to them. I've had the 7 young ones in with Clyde in a seperate pen in the run for about 3 months now, and in the mornings when I let the big birds out in the yard, I open their pen so they can have the whole run. There are usually a few hens that don't go outside, so the chicks are still dodging the big girls, although it is finally getting better as they are almost the same size now.

As for the roos, all are nice here except Pip and Blue Butt. Pip is like a bad child that wants attention, even if it means negative attention. He's actually rather comical in his fits of rage, and like you said, if I laugh at him, he gets madder! That just makes me laugh all the more, so it's an endless circle. I was out watching the Silkies play the other evening, drinking a beer. Here comes Pip, wing dropped, crow hopping, and growling. I launched the empty beer can at him, and instead of running off, he attacked it, put a hole in it with his beak, and threw it to the side!

I laughed so hard, he had a real hissy fit, and then just walked away. The Silkies were all looking at him like, "WTH???" I can't imagine a mean Silkie, but I'm sure with my luck I'll have some along the line. I can't imagine how funny that will be...grrrr, ankle biters