Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[DMRippy]

Quote:
got to get some SLW

especially if they are good layers.... what size eggs?

 

[flgardengirl]

Quote:
got to get some SLW

especially if they are good layers.... what size eggs?

The lay large very light brown/tannish eggs. Mine are just hatchery girls and do what they were bred to do...lay eggs lol. They are so laid back nothing phases them and very sweet. I have 3, thier names are Lacey, Rosie, and Hazelnut! Hazelnut is my fav she follows me everywhere!

 

[poultryluvr18]

Thank you all! You have been very helpful! Rippy, I could do both, but I'm trying to decide which one I want to have as my breeding breed. If that makes sense lol! I really like the look of both and they each have their pitfalls, but I think I'm liking the Marans. Anybody know where I could get good quality chicks in Idaho? I was thinking of getting them from Meyer Hatchery, but if I can get them from a breeder I'd much rather do that. Any opinions?

 

[DMRippy]

Quote:
got to get some SLW

especially if they are good layers.... what size eggs?

The lay large very light brown/tannish eggs. Mine are just hatchery girls and do what they were bred to do...lay eggs lol. They are so laid back nothing phases them and very sweet. I have 3, thier names are Lacey, Rosie, and Hazelnut! Hazelnut is my fav she follows me everywhere!

I was driving down this little back private road and a flock of SLW was in the woods, so pretty. Think I am going to knock on the door for some hatching eggs.... soon! Funny I didn't know how many people around us had chickens till I got some.... I think I have a trade for some SLW eggs from another BYCer. Two lines are better than one.

Marans are good layers so far.... but I did not get them for production.

 

[DMRippy]

Quote:
Are you going to be selling hatching eggs, chicks? If so don't buy from a hatchery. The egg color is very poor from what I have read. Get the best you can and cull.

If you are wanted to sell eating eggs, Rocks. My Marans have blood spots so I don't sell them for eating. I have not had that problem with rocks any variety I have had.

It is very hard to get good looking, dark egg laying Marans and would be a bigger project than Rocks. JMHO

 

[rsquared]

Dmrippy,

sent you a pm

 

[joymac]

I posted a couple of weeks ago about this little blue Maran who is now 8 or 9 weeks old. She (I hope) has fused toes and is very slow growing although eats like a pig. The little black Ameraucana was the same size if not a little smaller when I first got these chicks. Is this normal?

 

[math ace]

Quote:
Joymac,

I will try to help you out.
Fused toes indicates that there might of been issues with your incubator. There may be other problems effecting her gorwth rate too.
The one chick we had that ate like a pig and didn't put much weight on had scissor beak. You might want to examine her beak closely and make sure all that food she is trying to eat is actually getting in her belly.

Your marans should be bigger than the ameraucana. Are these the only two chicks from the hatch?

Do you have a current picture? I am wondering if the ameraucana might be a cockerel and is growing a little faster...

 

[joymac]

Quote:
Joymac,

I will try to help you out.
Fused toes indicates that there might of been issues with your incubator. There may be other problems effecting her gorwth rate too.
The one chick we had that ate like a pig and didn't put much weight on had scissor beak. You might want to examine her beak closely and make sure all that food she is trying to eat is actually getting in her belly.

Your marans should be bigger than the ameraucana. Are these the only two chicks from the hatch?

Do you have a current picture? I am wondering if the ameraucana might be a cockerel and is growing a little faster...

That is the most current picture although I realize it's not a good one. I have four ameraucanas, two were younger than her by a week or so. I also have two wheaten chicks that are about 10 weeks old now, they look huge compared to this little one! She has grown a lot in the last week and I've looked at her for scissor beak (same as cross beak?); somebody had suggested that when I posted about her a couple of weeks ago but I haven't seen anything abnormal. If anything, it seemed like her beak grew faster than the rest of her body but now the body is catching up. Is scissor beak something that can develop as they get older? Reading up on crossed/scissor beaks after seeing your post was disheartening and I'm wondering if she IS getting enough food (even though I haven't seen any evidence of a deformed beak, but I am new to this). I'm second-guessing myself here, because I'm sure I've felt a full crop on her. Can chickens just be a runt?

The person I got her from said she'd never had the fused toes before.

 

[poultryluvr18]

Quote:
Are you going to be selling hatching eggs, chicks? If so don't buy from a hatchery. The egg color is very poor from what I have read. Get the best you can and cull.

If you are wanted to sell eating eggs, Rocks. My Marans have blood spots so I don't sell them for eating. I have not had that problem with rocks any variety I have had.

It is very hard to get good looking, dark egg laying Marans and would be a bigger project than Rocks. JMHO

I'm going to be selling chicks and maybe eggs, just depends on what people want. I do sell eating eggs, and would sell the majority of these eggs for eating purposes. How often do you get blood spots, and is that genetic? I think the people I sell eggs to would love the dark eggs, but not if they consistantly had blood spots...