Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[pinkchick]

Quote:
The copper leaking through is just that....copper leaking through. In a way you could say that he is over melanized. I think we spoke about him before and that fact that he has copper in his genetics so this copper can and most likely will sneak out on him and his offspring. The over melanization comes into play because the melanizers will try to cover the copper or mask it, but it really is still there. Sometimes the melanizers will just make it very dark and in the case of blue bird the hackle or where ever the bird is suppose to be copper will most likely be very very dark blue...on black birds it just looks black...other times the melanizers may not be enough and they allow the color to leak. On lighter colored blue birds the color usually comes through and just expresses as sort of a dirty look. Did any of that make sense or did I just confuse you?

This is a photo of a young Black Copper pullet that is WAY over melanized and very dark........look closely and you will see fine hints of very very dark copper sort of lacing the outer edge of her hackle feathers.

edited to add this photo...this is the same bird as above but just as the sun came around and lit up her hackles. I thought it would be cool to see both photos. She is still just as dark as she appears in the first photo and she is now 1.5 years old.

This is a darker blue, Blue Copper hen that is over melanized.

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
on those spurs, you won't want to cut them off...instead if you use a pliers to twist them or you can do several other things, cutting them will cause substantial bleeding

Anyone ever tried the hot potato method to remove spurs? I heard it works pretty good.

Bill's spurs must be almost 2 inches long and I have the hardest time keeping them trimmed and rounded. They grow so cotton picking fast, I can't keep up with him.

 

[gilavina]

Quote:
its like a composite wood plank flooring. I'm sure I'm butchering the name of them, Its in a below grade area so real wood isn't a smart idea...it goes down really easily and so far, I've only had to cut the planks at the beginning to get the pattern started, so far, the width of the room is just perfect that no trimming has been necessary!

 

[gilavina]

Quote:
on those spurs, you won't want to cut them off...instead if you use a pliers to twist them or you can do several other things, cutting them will cause substantial bleeding

Anyone ever tried the hot potato method to remove spurs? I heard it works pretty good.

Bill's spurs must be almost 2 inches long and I have the hardest time keeping them trimmed and rounded. They grow so cotton picking fast, I can't keep up with him.

it does work, but I would recommend wearing some gloves or using a really thick pot holder (altho, its harder to get a really good grip on the potato sometimes).

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
C'mon now Pink, you know you drenched those eggs in the Hershey's, right??

Pretty eggs!!!!

Nope sorry! It's hard to believe that the eggs not in the carton are almost 3 years old and that fact that the eggs in the carton are only almost a year old and they are waaaaaaayyyyyyy darker. I think it's just crazy that they continue to darken over time. I like to study things like that...call me weird. I'm good with it! I like it that way.

 

[Debbi]

Quote:
The copper leaking through is just that....copper leaking through. In a way you could say that he is over melanized. I think we spoke about him before and that fact that he has copper in his genetics so this copper can and most likely will sneak out on him and his offspring. The over melanization comes into play because the melanizers will try to cover the copper or mask it, but it really is still there. Sometimes the melanizers will just make it very dark and in the case of blue bird the hackle or where ever the bird is suppose to be copper will most likely be very very dark blue...on black birds it just looks black...other times the melanizers may not be enough and they allow the color to leak. On lighter colored blue birds the color usually comes through and just expresses as sort of a dirty look. Did any of that make sense or did I just confuse you?

This is a photo of a young Black Copper pullet that is WAY over melanized and very dark........look closely and you will see fine hints of very very dark copper sort of lacing the outer edge of her hackle feathers.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/11170_gff_pullet_hackles.jpg


This is a darker blue, Blue Copper hen that is over melanized.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/fo..._original_davis_hens_clean_legged_1252011.jpg

Wow! You mean I got that right?? I'm learning by osmosis here!!

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
its like a composite wood plank flooring. I'm sure I'm butchering the name of them, Its in a below grade area so real wood isn't a smart idea...it goes down really easily and so far, I've only had to cut the planks at the beginning to get the pattern started, so far, the width of the room is just perfect that no trimming has been necessary!

The hardest part of laying flooring (other than being extremely hard on the knees) is the up and down, up and down to the chopsaw to cut when you are in a space that requires lots of cuts. Lucky you! I'm glad you had an easy time of it.

 

[Debbi]

Quote:
C'mon now Pink, you know you drenched those eggs in the Hershey's, right??

Pretty eggs!!!!

Nope sorry! It's hard to believe that the eggs not in the carton are almost 3 years old and that fact that the eggs in the carton are only almost a year old and they are waaaaaaayyyyyyy darker. I think it's just crazy that they continue to darken over time. I like to study things like that...call me weird. I'm good with it! I like it that way.

I'll have to check mine. I put them in a carton, marked "DO NOT EAT!!" and put them in a veggie drawer in my fridge.

My daughter had asked me why??? Just told her, "well, I still have your baby teeth, how's that any weirder??"

She didn't get it! I've noticed too, that they get darker in the bator, and then get a bit darker after they hatch. Wonder why??

 

[gilavina]

Quote:
its like a composite wood plank flooring. I'm sure I'm butchering the name of them, Its in a below grade area so real wood isn't a smart idea...it goes down really easily and so far, I've only had to cut the planks at the beginning to get the pattern started, so far, the width of the room is just perfect that no trimming has been necessary!

The hardest part of laying flooring (other than being extremely hard on the knees) is the up and down, up and down to the chopsaw to cut when you are in a space that requires lots of cuts. Lucky you! I'm glad you had an easy time of it.

I agree...the up and down is a pain in the butt...the harder part is coming up soon...I did the biggest part of the space and and moving to the smaller end, then will go into another room that connects that will reguire cuts for sure. I am also going to be doing the treads of the stair case as well, its time for the old linoleum to come off. I did a mock up on, and it looks great, it won't take too much at all to get it done, but I'm saving that for last

 

[Debbi]

Quote:
its like a composite wood plank flooring. I'm sure I'm butchering the name of them, Its in a below grade area so real wood isn't a smart idea...it goes down really easily and so far, I've only had to cut the planks at the beginning to get the pattern started, so far, the width of the room is just perfect that no trimming has been necessary!

The hardest part of laying flooring (other than being extremely hard on the knees) is the up and down, up and down to the chopsaw to cut when you are in a space that requires lots of cuts. Lucky you! I'm glad you had an easy time of it.

No kidding! My knees swelled like balloons after I laid my floor. I'm vying for astro turf this time...precut!