Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[SarniaTricia]

I did have other eggs with them... Jersey giants, brown leghorns and back yard mixed breeds...
About 50 percent overall.....
My first hatch was all ameracauna related and was 11/12 -55 humidity /65lockdown same temp. But.... I hatched in the bathroom. The spikes of moisture may have emulated the hen on and off the nest daily.
So a bit lower on humidity?

I have hovabator 1588
So the water area is almost preset. Any advice on amending humitity with these?

 

[SarniaTricia]

I did have other eggs with them... Jersey giants, brown leghorns and back yard mixed breeds...
About 50 percent overall.....
My first hatch was all ameracauna related and was 11/12 -55 humidity /65lockdown same temp. But.... I hatched in the bathroom. The spikes of moisture may have emulated the hen on and off the nest daily.
So a bit lower on humidity?

I have hovabator 1588
So the water area is almost preset. Any advice on amending humitity with these?

 

[ronott1]

I did have other eggs with them... Jersey giants, brown leghorns and back yard mixed breeds...
About 50 percent overall.....
My first hatch was all ameracauna related and was 11/12 -55 humidity /65lockdown same temp. But.... I hatched in the bathroom. The spikes of moisture may have emulated the hen on and off the nest daily.
So a bit lower on humidity?

I have hovabator 1588
So the water area is almost preset. Any advice on amending humitity with these?

Don't use the water channels. Use a small dish or a disposable plastic container with a slit cut in the to. Experiment with different sizes and use an air cell chart. With the Genesis 1588, you want humidity to be between 20 and 25% for the first 18 days.

 

[mycutekitties]

What can you tell me about the quality of these Marans? About 5-6 months old:

 

[gilavina]

What can you tell me about the quality of these Marans? About 5-6 months old:

Welcome to the thread!

The roo is squirrel tailed for sure and has quite a bit of gold leakage. I wouldn't use him for breeding. I raise mostly the birchen marans and they are definitely a challenge to get right all the way around. I've been working for 3 years and still have quite a bit of work to do. You'll also want to watch using the pullet for breeding with the wave in the comb. If you are looking for a backyard flock to enjoy and/or get eggs from, then no problem. If you are looking to breeding to the Marans standard, I'd consider sourcing new stock. Unfortunately, finding really good stock is not easy either.

 

[mycutekitties]

Thank you so much for your honesty. I got this pair from Greenfire and I don't know anything about the breed. I was not planning on breeding them since I don't have room to start a new project. I mostly breed SQ bantam poilsh.
I'll be happy with the dark eggs she will lay soon. I might just re-home the rooster.

 

[gilavina]

Thank you so much for your honesty. I got this pair from Greenfire and I don't know anything about the breed. I was not planning on breeding them since I don't have room to start a new project. I mostly breed SQ bantam poilsh.
I'll be happy with the dark eggs she will lay soon. I might just re-home the rooster.

That might be an easy solution for you, to be able to enjoy the eggs and not have to worry about the roo. I'm not sure about egg color from their stock, but the birchens do tend to be lighter than most all of the marans. I'll hope you get a nice dark egg tho!

 

[Christie Rhae]

I did have other eggs with them... Jersey giants, brown leghorns and back yard mixed breeds...
About 50 percent overall.....
My first hatch was all ameracauna related and was 11/12 -55 humidity /65lockdown same temp. But.... I hatched in the bathroom. The spikes of moisture may have emulated the hen on and off the nest daily.
So a bit lower on humidity?

I have hovabator 1588
So the water area is almost preset. Any advice on amending humitity with these?

If you have your incubator at least half full of eggs you may not need to add any water at all. I use the hovobator 1588 and rarely ever add any water at all while incubating. My average room humidity is 50 to 60%. My incubator seldom wavers from 24%. If it gets lower than 20% I will add a teaspoon of water...thats all.

 

[Zanna]

Don't use the water channels. Use a small dish or a disposable plastic container with a slit cut in the to. Experiment with different sizes and use an air cell chart. With the Genesis 1588, you want humidity to be between 20 and 25% for the first 18 days.

SarniaTricia, I know this can be really confusing and I hate to muddy the waters even more........ I am relatively inexperienced in the "big picture" but I also hatch with a Genesis 1588, I have an older one and the new one with the electronic panel. I have always followed the directions that come with it almost exactly. Temps fluctuate slightly from 99 - 101. I keep the #1 tray filled for the first 18 days, it stays about 50% humidity then it seems like it drops almost suddenly to 23%, I don't get in a hurry, maybe wait till morning then re-fill the tray with warm water. For lockdown, I fill all available slots in the tray with warm water, put the red plug in and the humidity rises to about 70% and sometimes goes as high as 80% when hatching is happening. I take out the plug when the humidity gets that high. I have always had other breeds of eggs with my BCM in the incubator and have always had about 95% hatch rate, no matter the breed, beginners luck, who knows! I would guess I have hatched about 400 chicks over the last 3 years. Now, this is only with eggs from my own breeders or eggs I have driven to pick up. Eggs that have come through the mail have been another story........ I also think environment and conditions where the incubator is set up makes a difference. We set our furnace thermostat to 70 deg. when I am incubating and do not touch it........ Who knows, but this is what has worked for me. Oh, also I put towels over the windows to keep it dark when the babies are hatching. Keeps them quieter so they don't kickbox the other eggs as much and when they are not moving about so much, the temps seem to stay more stable. Hope this helps!

 

[Zanna]

I also strongly believe that the health and nutrition of the parents of the eggs affects embryo strength and hatchability, makes sense to me........... May not be your incubating technique at all.......... Lots of different methods are working for different people......... Enough of my opinions for the night