Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Cadeau]

Vicki - when was Ina due?

My mare is due 2 weeks today and her body is getting ready - can't wait!!

We'll be on "foal/kid watch together!" though I hope you don't have to wait that long!

Vicki - what were your final numbers on chicks from this weekend?
I got 9 Marans from my F2 pen, 14 bantam cochins, and 3 BLRW (for a friend.)


I'm enjoying everyone's pics - I'll have to take the time to get some pics of them young!
I need to do a picture day soon

I've decided I need to go from 3 Marans breeder pens to one - save some room, $$, time, etc. - it's funny that several people have come to the same conclusion right about now!


Good job on getting rid of so many birds, Vicki!
I'm hoping to do as well here!



Deb- what a good roo!!
I have a daddy roo, too who takes care of all the babies - he's out with the free rangers and helps introduce them to flock dynamics, as well as, the ins and outs of free ranging!
He's priceless!

 

[gilavina]

Vicki - when was Ina due?

My mare is due 2 weeks today and her body is getting ready - can't wait!!

We'll be on "foal/kid watch together!" though I hope you don't have to wait that long!

Vicki - what were your final numbers on chicks from this weekend?
I got 9 Marans from my F2 pen, 14 bantam cochins, and 3 BLRW (for a friend.)


I'm enjoying everyone's pics - I'll have to take the time to get some pics of them young!
I need to do a picture day soon

I've decided I need to go from 3 Marans breeder pens to one - save some room, $$, time, etc. - it's funny that several people have come to the same conclusion right about now!


Good job on getting rid of so many birds, Vicki!
I'm hoping to do as well here!



Deb- what a good roo!!
I have a daddy roo, too who takes care of all the babies - he's out with the free rangers and helps introduce them to flock dynamics, as well as, the ins and outs of free ranging!
He's priceless!

We turned Ina in with my tiny buck on the 13th and am pretty certain she was bred in the first two days. So, we'll see....she is laying down quite a bit more and they babies are shifting to the birth canal, you can feel they've shifted in just the last day quite a bit.

For chicks this weekend I ended up with 26 out of 32 on the Ameraucanas. Those were the only ones I set this time. 5 didn't hatch and 1 just wasn't right, and wouldn't eat or drink, so I lost him overnight. I did take the 8 off colored ones to the sale tonight, so I have 18 to play with. Little fuzzy faced fatties! Love it.

I got your PM lady..I still need to respond, probably will after I get all the birds shut up for the night. Stupid Possum! Hopefully I'll keep working on thinning birds down to just the best and hope you will too lady! I'd be happy to be a sounding board.

 

[flgardengirl]

Awww that's too bad you lost one of those chicks! I hope those 4 stay good and healthy for you! I never thought to ask, but I wonder if those chicks are sex link? hmmmm....I'm really curious to see what I end up getting sent to me!
Should be right at 2 weeks now til I get mine! Also, I gotta get some shots of those ameraucana chicks I hatched from my uncle. They are cute as the dickens. I did send 8 to the sale. They were the ones that came from the eggs my uncle accidentally put in the carton instead of all blues. So, now that they are out of there, I have a nice batch of chicks!
I just came back from dropping off birds at the local sale barn and am down another 41 birds, mostly chicks of various ages, but am so relieved to be keeping a tight ship around here. I'm loving what I'm seeing in my oldest grow out pen. There are for sure 4 cockerels that will go, but I'm feeding them out to process them for a local british lady, she loves home grown birds for roasting. But beyond them, I believe that leaves me with 20 out of 40 chicks left to grow out some more til its time to sort and cull again. Most of those are birchens this time around

I am curious if they are sex linked as well. Lets see if the yellow ones and the yellow and gray ones turn out to be males. Then see what the regular barred ones are... I will keep good records and you can too and we can figure it out LOL! I sent a message to the guy I got them from but haven't heard back yet.

 

[gilavina]

I am curious if they are sex linked as well. Lets see if the yellow ones and the yellow and gray ones turn out to be males. Then see what the regular barred ones are... I will keep good records and you can too and we can figure it out LOL! I sent a message to the guy I got them from but haven't heard back yet.

awesome! It sounds like a project lady! I can't wait to watch the little ones grow.

 

[Cadeau]

ok - off Marans topic, but I have to ask:

Vicki - how can you tell Americauna are off-color??

Mine are B/B/S Wheaten - I have 3 black boys, 2 blue boys, and 2 splash boys and the balance of 17 are girls.
Lovely chubby cheeks and such SWEET personalities, they like to fly up to my lap or shoulders (or head) whenever I'm around and, if all those places are filled, they sit on my toes!


As for the PM - thanks!
I would like to slim down to only the best - I'll work on picture day (if it ever stops raining!!)

 

[gilavina]

ok - off Marans topic, but I have to ask:

Vicki - how can you tell Americauna are off-color??

Mine are B/B/S Wheaten - I have 3 black boys, 2 blue boys, and 2 splash boys and the balance of 17 are girls.
Lovely chubby cheeks and such SWEET personalities, they like to fly up to my lap or shoulders (or head) whenever I'm around and, if all those places are filled, they sit on my toes!


As for the PM - thanks!
I would like to slim down to only the best - I'll work on picture day (if it ever stops raining!!)

haha I can tell because he was supposed to give me all blue/black/splash ameraucana eggs, but accidentally filled part of one of the cartons with wheaten eggs and some from a project pen he has going, so those went to find new homes tonight. He told me he had so many he didn't want any chicks back haha

 

[DMRippy]

ok - off Marans topic, but I have to ask:

Vicki - how can you tell Americauna are off-color??

Mine are B/B/S Wheaten - I have 3 black boys, 2 blue boys, and 2 splash boys and the balance of 17 are girls.
Lovely chubby cheeks and such SWEET personalities, they like to fly up to my lap or shoulders (or head) whenever I'm around and, if all those places are filled, they sit on my toes!


As for the PM - thanks!
I would like to slim down to only the best - I'll work on picture day (if it ever stops raining!!)

Off color Ams are EE. If they are not the standard recognized colors they are Easter Eggers or PROJECTS.... Like Lavenders. My understanding if they have any DQ they are EE

http://www.ameraucana.org/standard.html

The colors http://www.ameraucana.org/scrapbook.html

MARANS MARANS MARANS LOL

 

[Debbi]

Ok, not Marans, but I just saw this joke and thought, who couldn't use some humor?? It is poultry related.

A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head and sadly said, "I'm sorry, your duck, Cuddles, has passed away."
The distressed woman wailed, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am sure. Your duck is dead," replied the vet..
"How can you be so sure?" she protested.
"I mean you haven't done any testing on him or anything.
He might just be in a coma or something."
The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room.
He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador Retriever.
As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head.
The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room.
A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room.
The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck."
The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman..
The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "$150!" she cried, "$150 just to tell me my duck is dead!"
The vet shrugged, "I'm sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20, but with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it's now $150."

 

[Cadeau]

Thanks, Donna!
They're coming right along and just so darned cute! Can't say enough about them - can't wait to see them grown!

I know Vicki is amazing at seeing the potential in very young chicks, but to be able to tell the ones that wouldn't be correctly colored at hatch was just blowing my mind!

 

[gilavina]

Thanks, Donna!
They're coming right along and just so darned cute! Can't say enough about them - can't wait to see them grown!

I know Vicki is amazing at seeing the potential in very young chicks, but to be able to tell the ones that wouldn't be correctly colored at hatch was just blowing my mind!

haha....I just know what I was supposed to have, and knew which ones weren't that. I'm gonna go run and get a couple shots of my fatties...they are adorable! Not marans, but I'm gonna be putting them with Marans to make some olive eggers, which...by the way. I have two Olive Eggers growing out right now in my pen of chickers that are about 3 weeks old. I'm so excited because they actually have to peacombs...come on green egg laying machines...me loves you!