Yay! I haven't seen you in quite a while, but think of you often lady! I hope you are all doing well down your way!Hello Marans folks from the long-lost Ivywoods. It's been forever since I've visited the thread.... um... like 35,000 posts! Wow, you guys are a chatty bunch! I never left BYC, I just spend WAY too much time on some of the other threads, like the Kansas thread.![]()
I still have my marans. I used two different roosters over the past year, and I have some chicks growing out right now. The pullets I got last year seem pretty nice, and overall, I think my birds are pretty good. I DON'T think I made any progress in the egg department, though. Gosh, I hardly EVER get an 8 and I'm not sure I've ever had a 9.
Just yesterday I took the rooster out of the pen. I had re-aquired him from someone I sold him to. He was beautiful in my opinion, but he became downright mean to the lady. I told her I would take him back. He was a perfect gentleman around me, and I loved his build and feathering. Well, after about 6 months "Rambo" as she named him, has become a nasty booger. He will be visiting freezer camp sometime soon.
As a result of this, I just put my black ameraucana rooster and one black hen in with my BCM hens. Any marans eggs I get out of there will be olive eggers, of course, and any blue eggs will of course be pure ameraucana.
I have one rooster that I have kept from my very fist batch of marans. He free ranges with my layers. I've never raised any chicks out of him. Fuzzy is such a sweetheart, good to his girls, and takes care of them. Unfortunately he has WAY too much copper in his chest and a funky tail that spreads out like he's always got a 35 mph tailwind.![]()
I've thought about getting another rooster from someone that has SUPER dark eggs, but so far just haven't done it.
Hope all are well... BYC folks and all your feathered dependents!