Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[DMRippy]

Quote:

I was thinking they would be a great Olive Egger cross. Sex linked too if you use Cuckoo hens.

I was just playing with the color calculator, too bad it doesn't give chick colors. I have 2 roosters that are black split for lav Ameraucanas. I think these will work to get OE and sexlinked chicks. THough I also have 2 blue boys and they should work too! Chickens are much too much fun!

lavender olive eggers..... I could do that....

 

[laughingclown]

Another picture of Rambo taken yesterday. Im digging my Marans!

 

[laughingclown]

Looking at the picture again his legs look yellow but they are actually slate. He is a great young man. Hopefully he stays that way. His copper is coming in great so far. I'm hoping the rest of him turns out nice. I have 3 BCM roos and 3 BLCM roos. Heres a question for you guys. I'm wanting to separate my roos from my pullets. The only way I can do it is in the current coop I have. So all the birds will be able to see each other. Will that be ok to calm the roos a bit so they are not going at each other? I know ideally I would want them away from each other but its what I have. Also they should be fine for another month do you think? They are 2 months right now.

 

[Debbi]

Looking at the picture again his legs look yellow but they are actually slate. He is a great young man. Hopefully he stays that way. His copper is coming in great so far. I'm hoping the rest of him turns out nice. I have 3 BCM roos and 3 BLCM roos. Heres a question for you guys. I'm wanting to separate my roos from my pullets. The only way I can do it is in the current coop I have. So all the birds will be able to see each other. Will that be ok to calm the roos a bit so they are not going at each other? I know ideally I would want them away from each other but its what I have. Also they should be fine for another month do you think? They are 2 months right now.

He looks very promising! As far as the seperating goes, You should have a while yet before there are too many roo spats. When the hormones start kicking in at around 4 months, well that may be when you need to do something. I have 5 roos here of varying ages. Two are 2 years old, one is around 18 months, one is around 8 months, and one young cockerel is 11 weeks. They all live together with the hens, and the only one I have to seperate from the crowd is one of the 2 year olds. He and his brother would fight to the death if I let them, and now he will also fight with the 18 month old if given the chance. He, stays in the run with some of the girls and likes it that way, so at night, he goes into his own little bachelor pen inside the coop. His brother comes in a used to harass him, but they know they can't get to each other now, so now he just goes to roost. If the roos can still see the girls and you house them together, I don't think that will stop any fighting. They will all just crowd to the fence and then start with each other. I'm short on space too, so they had better all get along, or out they go! Clyde, is my exception, I love that guy, so I put in the extra work of seperating him from the other boys!

 

[Debbi]

Broody Silkie hatch update! As of last night, I have 5 of the little stinkers running around! Two Partridge, and three White or Splash. Not getting my face too close to those girls again, WOW! I kept wondering how in the heck I got 2 Partridge, then remembered, one of the Blue moms was born with the chipmunk (wild type) chick down, and turned a dark blue as she grew. Partridge seems to be a very dominant color, hence the "wild type" name, I suppose?

The autosomal barring is the same thing than as autosomal leakage? I have a Silkie roo with that here. I don't have any barred birds, so I can't speak on that. While it might go away as they get older, I don't think I would breed them into the main flock. If I had 2 of them, I would test mate them just out of morbid curiousity to see what I got. Especially, if they are siblings, that will bring out some results very quickly! I'm with Pink, I think there is something else back there in the wood pile; maybe even some generations back! When the recessive genes hook up together, all kinds of things can happen...ask me how I know!

 

[Debbi]

Hey Vicki

Yes, HOT & HUMID here too! Glad I woke up at 4:15 yesterday and got out to the yard around 6. Got everyone fed, watered, and let the free rangers out, then went and hoed/watered the garden! It was already getting steamy when I was done. We have had NO rain here since the first week of April, and I can't ever remember a time since I've lived here that the grass has gone brown dead in May! They are calling for scattered storms tomorrow, and some better possibilities later on in the week. Just hope it's a slow, steady rain, and not a toad strangler. That could also mean a Silkie chick strangler! We'll see how smart the moms are when the rain comes in, hopefully, they know to get the babies inside??

 

[unkadan]

I just saw my 12 wk old BIrchen Marans roo chase, grab, and mount one of my BSL hens,,,looks like those hormones have kicked in. Now the new rooster grow out pen got moved up on the "to do list"

 

[gilavina]

Hey Vicki

Yes, HOT & HUMID here too! Glad I woke up at 4:15 yesterday and got out to the yard around 6. Got everyone fed, watered, and let the free rangers out, then went and hoed/watered the garden! It was already getting steamy when I was done. We have had NO rain here since the first week of April, and I can't ever remember a time since I've lived here that the grass has gone brown dead in May! They are calling for scattered storms tomorrow, and some better possibilities later on in the week. Just hope it's a slow, steady rain, and not a toad strangler. That could also mean a Silkie chick strangler! We'll see how smart the moms are when the rain comes in, hopefully, they know to get the babies inside??

Same here...getting up early I think might be one of the only things that makes chores bearable in the morning. I still have quite a ways to go on my garden before I'll be happy with how it looks, but mostly just have to get through the day today and we'll be cooling off just a bit again. I can't wait. Looks like rain thursday for us and upper 60s. So, I'll be polishing off quite a bit of stuff that day if I can.

I still need to get update photos on my young birds, its not too terribly warm yet, and was thinking about getting started today, but still have a few other things to polish off first. Then there is always work later this afternoon and evening.

 

[gilavina]

I just saw my 12 wk old BIrchen Marans roo chase, grab, and mount one of my BSL hens,,,looks like those hormones have kicked in. Now the new rooster grow out pen got moved up on the "to do list"

well...ya can't tease me with talk of birchens! Got any pics? hehe. I guess I might be considered a birchen fiend haha

 

[slick4591]

Can you feed the chicks too much boiled egg yolk? I just put some in their brooder and all hell broke loose! These things got crazy over it and even a few fights broke out, but they were mostly climbing on top of each other to get at it. They are now looking at me like where's the rest?