Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Flowerbh]

Question about your ducks. Don't they all fly away when they are bigger? I live on a lake and we have geese and ducks (wild ones) who have their babies here. We watch them raise and train them. It's incredible how they train them! Like watching school. They all get in a circle, then the mom and dad shows them something and then all the babies will try it! The babies then get all excited about having done whatever and squake their heads off. Then they all get in a circle again and do it all over again. Love watching them. But, then comes winter and they all fly away. They show up again in the spring. Is that what the ducks you hatch do?

 

[Arielle]

Question about your ducks. Don't they all fly away when they are bigger? I live on a lake and we have geese and ducks (wild ones) who have their babies here. We watch them raise and train them. It's incredible how they train them! Like watching school. They all get in a circle, then the mom and dad shows them something and then all the babies will try it! The babies then get all excited about having done whatever and squake their heads off. Then they all get in a circle again and do it all over again. Love watching them. But, then comes winter and they all fly away. They show up again in the spring. Is that what the ducks you hatch do?

I'm still new at ducks, I clipped their wings last fall when the muscoveys were roosting on top of buildings and DH had to get the ladder to put them in their coop. Muscoveys are a perching bird, different than other ducks. QUackless is nice too! If you want loads more info you can lurk in the duck section.

 

[Flowerbh]

ok, so I posted pictures of this chicken about a week ago and 7 people said roo. Then a few days ago, someone posted pictures of a chicken looking almost just like mine and mentioned that they thought it was a roo, too until she laid eggs. They said her pullet had big beefy legs (like mine does) and feathered in late (like mine did), and they mentioned that she had a big comb right away..(like mine does). The other thing I noticed was that it has the same pattern as mine does. Could they just be a certain cross that gives those results. (roo like looks) Do I have any hope here? Lately my bird has been walking more horizonal than vertical. And she is big breasted. Is that a pullet thing or roo thing? (I never had chickens before) She is more rounded shaped than my other pullets. Let me know. I am still not seeing any pointy feathers in her saddle/hackle area. She is 8 weeks old.


Olivia with a Brown Leghorn (which was sold to me as a Speckled Sussex -ha! I know different now!) and an EE.

 

[NuAgePaulBunyun]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/659064/fighting-roosters#post_9155314

originally posted in the thread "Fighting Roosters"

but realized that thread really does get much traffic and after a bit of looking i realize the Rooster that is getting bullied is a Maran so here goes the post here.

the above link has more info , but the short is as follows ...

i have a huge Rooster (Booster) and 2 other Maran Roosters (Clyde and Rocky) anyhow. Booster the Rooster has been attacking Clyde for about 2 weeks now, relentlessly. it is so bad that in the morning when i let them out of their coop those are the only two (8 others chickens total) that bolt into the LARGE run (about 31 feet by about 21 feet and about the average of 6 feet tall) , they fight non-stop for about 20 minutes . then the others chickens will join them outside. i realize after reading this is a normal cycle of establihing the pecking order.
my question is ... Will this continue until death or damage to the loser?

We currently have 5 hens and the roosters. didnt plan on it . we didnt have much luck on the "sexed" chicks when we bought them. we set out to have one maybe two Roosters.

We can hear them inside of the coop fighting it out as well. Would putting two feeders and watering containers help put their aggression to the way-side ?

just fearing the worse as from what i have read once there is blood the rest of the birds will peck until death. and if we have to seperate them for healing ... the others will not accept the exhiled rooster back after healing.

 

[DMRippy]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/659064/fighting-roosters#post_9155314

originally posted in the thread "Fighting Roosters"

but realized that thread really does get much traffic and after a bit of looking i realize the Rooster that is getting bullied is a Maran so here goes the post here.

the above link has more info , but the short is as follows ...

i have a huge Rooster (Booster) and 2 other Maran Roosters (Clyde and Rocky) anyhow. Booster the Rooster has been attacking Clyde for about 2 weeks now, relentlessly. it is so bad that in the morning when i let them out of their coop those are the only two (8 others chickens total) that bolt into the LARGE run (about 31 feet by about 21 feet and about the average of 6 feet tall) , they fight non-stop for about 20 minutes . then the others chickens will join them outside. i realize after reading this is a normal cycle of establihing the pecking order.
my question is ... Will this continue until death or damage to the loser?

We currently have 5 hens and the roosters. didnt plan on it . we didnt have much luck on the "sexed" chicks when we bought them. we set out to have one maybe two Roosters.

We can hear them inside of the coop fighting it out as well. Would putting two feeders and watering containers help put their aggression to the way-side ?

just fearing the worse as from what i have read once there is blood the rest of the birds will peck until death. and if we have to seperate them for healing ... the others will not accept the exhiled rooster back after healing.

I would separate them. ASAP. If they don't kill each other they could really get hurt or hurt some bystanders. I have had to put down roos that were fighting through a fence, dislocated his hip or something. Good luck, but I don't think they will WORK IT OUT.... I don't think they will just quit.

 

[pinkchick]

ok, so I posted pictures of this chicken about a week ago and 7 people said roo. Then a few days ago, someone posted pictures of a chicken looking almost just like mine and mentioned that they thought it was a roo, too until she laid eggs. They said her pullet had big beefy legs (like mine does) and feathered in late (like mine did), and they mentioned that she had a big comb right away..(like mine does). The other thing I noticed was that it has the same pattern as mine does. Could they just be a certain cross that gives those results. (roo like looks) Do I have any hope here? Lately my bird has been walking more horizonal than vertical. And she is big breasted. Is that a pullet thing or roo thing? (I never had chickens before) She is more rounded shaped than my other pullets. Let me know. I am still not seeing any pointy feathers in her saddle/hackle area. She is 8 weeks old.


Olivia with a Brown Leghorn (which was sold to me as a Speckled Sussex -ha! I know different now!) and an EE.

I still say roo.

It may take a little while before you see the pointy saddle feathers coming in but should be too much longer.

Does he have yellow legs? Sorry if this has been asked before.

 

[Debbi]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/659064/fighting-roosters#post_9155314

originally posted in the thread "Fighting Roosters"

but realized that thread really does get much traffic and after a bit of looking i realize the Rooster that is getting bullied is a Maran so here goes the post here.

the above link has more info , but the short is as follows ...

i have a huge Rooster (Booster) and 2 other Maran Roosters (Clyde and Rocky) anyhow. Booster the Rooster has been attacking Clyde for about 2 weeks now, relentlessly. it is so bad that in the morning when i let them out of their coop those are the only two (8 others chickens total) that bolt into the LARGE run (about 31 feet by about 21 feet and about the average of 6 feet tall) , they fight non-stop for about 20 minutes . then the others chickens will join them outside. i realize after reading this is a normal cycle of establihing the pecking order.
my question is ... Will this continue until death or damage to the loser?

We currently have 5 hens and the roosters. didnt plan on it . we didnt have much luck on the "sexed" chicks when we bought them. we set out to have one maybe two Roosters.

We can hear them inside of the coop fighting it out as well. Would putting two feeders and watering containers help put their aggression to the way-side ?

just fearing the worse as from what i have read once there is blood the rest of the birds will peck until death. and if we have to seperate them for healing ... the others will not accept the exhiled rooster back after healing.

I agree with Donna, seperate those two! I have two brothers here. Raised together, fought like crazy when they got to be about 8 weeks old, so I seperated them then for about 2 weeks. Put them back together and things were fine, for almost a year. In fact, they were best buds, and you never saw one without the other one 3 feet away. One morning that all ended. They both came out of the coop tangled with each other. They will now fight to the death, so they are seperated again. Who knows what goes on in little chicken brains?

One of the brothers runs with two other roos, and there are no problems at all. The one I have seperated, gets along with young cockerels and even takes care of the babies, but no way is he getting out with the other roos!

 

[pinkchick]

EEEEKKKKK!!!! I LOVES THEM! If I had the space, you can bet I'd have some as well! So stinking cute! If I could, I have toulouse!

I have sooooo wanted Geese for the longest time but wanted Pilgrims. Just couldn't get non-hatchery stock over here and was not going to try shipped eggs. So when DH found these Africans that needed a home ASAP....you betcha I was all over it.

Some first night it was last night........at midnight I was down finding babies and taking them all away. What a mess and the other broody is so upset that she is not setting.

Bill ......decided that he just had to know what was going on in there and flew up to the top of the coop run and went in yesterday afternoon (got his butt kicked by Daddy gander (Ben is his name....and we named the other male Aflac, lol!) but man all mightly what a ruckus that he caused. No wonder the ladies are all freaked out and won't sit and abandoned the babies last night.


BAD BILL!!!!!!!!!!! Little nosy trouble maker.

No clue as to where Bad Charlotte, Bad Olivia and Bad Betty all got it from.

 

[Debbi]

I have sooooo wanted Geese for the longest time but wanted Pilgrims. Just couldn't get non-hatchery stock over here and was not going to try shipped eggs. So when DH found these Africans that needed a home ASAP....you betcha I was all over it.

Some first night it was last night........at midnight I was down finding babies and taking them all away. What a mess and the other broody is so upset that she is not setting.

Bill ......decided that he just had to know what was going on in there and flew up to the top of the coop run and went in yesterday afternoon (got his butt kicked by Daddy gander (Ben is his name....and we named the other male Aflac, lol!) but man all mightly what a ruckus that he caused. No wonder the ladies are all freaked out and won't sit and abandoned the babies last night.


BAD BILL!!!!!!!!!!! Little nosy trouble maker.

No clue as to where Bad Charlotte, Bad Olivia and Bad Betty all got it from.

Olivia isn't bad any more, in fact, she is becoming a rather enjoyable lady. She will come sit with me on the deck, and will seek me out when she wants to go into the coop to lay an egg. Charlotte is still BAD! Every night, she will hang back from coming into the run, and make me come walk around behind her, then she scoots in. Better than she used to be though!

I used to have African geese, a trio. Those birds were positively VISIOUS!! They would attack anyone that came here, including me when I'd get home from work. You had to carry a stick at all times! I did have one Toulouse goose that was very sweet, not too bright, but very sweet. As for ducks, well let's just say I like mine with an orange glaze....

 

[Zanna]

Gilavina, you're not kidding on the twin thing!!! My girl is from Marquisella, only one of a dozen i had shipped last year that made it. How fun!!