Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[gilavina]

Why would you want to breed these together?? If you want Birchens, you do not want to add the red/gold color from the Black Coppers. You will end up with smutty coloring, gold and silver combined, and that is NOT what you want. For the Birchens, you want ONLY silver hackles in the females, and only silver in the hackles/saddles, and wing bows of the males; NO red or gold. Now if you are going for Black Coppers, then cross them, and breed back only the darker marked birds; but they will still carry the silver gene. More folks will chime in on this, I don't do the Birchens...yet.

Yeah, I saw that last sentence lady...

By the way, that birchen boy that I showed a few weeks back that is split for gold is filling out soooooo nicely! He's got a bit shorter back, but I have girls with backs that are really long, so think he will compliment them wonderfully!

I agree with Debbi. I raise birchens and they are tough enough to work with, without adding in the black copper factor. Breeding that color back to getting pure silver offspring will make for a really long process.

 

[Cadeau]

Hey Debbi...are you supposed to get rain tonight? They are saying between 1am and about 10am tomorrow there is a 30 to 40% chance here and the temps are going down and the chickens and goats are jumping around and acting like a storm's coming. I really hope we'll finally get some.

I'm going to be working like crazy this week to be getting some pens worked on. I've got Monday and Tuesday off and think its gonna be too hot to get much done. I've decided I'm going to be doing modified cattle pane hoop houses and I have stacks of metal roofing that I can cut down and use to make a roof over each one and will do 2x4 supports. These will line the entire west side of the property on the fence line. I'm going with the wise saying that fences make good neighbors. We've got some serious overstepping of bounds lately and think a series of these 6' hoop houses will work great.

Absolutely! Good fences make good neighbors - ask me how I know!

Show us some pics, when you get them done!

 

[gilavina]

I've not seen anything about rain tonight, but I'd be just fine with the temps we had last night! No TV here since the lightning took out my antenna in April!

Don't miss it much either, think of all the political ads I'm missing!!

I don't blame you for not missing tv. There's too much other good stuff going on in life to waste it.

 

[Debbi]

Took my 3 Marans babies outside today for most of the day. Glad I checked on them when I did. At 2:30, even with shade and water, and no one bullying them, they felt like limp rags. I quickly put them back into their cage in the house, and filled their waterrer with ice cubes. They drank and drank and drank, then gorged themselves with food. All the time looking at me like, "please, just let us stay here in our cage, we won't complain!" The three settled in and are back on their feet this evening. I think had I left them out til dusk, they may not have made it. I HATE this hot blasted weather!!!

 

[gilavina]

Absolutely! Good fences make good neighbors - ask me how I know!

Show us some pics, when you get them done!

I sure will lady. I've got my pygmy bucks framing on the base done with the panel hooped over and secured to the fence. Will have to do the wood framing and then add the roof. Should go smoothly. I'm going to be getting all the hoops up first, should end up with 6 or 7 on the west side and then have my big dog kennels I'll be adding privacy fencing slats to and a roof, then on the south side of what I call my chicky compound I'll have 3 or 4 more that will be 8'x8' hoops and then will also have my raised chick grow out pens as well. By the time I'm done I'll have a really nice set up. Just got thrown off so much by my dad's health stuff and the weather this year.

 

[Debbi]

I sure will lady. I've got my pygmy bucks framing on the base done with the panel hooped over and secured to the fence. Will have to do the wood framing and then add the roof. Should go smoothly. I'm going to be getting all the hoops up first, should end up with 6 or 7 on the west side and then have my big dog kennels I'll be adding privacy fencing slats to and a roof, then on the south side of what I call my chicky compound I'll have 3 or 4 more that will be 8'x8' hoops and then will also have my raised chick grow out pens as well. By the time I'm done I'll have a really nice set up. Just got thrown off so much by my dad's health stuff and the weather this year.

Yes, I really need to see pics of those too! I am at wits end here with trying to set posts, and not enough money to do the rest! The fencing I've got, glad I didn't send back the extras when I had money! It's the framing that is getting me, costwise and doable wise! Are your coops and runs suitable for winter?? I need something permanent for all seasons, and in a hurry!!

 

[Cadeau]

Picked up some breeder cages today!!

16 of them, though I think SO will be taking some of them for his Flemish Giant rabbits.

We're making two shelves of 8 with a gravity water drip system!!

I'm going to use some for single mating and the others to FINALLY get the young chicks out of the basement!

I'll try for pics tomorrow!!

 

[gilavina]

Yes, I really need to see pics of those too! I am at wits end here with trying to set posts, and not enough money to do the rest! The fencing I've got, glad I didn't send back the extras when I had money! It's the framing that is getting me, costwise and doable wise! Are your coops and runs suitable for winter?? I need something permanent for all seasons, and in a hurry!!

I am going to make them winter suitable. What I'll do now is get the main framing up and the roof, then put up welded wired in the sections on the front and back and add a door. Then after I get them all done, this fall I am going to be cutting wood panels that will fit in the openings that can be secured with some of the old metal hardware parts from old rabbit hutches that we've taken apart over the years. I'm using several different sites ideas and will run them connected together so that they will help to support each other and also save on materials needed as well. I'm trying to have to buy very minimal materials and use what's around here, so I can get you some pics in different stages of progress and get them to you. I always have an idea of what it will look like in my head, but modify it to the materials I have here. Part of the engineering brain my grandpa gave me.

 

[gilavina]

Picked up some breeder cages today!!

16 of them, though I think SO will be taking some of them for his Flemish Giant rabbits.

We're making two shelves of 8 with a gravity water drip system!!

I'm going to use some for single mating and the others to FINALLY get the young chicks out of the basement!

I'll try for pics tomorrow!!

pics tomorrow?

haha...I'm so excited for you!

 

[laughingclown]

LC, First off always remember to use your own judgement when it comes down to who stays and who goes. The following is what I see.

Wing Carriage on #5 is great

Tail shape on #5 is ideal and angle looks to be real good.

#5 looks to have better shank and toe feathering

#5 has a really nice wide back and the length is also good, by having the wide back he also has nice wide front end.

#5 has really nice overall color for a Black Copper marans.

#5 looking at the head shows to be really alert.

If I missed anything let me know and will try and answer.

Ok thank you for answering. Now to make sure we are discussing the right one. #5 is the one with the real bad thumbprint comb. Is this the one your refering to? I looked at the SOP again earier. (Not trying to argue here) Everything I read on the body and tail describes #1 under how I understand it. The tail on #5 is longer and not as refined as #1. When I look at the back view of #1 it is real nis. The SOP also says the body should be rectangular in shape which #1 has. #1 also has more leg feathering and has a feather or two on each outer toe. #5 has no outer toe feathering. So not arguing Im just making sure we are on the same page.

Either way. Thanks for all the help guys. I will get rid of the Blue Copper and keep both Black Coppers for now. I will try and grow out another Blue. Never know I may get a Splash from the eggs I have right now. Im starting to see what your talking about. If I had an Ideal picture of each thing on the SOP it would help. I have been through the SOP thread and they have different pics but I dont see many pics of each Item the way it suppose to be. We more or less try and discribe in words. Very hard.