Marans Thread for Posting Pics of Your Eggs, Chicks and Chickens

[drom]

Quote:
These guys hatched July 13th, so they are a little over 6 weeks now I guess. Boy do they grow fast.

 

[ninjapoodles]

Wow, mine are almost exactly the same age, but yours look MUCH more mature! Mine are nowhere near fully feathered out yet. What kind of weather have you been having, and how long did you keep yours in a brooder?

 

[drom]

Well, they are getting out almost every day in the coop but I am bringing them in at night. I have a big cage for them inside. I am in Northern California in the foothills. It's very, very hot here in the summer, so I am not leaving them outside if it's really hot in the afternoon. I think I probably started putting them out when they were about 3 weeks and gradually, lengthened the time I would leave them out in the day.

But you know, this breeder's birds are really big. I had never seen roosters that large before. So I expect maybe these guys will be big too,

-with the exception of the little colorful pullet. Right now, she's is a bit smaller than the other pullets. But, who knows, she might catch up.

 

[ninjapoodles]

Ours have been out full-time since they were two weeks old, and we've had freakishly cooler-than-usual weather (which means it's still hot, just not brutally so, like it usually is in Arkansas in August).

These birds seem smaller than our other breeds (which, when I read the French standard, they SHOULD be smaller, but it's still been a surprise to us). Even our hatchery cuckoos are much bigger.

 

[drom]

Oh really? Are you saying the BCs are supposed to be a bit smaller than the other varieties? Or just the french lines?
These guys come from Wade Jeane/Ron Presley lines and so some of that is probably the same as yours. But I always thought all the Marans were supposed to be relatively large. How hot is it in Arkansas right now??

 

[ninjapoodles]

It's warming back up this week, been in the 90's with nights in the 70's, and August is usually MUCH hotter than this!

I was reading a translation of the Marans Club of France site, and I believe the size guidelines it gave were up to 9 lbs. for a cock and up to 7 lbs. for a hen...but of course I could have that totally wrong. I was surprised to read that, though, because my hatchery cuckoos are noticeably heavier/larger than both my White Rock and Buff Orpingtons of the same age.

I'll be interested to see how much size these coppered black fellows get, and yeah, I'd imagine our birds are pretty well related.

We did notice that our first batch of chicks, that we kept in the basement brooder for 4 weeks, feathered out much more quickly than did our next two batches, which we put outside at 2 weeks old. So maybe that has something to do with it.

 

[ninjapoodles]

OK, here it is from the French breed standard, regarding size:

Cocks: 3.5 to 4 kilos, which = 7.7 to 8.8 pounds

Hens: 2.6 to 3.2 kilos, which = 5.7 to 7.1 pounds

"Fairly strong poultry, of an average size, plumage close to the body, giving an impression of strength without looking heavy and awkward."

ETA: This appears to apply to ALL varieties. I just noted that my hatchery cuckoo Marans were much bigger--not in any way implying that they SHOULD be! After all, they are hatchery birds. I don't have any cuckoos from breeders' lines.

 

[siz8003]

what color might he be?

 

[tfpets]

I am clueless. If he is a Marans, is he a Birchen? Or do we even have those? Gee my favorite breed and I'm clueless. Just Guessing, but keep asking!

Oh, here is an update on my little Black Copper babies! They started hatching June 19, and are 10 weeks old now!

Dont be grossed out, but this is Pirate, my injured little Cuckoo Marans. She was hurt when she was teeny weeny, and I've taken care of her eye forever, or I should say, her eye socket. She comes running for her treatment (I wash it to prevent infection, there is no longer an eye there), and she gets treats. She is the sweetest.

Hey siz8003 - Today we start on YOUR eggs! It's supposed to get to 105 degrees here, but expecting a cool down over the weekend! Awesome!

 

[onthespot]

Everybody's birds are doing so well! Thanks for posting pics! I know someone who knows someone, who knows an older woman who supposedly has GOOD cuckoo marans and sells a dozen eggs at a time, ONLY to her good friend, for... get this... $1.50 a dozen! That is one dollar and fifty cents, not a hundred fifty dollars. I am on the waiting list to get the better colored eggs for hatching this fall when the weather cools off. I didn't even ask the price, but was assured the eggs were dark and the hens were of good quality. Time will tell.