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I know someone in Benton that has good BC Marans, and he's picky about what he keeps as breeding stock. I recently saw a beautiful cull of his, full grown roo, with a little to much red in the chest area, so I know for a fact he's culling hard for that. He has Bev Davis lines. He does go to Beebe sometimes but went to MO this weekend looking to buy other breeds. You can PM me if you want his name and contact information.
I haven't been to this thread in a while, so I'm happy to see everyone is getting such nice chicks this Spring already. My one Wheaten hen finally started laying again after a long cold winter, I put the male with her, she laid a few eggs, I cracked two to be sure they were fertile before I wasted incubator space, they were, but now she hasn't laid another for at least a week, more like 9 or 10 days Will I ever get more birds???
I have one more pretty young pullet coming along nicely, about half grown, keeping my fingers crossed!
Please send me a PM with the contact information. I have tried to PM you, but don't think it is working properly. Thanks.
Ive sent a picture of the eggs privately to a member here. Maybe its me, maybe I just think they should be darker. Maybe I just think they should be at least CLOSE to the picture of them in the advertisement, or even close to the color of eggs I see posted in this looooong thread.
i think u might be just fine , i have the same thing happen when power went out and hatched out fine
Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :
OMG, I am so sick to my stomach right now... I won some Marans eggs from Bargain, and was candling them late last night. They were a week along, and showing signs of growth. In the middle of candling, my husband called me out to look at something on the computer, and we got distracted, and I forgot to put the eggs back in the incubator.
They sat out for about 9 hours in a 65°F room overnight... is there ANY chance they will survive???
I am heartbroken, and
I'm trying to keep the faith... I can't believe I did this.....
I did email the seller, and she was very kind and told me to give them a chance, that they will hatch out chicks that will lay very dark eggs. So me being a newb with Marans, I will take her at face value, since she is extremely highly recommended, and stick them in the incubator.
One good thing with the eggs being lighter, I should be able to candle them!
my adult wheaten hens and adult roo are very nice and very calm to me ,,,,,,,, but they will kill any chicken i try to bring into the pen .. i tried to introudce a 3 month old hen in and they jumped her . lol . i guess i will have to wait till there full grown before i throw them to the lions ........also do it at night
Did the ebay ad say they would be a certain color? Marans hens do generally lay lighter eggs per laying period as time goes on. We have to remember,that Marans eggs are still Marans at a #4 color.
Hens that lay a #6 or higher, and lay a lighter color a while later, still have the same genes that can produce the darker egg, even though they run out of paint later on..That is what your seller was saying.
The other part of the equation is, what color egg did the rooster that fertilized those eggs come from. The roo is responsible for half the egg color. He is just as important.
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That makes no sence to me. How can the chicks lay dark eggs, if she doesn't even come from a dark egg?
The part people say about the genes are there for dark eggs ..... That is another thing I don't understand. I look at it like this (and I may be wrong) .... Say, in humans, "the genes are there," for such and such. OK, My sisters and I all came from the same gene pool ... and (believe me!) the results are VERY different. So, I look at the eggs the same way. I just feel like they NEED to be dark to get the next generation to lay dark. I don't buy the story, "the genes are there." If the egg they come from is not dark, then chances are they will not lay dark eggs either. That is what I feel anyway.
Kathyinmo It does work that way with marans. Sometimes they get stressed and can't paint... When it gets too hot thier eggs get waaaay light. That is just the way they are. If the seller is credible then it will work out especially if it is one of the top breeders. I would accept a #4 from Bev Davis... as I am sure that her chickens are laying dark most of the time. If it is a credible seller then I wouldn't worry too much especially if there is good repoire.
I did email the seller, and she was very kind and told me to give them a chance, that they will hatch out chicks that will lay very dark eggs. So me being a newb with Marans, I will take her at face value, since she is extremely highly recommended, and stick them in the incubator.