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

[geebs]

Let's see pix.... Yellow comb???? huh?

I don't worry about the mossie until the bird is an adult... Then I cull... If it is mossy as a baby it makes no difference to me as they grow out of it and the dark egg gene is related to the mossy I understand.

 

[berkeleysprings]

i have never heard of Jesse Bryant's ,,, who is he ? .... i have a closed flock with only davis and presley lines ......when reading about marans past 20 years history or so that name i dont remember,,,anyone have a link to him about his history

 

[snowbird]

Jesse Bryant bought the last hens that Wade Jeane sold when he went out of business. There are more Wade Jeane fowl out there than there is Bev Davis. Don

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
I'll trade ya.....you go nail down hardwood floor for me today and I will paint your coop. Warning though if I paint it, it may end up PINK!

It could take 24 hours, I have also seen it take longer. I have seen eggs hatch that didn't make a sound or even rock. What is going on with them now??

 

[Wynette]

Quote:
Actually, I do not find this to be true with my Davis line; I've had copper coming in at the hackle are as early as 4 weeks, and the Davis line (at least none that I've hatched) are most definitely not mossy. So, I think this must have to do with the bloodline.

Debbi - Status??

 

[pinkchick]

I've had a few mossy birds show up in my birds and they are Davis line, most of them are in the laying flock due to some sort of DQ for breeding but they have all grown out of the mossy or stippled look. There are 2 mossy babies in that batch I just received, and both of those babies also have totally black heads and necks, and no white on their chests, their little bellies and chests are gray.

 

[Debbi]

Hi Pink,

No, think I'll paint rather than nail, thanks!

So far this morning, nothing, nada, zilch, zip. Don't have a good enough candler (yet!) to bother checking Marans eggs. Tried with the last batch and saw basically, nothing. I'll give them another two days, as long as nothing starts stinking. My last batch hatched on end of day 20 and 21. One of those chicks took about 40 hours from a peep to a hatch. Maybe if I press my nose against the bator window, I can will them to move!

The last batch, as I watched them, seemed like I could see a "shadow" moving inside the egg towards the end. That really puzzled me, seeing as how I couldn't candle them, but now could see a shadow without the light?? Was that my imagination, or has anyone else experienced that? The others all started rocking about 12 hours before they hatched, so far, no rocking here... These were shipped eggs and packaged well, but in the heat, they just may not have made it.

 

[pinkchick]

Debbi~
Your a very funny gal!!! LOL.

I listen to my eggs with a stethoscope, crazy I know but it works and you don't have to physically take the eggs out and handle them while they are in lockdown.

 

[Wynette]

Pink, you put a stethoscope up to the glass or something? Interesting!

I use a super old slide projector as a candler for my Marans eggs. It's the only thing that "sees" through the dark shells. But, I can't hold them on the light very long, as it gets mighty hot quickly!

 

[ruth]

Quote:
Actually, Jesse bought Wade's very FIRST hens and roos - which is very, very important - read on. He bought the hens directly from Wade's brother Kelvin (who started out with Wade), the roos from neighbors/men who bought them directly from Wade. I've confirmed everything by talking to all men involved in getting these birds in this country and getting this breed started.

I don't want to start a debate or a war - I'm just stating my own knowledge and experience with the flock I purchased from Jesse. Since others are allowed to post their opinion, based on negative experiences, I should be allowed to state mine.

Yes, no matter what others say, there are many more "Wade Jeane" birds out there than Bev Davis. Which are "better" is up for debate and personal opinion. In Bev Davis' case she was pretty much the only breeder of her birds and had control of the line. She initially had year-long waiting lists. In the Wade Jeane case everyone and their brother, who ended up getting a bird or two, began to breed them and promote them as Wade Jeane. However, most of those people mixed several other bloodlines with them or inbred them. The results are the bad experiences you hear people refer to when they say they had "webbed toes" or "too much mossiness".

In my case, it's important to note that since Jesse bought the very FIRST birds, the ones that hatched from eggs from France, and never mixed bloodlines, his flock is one of the purest around. I initially bought a dozen chicks from Mr. Jessee - the very first chicks his flock produced - I eventually bought his entire flock of original French Black Copper Marans - the same ones that used to live with Wade/Kelvin. The same ones that came from eggs from France. Like Jesse, I've never mixed any other bloodline in with them.

Unfortunately anytime this issue comes up it ends up starting trouble so I've tried to stay out of it. I know what I have and the quality of same. But, I need to defend the reputation of my flock. Jesse still had the original flock he first bought and I have that flock and they are in enclosed pens so there's no co-mingling going on here.

So, when and if you hear someone refer to a bad experience with the Wade Jeane line, you need to consider the source. A lot has happened to the Wade Jeane line since Wade first started selling birds and he did, in fact, eventually sell off the rest of his flock. So, unless someone has the original flock (and that would be me) and has never mixed any other line into it, they really shouldn't refer to them as Wade Jeane birds. Personally, I'd like to get rid of that name all together and am selecting and breeding the best of the best of my FBCMs and will eventually call them the Bethel Line (after my farm). Because really, after three (or more) years and hundreds of people buying/breeding/selling these birds, the Wade Jeane name is meaningless today - Wade stopped selling these birds long ago.

So, if someone says "Bev's are better" or "Wade's are better" they need to be talking about birds that came directly from Bev or Wade and even then it's no more than their own personal opinion and we all know what they say about opinions don't we.