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

[onthespot]

Judging from the Crazy Egg Swap thread and the number of posts to this thread, I'm guessing there could be just a "Marans Egg Swap" thread and it would be a kick!

 

[drom]

Yes, I haven't paid much attention to the rules in the egg swap thread but it looks like a lot of fun and so many people will have Marans eggs this spring.

 

[klf73]

well, since no one gave their opinion on my thread I will try posting pics here where all the marans people are to see if someone can help

. I had mentioned my Cratty cuckoos but want help sexing them.
group 1- pullets?

group 2- cockerals ?

group photo, sorry it's blurry, but they kept charging the camera

 

[Cottage Rose]

Just some friendly advise...a few years ago I talked to 2 long time Marans breeders, Ron Presley and Bill Braden (I think that is his name/kinda forgot now) extensively on the phone and both told me you can't just randomly cross lines or strains of Marans and get good results.
As I recall they both had 2 breeding pens of the old foundation bloodlines of Cuckoo Marans going on and practiced close line breeding and inbreeding to retain the desirable dark egg color and type.
I think some of you may be at risk of getting too caught up in all this happy-happy egg swapping and breeding and possibly miss the mark on what one has to do to selectively breed Marans to get the desireable results....or am I just not around here enough to realise everybody is already aware of this?

 

[drom]

Thanks Cottage Rose. You are correct and I think just about everybody on this thread is aware of that. My birds come from the same closely related lines as onthespot. And many people on this thread have a specific line of Wade Jeane BCs through Black Copper King. Also, there are several with Beverly Davis lines on this thread. So, I think that swapping Marans eggs could be done in a more thoughtful and interesting way. In other words, not randomly.

Also, some people might be interested in starting new separate lines in their breeding programs.

Just one more note on that. Channing Grisham and Ron Presley have both said that crossing lines will diminish egg color in the first few gens and no one really understands why. Beverly Davis says that it can, but it does not always.

 

[drom]

Quote:
I think you need to consult with the inas on this one; Tina and Gina. They seem to be the knowledgeable ones in the Cuckoo department here.
Hopefully they will see your post.

 

[the simple life]

If I recall correctly, cuckoo males also have alot more white on their chests than the females.
I thought all of my females had completely black heads as well and only the males had a white spot on top.
Do you have any frontal views of these little guys?

 

[drom]

T

 

[CountryMom]

Well I didn't expect to get "caught up" in the egg color for the Marans. LOL I just received eggs in a batch of purebred Marans and a batch of purebred Welsummers. Mainly interested in the Wellies for my son, but then also love our Ideal Cuckoo Marans hen we have as she is so sweet. Her eggs are not dark at all though but we still love her. Anyhow, I got these eggs today and two are a little lighter than the others. Still dark mind you but lighter. Is it true that at certain times of the season they do not lay them so dark? Are they affected by temperatures or light for egg color? And how do you get your hands on a chart for egg color rating? I do have to say I was surprised that the Welsummer eggs I received are very dark as well. I confess I haven't read all of the posts as this thread is getting long. However the pictures of some of the darker eggs I have seen you all post are similar to the ones I have in my bator. My chip reader is down or I would gladly post pics. Hopefully I will get that fixed here soon.

And one last question. If I breed this Ideal Marans into the new stock (assuming they hatch and I get a roo) will that mean her offsrping will have darker eggs?

 

[drom]

Quote:
Mine aren't laying yet, but this is information that is very commonly known about them:
Usually, but not always, the first 20 eggs they lay are the darkest. Pullet eggs are darker than hen eggs and are said to lighten as the laying season goes on and as the hen gets older. After they have had a rest from laying they will darken up some again. Crossing unrelated lines can sometimes lighten egg color even when they are two dark egg laying lines. Most of the experienced Marans breeders tend to line-breed to lock in their type and egg color and don't like to out-cross to other unrelated lines. I have seen some posts where people are saying that the heat effects their egg color. The Marans_Chicken_Club forum has someone who is selling an egg color chart for 5 dollars. But there is also one on the French web site: http://marans-club.club.fr/mcfang.htm