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

[tgcole]

Drom, I'm afraid your Roos are about to go hormonal on you! I have 3 BC roos that lived together peacefully from hatch until about 6 months old. They were raised together from chicks and handled daily.

They then started battling to the point of bringing blood. I separated the Roos with their own hens and they still try to fight through the fences if they can see one another.

None of the Roos has ever challenged me. A few weeks back, my sister was feeding the flock for me and one of the Roos flogged her! During Thanksgiving, my Daughter-in-law was collecting eggs and was also flogged by the same Roo.

Could it be a female thing??? The Roo has never even attempted to bother any male that entered the pen. I can still walk up to him and pick him up with no problems. ???????

Greg

 

[onthespot]

All three of my roos got along well for a while. Then I had to pull one from too much comb pecking with the other... that was two months ago. Last night I was starting to notice some smaller bloody spots on the other two that are in with the hens. My plan originally was to have individual pens and rotate the roos, but I hurt my back a couple months ago and was on VERY light duty, so that hasn't happened yet. I am back to working on my project housing the roos, so pretty soon I will have good accomodations for the boys that are "off track" so it should be smooth sailing from there on out. I would love to only have to deal with one roo, but due to the realities of breeding marans, and the chance of losing one to injury, accident or disease, they would be nearly impossible to replace. I think the inconvenience of keeping one extra off to the side is far less than the inconvenience of losing an entire breeding season, or worse, using a rooster from some seller that may have misrepresented him and getting problems for generations to come.

 

[littlepeddler]

They are game birds. It is natural for them to be aggressive. More almost like fighting cocks.
I had to seperate mine because they got in a fight over night and just about killed one another. One day they were fine, next morning one was laid out flat with the other almost tearing his head off. The french knows that it is genetic, and are not very forgiving of marans that show aggression. Otherwise they cull them.

Wow, I would just have to hobble them. That seems to work. Or walk tall and carry a big stick.

 

[ninjapoodles]

I've got 7 CB cockerels, and they're way less aggressive than even the Buff Orps. Really mild-mannered. They don't act anything like "gamebirds."

Maybe it's because they free-range and have plenty of space, so can always get away from each other, and aren't stressed?

 

[hcammack]

They are decended from fighting cocks that came into port in France. I know the breeder I have seen has several roosters out with each other. One even had 3 roosters and only 15 hens and no fighting. My little roosters already defend their girls from me even at 8 weeks! It may depend on the line they come from though.

Henry

 

[littlepeddler]

May be the stock.

I was lucky this time not to have any die. So I wont take any chances. Other lines may be mild-mannered. Lets hope they stay that way.

 

[drom]

Thanks everyone for your info.
I definitely wouldn't call this guy aggressive at this point at all. They are all still very easy and tame. But he definitely has changed and I think it's correct that he is maturing and his hormones are probably kicking in. I also think they are out-growing their coop and I need to build a big safe run. I turn them out every day, but I don't leave them out unattended because my neighbor's dogs occasionally will show up on my property. But keeping 3 large, maturing cockerels in my coop together may be asking for trouble and it probably is stressing them a bit.

Ha-more work for me.

edited to add: I also only have 3 pullets.

So the ratio is obviously wrong for them as they mature.

 

[ninjapoodles]

Quote:
Mine came from the same place yours did, but they're far from aggressive. I definitely hope it stays that way, because they won't be long for this earth if it doesn't!

I had two new little pullet eggs today, one from an Orp and one from a Marans--cracked me up that both eggs were "miniatures," one beige and the other dark and speckled. Cute!

 

[hcammack]

Nice first marans eggs are always great !

 

[SweetMissDaisy]

I have 10 CM hens that have just started to lay. Yesterday, I found a shell-less egg in one of the nest boxes (freshly laid, and I know who did it), and later in the day I found a little yolk-less egg in the chicken yard! So CUTE!

How fun it is to see their first few eggs -- gotta get those kinks worked out, I suppose!