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

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
OK, you will be first on my list!

Holy Smokes! Are all those Maran hens yours Kathy? They are very nice!

No, not mine. These are the parents of the eggs I bought, and are in the incubator!​

 

[heritagehabitatfarms]

the thing everyone needs to remember is that you have to keep culling your flocks... i that person bought the chickens from Wade Jean 5 years ago and has not culled there flocks for egg color in all that time... than you can lose it!!! this is y it is so important to know witch hen lays witch egg to really "breed" Marans to keep your egg color or to improve your egg color... you need to use trap nests or just pen each hen up by herself for a week or so before you use them as a breeder... you need to know exactly how dark each hens egg is...

no offense to the owner of those really good looking Marans in those last pics but... it looks like they use the flock breeding method... if you did this for 4 or 5 years with out heavy culling for egg color you can lose it...

i think this is a big advantage for the private breeder for this breed... there will never!!! be any hatchery with dark egg Marans for more than a year or 2... so unlike many other breeds if you want dark eggs you will have!!! to go to a private breeder...

 

[keithallen1965]

Ok guys and gals I hatched this chick out three weeks ago. It is from a well know person on this list. I am not looking to blame anyone I just want to learn more about the best breed that is the marans. This bird has light feathering on both legs and was colored very much like all the other chicks that hatched with this one. Would you say Sport or other wise just a bad gene showing up in this bird. Looks like barred markings.

Here is the bird in question!!!

Here is a blue copper from the same breeder.

Would you all take a look at another Black copper and tell me what you think.

 

[onthespot]

I have hatched out a few of those barred brown ones from my birds. The father was an over coppered roo that was carrying wheaten. I sent him down the road. The barring does get less as they moult out, but can still be a little obvious on the very heavy ones like the first chick you showed in your post. I sold all mine that look like that. Just tried to get rid of that whole look, including hens that just had golden shafts on dark feathers. Next spring I will find out how that worked out. The one on the bottom has quite a bit of white on the wings, which will probably mostly go away with later moults but likely not all of it when they start out that white. I wouldn't kick her outta the pen though, really NICE coppering on her neck!

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Yes, it was probably a gene gone bad. I have one of those too! It sure is confusing when you know what you hatched and can't figure out how that bird got in there!
I had to post pictures too and mine is also a Wheaton. Or part anyway. She is very big and lovely and I am keeping her in the laying flock just because I like her. I think it will be interesting to see what color her eggs are.
Now the white feathers, thank heavens I don't have. Good to know it can moult out.

 

[Bantimna]

Oh Kathy how many chicks and coops do you have in counting? I think you ARE going to get Beautiful babies from those parents

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
I only have 4 coops right now. .... but still working ! Hope to get alot more work done in the early spring. I do hope the chicks hatch and turn out decent!
How many chicks? Hhmmm, quite a few... I'll have to check my record books.

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
Candled yesterday morning and

....we've got babies in there. Of course I must go by what I see in the lightest eggs because I can't see anything except nice air cells in the darkest ones.
Maybe by this time next weekend I will be posting some fuzzy butt photos

 

[Knight Hawk Ranch]

Ok, guys/gals. I am getting frustrated. I have a LG still air incubator and have had 80-90 percent hatch on my rir eggs. I now have a BC Marans and Blue Copper hen laying so all their eggs go in the bator. I have gone through about 4 clutchs and while I have good fertilization, can't seam to get the little boogers to hatch out. They get to the point of hatching and die in the shell. The few that I did help out ended up dieing so I won't be doing that anymore.

It seams like the shells are to thick for them to break out.

I know the LG isn't the best incubator to be useing, but it is all I can afford right now.

Tips and tricks to black copper or blue copper hatchings?

 

[AHappychick]

whats your humidity in there, I would raise it a much as possible. in my L I used plastic cups I cut down in the corners under the grate cause the tray in the middle did not hold enough water for a humidity above 60 I would aim for humidity at 70% or so and see if that helps. And yes I think the shells and membrane on them is much tougher. I noticed it when I had to help out a few that got stuck in their shell once.