Perhaps this 'Mossiness' is a distraction? Any domestic fowl breed carrying the dark brown egg gene is going to produce chicks with burned orange occiput and crown. This may link to a mossiness- if I understand what the term is referring to- this is a mossiness expressed by the adult birds I take it? European poultiers are always going to be a few years ahead of the USA when it comes to selective breeding- and like Americans, they don't exhibit or photograph birds that don't fit a certain standard ideal. But they have to be refined internally before the external transformation-
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- Fix the egg first and worry about the looks after. Marans aren't an exhibition breed in this country at this point. Back home in France Marans are exhibited in the context of local agriculture fairs and events- where tourists and locals alike flock to learn about the local culture of the region(s) the different colour strains of Marans are symbols of.
Egg colour, in my opinion, should take precedence over anything else save for flock health-ending that cycle of disease and infection full stop.
Once you have egg colour fairly fixed within the flock- and that flock's environment is as sanitary as a milk barn- the poultier has the privilege of taking up the discipline of sculpting - yeah?
Perhaps the most pressing issue for Marans aficionados is discipline- the discipline to stop over harvesting eggs- eggs are for sale Period.
Hatching dozens of chicks every year is not prerequisite to maintaining the best of the breed.
Sell every egg from every hen whose egg shells lack the expression of genes -the dark red or dark brown egg everyone working with the breed are selecting for.
These eggs are for human consumption and nothing else. Unless you are a Bill Braden or a Bev Davis you don't need to be hatching anymore than a dozen or two eggs a year.
The majority of people maintaining the Marans keep them to produce eggs for the table. Some will maintain them to sell eggs within their communities. Many people pine after their own flock of Marans. People tend to sell what they have readily at hand- that is sell adult or started flocks- eggs- . This needs to stop until the person has managed to get the birds into the shape they aught to be to be called a Marans. The superficial looks of a bird are much easier to fix than the oef- the colour and consistency of that colour-.
Visiting the egg farms of Marans France I was surprised at how few birds that produced the loveliest eggs actually met the French standard of perfection- literally hundreds of these birds running together- and crate after crate of great big eggs of several dark red shades and dark brown shades- coming from every hen yard.
Gallus lafayetti Origin of red brown egg pigment- Origin of throw back marandaise 'mossiness' ?
An aside, chick mash- its filthy stuff. 70 some % of all the air inhaled by a bird bypasses its lungs. Air is inhaled and processed through great air sacs- the more chicks- the more mash- the more chicks the more dust- the more feather dander- the more poop and so on.
Keep a few setting hens about and put the best marans eggs under them to hatch and rear....
Make sure you put identification on the chicks so you can always remember who they are and record this data in your egg diary.
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- Fix the egg first and worry about the looks after. Marans aren't an exhibition breed in this country at this point. Back home in France Marans are exhibited in the context of local agriculture fairs and events- where tourists and locals alike flock to learn about the local culture of the region(s) the different colour strains of Marans are symbols of.
Egg colour, in my opinion, should take precedence over anything else save for flock health-ending that cycle of disease and infection full stop.
Once you have egg colour fairly fixed within the flock- and that flock's environment is as sanitary as a milk barn- the poultier has the privilege of taking up the discipline of sculpting - yeah?
Perhaps the most pressing issue for Marans aficionados is discipline- the discipline to stop over harvesting eggs- eggs are for sale Period.
Hatching dozens of chicks every year is not prerequisite to maintaining the best of the breed.
Sell every egg from every hen whose egg shells lack the expression of genes -the dark red or dark brown egg everyone working with the breed are selecting for.
These eggs are for human consumption and nothing else. Unless you are a Bill Braden or a Bev Davis you don't need to be hatching anymore than a dozen or two eggs a year.
The majority of people maintaining the Marans keep them to produce eggs for the table. Some will maintain them to sell eggs within their communities. Many people pine after their own flock of Marans. People tend to sell what they have readily at hand- that is sell adult or started flocks- eggs- . This needs to stop until the person has managed to get the birds into the shape they aught to be to be called a Marans. The superficial looks of a bird are much easier to fix than the oef- the colour and consistency of that colour-.
Visiting the egg farms of Marans France I was surprised at how few birds that produced the loveliest eggs actually met the French standard of perfection- literally hundreds of these birds running together- and crate after crate of great big eggs of several dark red shades and dark brown shades- coming from every hen yard.
Gallus lafayetti Origin of red brown egg pigment- Origin of throw back marandaise 'mossiness' ?
An aside, chick mash- its filthy stuff. 70 some % of all the air inhaled by a bird bypasses its lungs. Air is inhaled and processed through great air sacs- the more chicks- the more mash- the more chicks the more dust- the more feather dander- the more poop and so on.
Keep a few setting hens about and put the best marans eggs under them to hatch and rear....
Make sure you put identification on the chicks so you can always remember who they are and record this data in your egg diary.
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