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

[americana-chick]

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Yep all of those birds are 5 months old. I figured the ones with more gold definatly wherent pure but the one with more black seems to look more like a french and have more feathers on her feet as well. The rooster is a sweety, he is very docile and will let me pet him as the other darker hen does. These birds all came from a breeding facility and arent use to being outside or really anything except for being in a breeding cage. They still have a lot to learn.. Right now they are all mixed in with the rest of my birds until they start laying then i move the darker hen and roo in a seperate pen. But i probably wont do that until summer as the coop in the breeding pen is ment for warm weather.
I cant wait! i already have a list of people wanting eggs from these birds.

And i ADORE marans! They are so sweet, fun to look at, and just a neat breed!

One more question... How well do you think my Maran roo and Maran hen (the one i will keep for breeding) will do in a smaller town fair? I have always wanted to show and thought maybe my marans would be a ticket in.. Thanks!

 

[littlepeddler]

AC I would show them at the smaller shows just to get the experience for you as well as your birds. But I would cage them up separately about a week before the show to get them use to be handled. You be surprised that after they get their bath and are shut up they kind of figure somethings up in the near future so they seem to calm down quite a bit. Don't get disappointed in the smaller shows that most people do not know what they are so be ready to answer a lot of questions. Take some material along with you like fliers on marans and some standards so you can use them as guides. But get your birds prepared weeks before a show with good feed and don't let the roo ride your hens to much to mess up her feathers. Invest in a hen saddle if you just need the fertile eggs bad enough.
You'll do fine. If I can be of any help just email me or drop by the club site on our show sections for tips. Just remember to Keep it Simple Make it Fun!!!
Keep up the good work.
Brenda

 

[berkeleysprings]

i know its impossable to tell color in a picture but what yould you all guess
the numbers are

 

[littlepeddler]

I would go with a high 5 to a low 6.
Nice one with the splatter drops. That shows that hens potential for sure.

 

[berkeleysprings]

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well thanks ,,, i just hatched them though i cant take credit ,,, there from wheatens , from bev davis and buddy lines they did the hard work ive gotten around 22 eggs from 3 hens so far and hope to have a few chicks hatch monday

 

[bonnylass79]

They finally did it!! I had two dark eggs last night from my newly laying hens. I'll post pictures tonight. One was small, lighter and speckled. The other was LARGE, dark and beautiful. I am so excited.

Question: would a first egg be viable? I have a rooster in with the three hens. I'm very tempted to set up the incubator this weekend if they give me a few more eggs.

 

[littlepeddler]

Bonny if you are that excited I would get my incubator set-up and running for a couple of days. If your birds are breeding the first egg can be just as fertile as the last. A rooster is fertile around 20 weeks old so if he has been with her then it most likely she has fertile eggs. But the size is what you really want to make sure of. Is it big enough to have a strong healthy chick grow for the size of the bird. Pullet eggs are smaller so even it they are fertile you have to remember marans are big birds-big chicks. And remember extreme temperatures can also affect your fertility rate. I have a marans pullet that I was so thrilled when she laid her first eggs I took it straight from her behind and place it in the incubator. And by-george I got a baby. What I'm saying is if you don't have any plans for the egg then why not set it. But if it doesn't turn out to be fertile don't get discouraged and think she is not laying fertile eggs. Just think about it? Every other birds species that lays eggs out in the wild such as a geese, wild birds and eagles all have first time chicks hatched so why should poultry be any different? They have exactly the same instinct as all of fowl. It's just because since us humans are more involved we have a tendency to be more knowledgeable of what they produce. Only one way to find out? Or have a nice omelet. Good Luck
Brenda

 

[pinkchick]

ok........I have been kicking this around for awhile and don't know what I want to do.

WOULD YOU.....set eggs from a Marans pullet that is not showing any coppering (she's all black...with correct type, sparsely feathered legs, correct eye color and great egg color) she came from Black Copper and Blue Copper parents with good coppering...so would you use her for breeding to see what she throws?

Opinions please! Thanks in advance!

 

[colleensstuff]

I would let the smaller egg sit at room temp for a couple days, then crack it open onto a plate and see if the blastoderm has started to develop. It will look like a bulls eye if fertile, or just a white spot if not. here's a link to picture:

http://animalsinthecity2.webs.com/whativelearned.htm

scroll down the page to see pics of fertile and non fertile.

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[bonnylass79]

Brenda, the one egg is almost larger than my Australorp eggs and those hens are over a year old. I should look out there and see which pullet is walking funny.

Good idea about looking for the spot in the small egg. They're both sitting unwashed on the counter while I decide what to do. I'll make myself some eggs this weekend.