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

[Leah and peeps]

Holllyyy Coww!! that is the darkest egg i have ever seen!!!!

 

[kathyinmo]

Greg ... That is just soooo cool!

I am still waiting. .... waiting .... waiting .... to get a dark egg from my hen house!

 

[cpartist]

The latest posts here on tail set are very timely as I'm trying to decide which roo's to use as I'm close to separating by breed for Spring hatching. Thanks, Drom for posting "tails" as this is one big difference in my four contenders. My decision has been complicated by the problem that two have developed "walking" irregularities. I had too many roo's in this pen and all were getting along fine until a couple of weeks ago, when some began to tussle. No blood was shed before I removed the two biggest troublemakers, but it's possible that the Marans have some leg injuries from the skirmishes. The other possibility is that they have grown so rapidly over the last month that their legs are not handling their body weight. I've added Game Bird Starter to their Grower to up the protein in case it's a dietary issue.

Here are my contenders from least likely to most likely to avoid Camp Kenmore. These birds are just 16 and 17 weeks old, and I know they have some changing and maturing to do...but I'd like to pick just two to grow out, and would appreciate any feedback from Marans and genetic gurus here.

This first guy (Bob) is the head roo of the pen. He developed size and comb very early, but had so much red on his breast that I'd never planned to use him. Each week though, the red is getting overtaken by more black, and I'd consider keeping him to breed with lightly coppered girls, but....I really dislike his body shape and tail set.

This next guy (Toby) was originally my favorite, but in the last two weeks has developed a stiff legged stutter step. Perhaps from a whoopin' he took from a smaller Buff Orp roo, also his tail has begun to sag (is saggy tail the opposite of squirrel tail?)...perhaps because of the same whoopin'.

Number three (Vinny) has a nice full body that I like, but is maybe a little low to the ground, and his legs appear to be bent too forward. He just doesn't walk like a chicken should. Again, I'm not sure if this is due to trauma, diet, or genetics.

Here is another pic of Vinny, see how his legs bend forward compared to the Welsummer roo behind him? Can he just not handle his rapid weight gain?

This last guy (Beau) is a week younger than the rest, but has good color, eyes, comb, and body type (I think). His shape seems most like Drom's posted line drawing. He even has copper in his ear feathers. I'm inclined to use him, but...he's the only guy of both hatches that is not featherlegged!

. The two girls I have are featherlegged, but sparsely...his hatchmates were all feathered, so how likely will it be that he will throw feathered offspring?

I'm new to this and trying to train my eye as well as pick the best roo. Any and all criticism and helpful advice is welcome

 

[cook_kaka_ook]

I vote for the last guy you have in mind. (last pic) Good luck.

 

[amazondoc]

Word of wisdom: ALWAYS keep at least two roos. You never know when something is gonna happen to one roo -- and if you've only GOT one, then you could be in big trouble.

Just judging from the pics, I would personally keep 3 and 4. Depending on how they finish developing, you can decide later about who the chief roo will be -- or you can rotate both of them.

As for feathered legs -- as long as one of the parents is feather legged, then you should get a good percentage of feather legged chicks. BUT you are likely to also get plenty of clean legged chicks. So if you decide to go with the clean legged roo, you'll need to work on that in your next generation. There's always SOMETHING that needs improvement!

 

[ginasmarans]

Here's what I have been getting. The light one is an off-white egg for contrast. This pic was taken about a week ago. The eggs I am getting now are slightly darker.

 

[geebs]

Okay... Not criticism... Just noted points... For what it is worth... Whatever I say about any bird here is just one opinion and I am using my best understanding of Chicken Judging based on the proposed breed standard. My choice would be as follows and why:

If it were not for the "funny leg thing... I would pick that one"... but because of it he is out.

Currently I would Pick number 5 as a first choice to use on feather legged females because he exibits the "best" overall traits (the leg feathering will go forward a certain amount with the hens) exibits lots of nice traits, however He does have excessive red that can indicate a wheaton Gene. So if you are wanting Wheaton (called sports though not a correct term) he has potential for that. This is my understanding about that presentation in the Marans. I would choose another from his offpring unless I like what he produces.

Number two would be the one at the top...he does not exibit the best of the traits but after all he is a rooster and his legs have no genetic abnormality...I would choose another from his offspring.

I would Watch the one with the dropped tail.. He is ill.. Check him for Cocci if that is a possibilty... I would put him on an antibiotic and see how he fairs... then look at him again and possibly rearrange him to the top. He may be very skinny and need extra protien to come back "online".... feed him some egg and antibiotics and possibly sulmet depending...if he is on a starvation kick...Sulmet... especially if you house younger birds or he is under 5 months of age. You will have to watch him eat separate from the rest and feel his crop to make sure he is getting food... If not... Sulmet and antibiotic.... Bright green poop... sulmet and antibiotics... He is worth the effort I think. He would be my number one bird elect based on a healthy looking profile picture.

The one that walk funny...He is the Best overall looking bird however if that is a genetric trait and it well may be he cannot even be considered.. (very sad)

Another option is to buy a rooster from the same line (I am guessing Bev Davis) and get one that has the qualities that you are looking for.

Feathered legs are easy to fix.... There are other traits that are more difficult to correct. If you have a leg problem as a common theme you may look at upping the protien level... They may be growing too fast to meet thier needs... Then I would re-evalute and change my order entirely

 

[marquisella]

Quote:
I would not use Vinney as he also appears to be roach backed, could be related to the leg problem. Having said that, I had a rooster that I put in with another boy, and after a while, I noticed one was walking badly, so I separated them. Within days, the rooster was back to normal. I assumed it was from the 2nd boy fighting with him.

Also Toby, same leg problem, walking stiffly...I have heard to too much protein in cockerels causes them to walk funny, high stepping, although I haven't experienced that problem, so not sure.

Bob, definitely not. Too many problems to work on at once, and adding too much color to your flocks genes, is a nightmare to get rid of.

The easiest problem to fix is the feather legs. I would use the last rooster.

Now, my next thought is, were all these boys sired by the same rooster? If so, I would be concerned about the multiple problems you are getting. I'm no genetics wizard by any means, but I'd be leary of breeding them back to their siblings. Wait to see if the leg problems on your other boys resolve.

Sue

 

[cpartist]

Quote:
So True!

Thanks Geebs, for your input. I was worried at the mention of illness...but other than the leg issue, he and all the other birds are fine. Clear eyed, normal droppings and great appetites. I've edited my original post with the birds names as it's confusing to say #4 (bird or picture?). Anyway, I chose to show a pic of Toby (#2 original post) with his sagging tail as this is his "at ease" stance. I took this picture yesterday as well when he was in a more alert position:

He spends a lot of time sitting like this though, (when he's not eating):

I picked up Vinny (#3 original post) this morning to do a leg check, he was fine when I palpated one leg, but was uncomfortable and agitated upon examining the other leg. No obvious injury, but maybe internal trauma?

Both birds were walking fine until a fiesty Buff Orp roo (since removed) started chasing them around. They have really grown in the last month, also. I took this terrible photo of them at Christmas (age 13 weeks). Vinny's in the front and Toby's in the back (he had a long tail even then, while Vinny's hadn't even started to come in). They've probably trippled in size in just a month:

To further complicate diagnosis, I transitioned them from 21% starter to 15% grower during this period. Last week I started mixing half game bird starter 28% with half grower, maybe this will help. Sounds like I should give everyone a stay for now, as long as the remaining birds continue to get along-then repost for advice in a few weeks when the leg issues (hopefully) resolve. I had a Buff Orp pullet develop a limp like this at about the same age. I was never sure if it was due to injury or rapid growth, but a month later she was fine.

 

[cpartist]

Thanks Sue for weighing in here. I agree, Bob's outta here...if the leg issues resolve can I assume it's diet/injury problem and not a genetics one? By roach backed do you mean the back doesn't incline enough toward the tail?

I think the breeder was using two roo's, one with a black breast and another with some red, but I'll check. She has beautiful birds going by pictures.