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

[onthespot]

Tipsy ROCKS!!! and because she is the only good hen I had, my entire breeding program is now based off of her. Every single pullet left in my grow out and laying pen is hatched from her eggs. Eggs hatching today are from either her or her darkest laying pullets or hatched from the darkest eggs. Talk about a tight closed flock!

 

[lildinkem]

Quote:
Well after seeing a show DIRTY JOBS last week, where the host was in Miami, after feral chickens. The estimate is there are near 100,000 strays or now wild chickens in Miami city limits. Natural selection just might come up with a Silver or Magenta egg. lololol

Quote:
Will you take some of her sons back to her?

 

[onthespot]

That is all I have, sons of hers. I have a nice one growing out, but a turkey put out one of his eyes, but he is still coming along nicely. I have someone who hatched eggs from me bringing back a nice young roo also. I will be trading her a dozen marans eggs for the roo. That is how highly I prize the best roos I can get, from known lines. I tend to run a roo-heavy operation, and keep the best hens I can but use the roos for diversity, instead of the other way around like normal people do, LOL. Don't know why, but that is how it just seems to work out. Probably because I have most of my breeding experience from raising show horses. Getting a top producing mare is like pure GOLD and then they are bred to various top stallions. That practice has duplicated itself in how I do my breeding program. Probably really inefficient, but that's how I roll... LOL

 

[lildinkem]

onthepsot: I agree, keep as many of your boys as you can handle. You got me beat. I am just starting my flock. have no idea who is the better cockerel for egg color. The one Roo I have his daughters are near or around a 6 on the scale. BUT, he has no feathers on his legs. So, I need to pair him up with the two girls I have who have great egg color and feathered legs.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Yes Tipsy rocks! Did she hatch out many of that clutch? It was huge!

 

[Resolution]

Ear Tufts:Bad

Ear Coverts:Good

 

[geebs]

Resolution... You rock!!! I was unable yet to get the Hunter Kibble locally but the birds really enjoyed the suet cakes!!! They were so satiated they didn't mob me this morning... I found a place to get what I need... now it is a waiting game.... Totally worth it... Rah Rah!!! I can't wait to see what it does for the overall health of my flock.!!!

 

[Resolution]

After the ladies have been pounding on a Foragecake for a few days it begins to look like a cement brick. Just take a saucer of warm water and let it soak for a few minutes or bring it back out in the water. I use an oversize no-tip dog water container settled on top of a calf feeding containers filled with sand/grit.

To test the efficacy of the product you should collect some droppings made before you fed them the Foragecake and then after. Save some eggs from before you put out a Foragecake and then four to five days afterwards. Crack both sets of eggs open and photograph them- study for height of egg yolk and albumin+ colour of egg yolk. Also, study the colour of the egg shell. We find that hes fed on the kibble - and kibble is embedded in the Foragecakes-Optimal Formula being more ideal for heritage breeds- we find that egg shells produced by hens maintained on kibble for two to three months are noticeably brighter, glossier with- hens requiring less time between eggs.

 

[onthespot]

Quote:
Thanks! Tipsy rocks. I do the opposite. lol. Repeat after me...

Ear Coverts
Ear Coverts
Ear Coverts
Ear Coverts
Ear Coverts
Ear Coverts
Ear Coverts
Ear Coverts
Ear Coverts
Ear Coverts
Ear Coverts

There, that oughta stick... hopefully...

 

[kathyinmo]

I would LOVE to try them ... but at $20 a piece .... I have 200 chickens! I could never afford that!