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

[Wynette]

Also, at least with my line, the shank/foot feathering is always much thicker on cockerels. Yup - I thought the same thing at a glance - cockerel. A cutie pie, though!

 

[flgardengirl]

He could be dark blue or black. I had a 2 very dark blue copper marans that looked black as chicks last winter. They were both huge and I thought they were roos. They both had big feet and combs as chicks too. One turned out to be male and he even got darker blue black. In the shade he looks like a black copper.
The other one, the female, is just big. She doesn't even want to fly up on the roost. She would roost on the floor with the big roosters (before I separated them all). Now she is mainly a med dark blue with darker blue black on her head and neck areas.
She recently started laying and does not want to fly up to the nest box or even use the steps I made her and will only lay on the floor of the coop. I am going to make her a lower nest box.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I too think it's a cockeral. And he may be dark blue, my blacks were darker than that. (unless it's just washed out in the photo)

 

[gvntofly05]

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Same thoughts here too!

 

[jeremy]

Well, maybe it'll fool us all and turn out to be a beautiful blue pullet! Maybe...

 

[pinkchick]

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You're now the second person who's told me it already looks like a little roo! That can't be! I won't be able to keep him, if he is a him.

And yes, it was my only Black Copper to hatch so all of my hopes are riding on this one little baby. L0L. What makes you think it's a boy?
It looks black to me, I was hoping for a blue, it came out of a pen that had Blue Coppers and Splash as well. I dunno, maybe it's a dark, dark, dark blue? I dunno though...

His feathering is what I look at, also couldn't miss the comb for a bird that age........if you look at the last photo of him, look at the long neck and posture........screaming lilttle baby roo attitude.
He could be dark blue if there are blue coppers in the pen that he came from.....very dark blue can be hard to tell from black. If he is a blue, I wouldn't count on him to copper out correctly. Can you post another photo of him from the side with natural daylight and no flash so I can see his color again, maybe if you used a flash on the other photos that it washed him out and changes the way we see him.
I would also like to ask you to take a look at the photo of his feet that you posted.....see his right foot......see the feather stubs on the inner part of the outside toe....you don't want that anyway, so I would grow him out til he's about 6 weeks old just to be sure he is a he, then rehome him.

 

[pinkchick]

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I just didn't want to tell him. I was waiting for you to go first!

Sorry Jeremy.

yeah, it was my turn huh??? I think I did chicken out on one of the last ones and waited for you to answer.........!!!!!

 

[Happy Chooks]

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Maybe you'll get lucky. My blue Orp wast the largest chick with the largest comb at hatch. I was convinced it was a boy. Turned out to be a blue pullet, so they can trick you.

 

[jeremy]

I'm so not as patient as I should be either. It's going to drive me nutso now until I know for sure whether it's a boy or a girl.

If he is a roo, he'll most likely become a meal. There's a woman I know in San Jose who takes in cockerels from folks who can't keep them, her and her family grow them to processing age and then they're dinner! I rehomed 6 cockerels and my oldest rooster to her about a month ago, she's a very nice woman.

 

[onthespot]

It's a roo, and he looks blue. The daddy is blue. That little feather stub on his middle toe is a moot point if he can't even keep a roo in the first place. If he did have hens and had some with very sparse feathering on their shanks, I don't think using that roo on that sort of hen would be a sin in any case. Some people just gotta go with what they have. No roo is perfect. Worse faults will show up in this chick, most likely white streaks in his sickle feathers, and maybe a couple white flight feathers. All this is disclosed when I sell or even give eggs away.
I sent him a bunch of freebie eggs to try to hatch last June. I have had to move my birds and am not able to collect eggs but every three days usually. I just feed 'em up, fill their waterers, pull the eggs. Most of them are going in the trash right now. So sorry only one hatched. The eggs get hot in the pens because they are not being collected and the sun shines in the nest boxes and I think it is frying the eggs and making them non-viable. I will get you more eggs later on when I move my birds again and start getting fresh eggs collected every day. Wish it was a girl. They are so calm and the roos are such quiet, gentlemanly boys... too bad you couldn't keep a roo.