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

[kathyinmo]

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I disagree. Many here have Bev Davis lines, and prefer those. However, it is personal preference. My preference is to avoid Jesse's lines, as I hatched out several (via a breeder who started out with Jesse's birds) and got mostly mossy messes. That is, of course, my personal experience and preference.

 

[gvntofly05]

Well I am at it again!!

I just set 16 more BCM eggs last night

I promised the hubby I would pack up the incubator after this hatch though. At least until the chicks I hatched from Wynette's eggs start laying!

I also have my very first broody! She is one of my Black Coppers, so I gave her 5 eggs to sit on. I need to find out if she is going to be a good mama right?

I also wanted to say thanks to all that have posted genetic info on the Black Coppers. I have learned so much that I am confident I will be moving in the right direction with my breeding program!

 

[Wynette]

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WOOT! Gotta have lots of friends for my babies!

BEST of luck with the hatch!!!! I'm sure it'll be a really good one - you're an excellent hatcher!

 

[gvntofly05]

Quote:
WOOT! Gotta have lots of friends for my babies!

BEST of luck with the hatch!!!! I'm sure it'll be a really good one - you're an excellent hatcher!

Thanks Wynette!

I still need to get more pics of the babies! They are getting so big already! My daughter already has a favorite. He, I'm hoping it's a he, has a copper spot right on top of his head! He also is the only one that has feathers on his middle toe. So I'm really hoping for an over feathered and over coppered roo to put with the girls I have now. Need to work on correcting very little copper in the girls hackles and the too light feathering on the shanks.

This is the fun part of breeding right? Learning who to breed with who for the best babies. Thank God hubby is letting me expand to 3 coops in March! I'm going to need them.

 

[Wynette]

HA! Yes, this is the fun part - deciding who will complement who! The more heavily feathered shanks will likely be pure Davis. My current roo has very lightly feathered shanks...I wanted one that was more lightly feathered, but I hope I didn't make a mistake there. I guess time will tell!

 

[gvntofly05]

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I will keep you updated on how they start to feather out! Half so far seem to have heavily feathered shanks while the other half seems to be feathered a little lighter and almost all are feathered down the outer toe!

 

[Debbi]

How long can it be from hearing an internal peep, to pipping? Thought I heard 2 peeps two days ago, but so far, no pips. Either my imagination was playing tricks on me, or it died, or it's taking it's sweet time. Tonight at 9:30pm will be 21 days, and so far nothing. The LG bator behaved perfectly all the way through. Temp right now is 100, humidity is at 66%. Guess all I can do is wait. My new bator will be here on the 10th, can't wait! The coop is done and it is lovely! They come next week to build the run area. Got to build a new "brooder/pen" for the chicks, they are getting huge!! They will love their new home! Looks like the next 5 days will be without rain, so time for me to paint it...ugh, I hate painting!

 

[WVchick71]

I was wondering if anyone could tell me if it is possible to tell a Marans roo from a hen at 2wks by the color of the feathers coming in. I hatched 5 Marans babies ans 2 of them are getting the brownish/copper feathers on the tips of their wing feathers. One of those is also developing a bright yellow comb already. Any thoughts?

 

[geebs]

nope not possible.... You can tell the roosters when they get saddles. That is the rule... Combs don't even tell the tail on some lines... Wait for saddle feathers with COLOR... Not just shape... color. It is a pain but you will get more hens this way.

 

[TurkeyMountainChickens]

Color coming in that early is probably a sign of mossiness to come.

I've found that some birds are clearly roos at a young age, but others take time to show. There are some great pics earlier on this thread showing comb development and also foot color on pullets vs. cockerels when they are young.

Geebs is right though - the longer you can afford to wait, the more sure you'll be!