She said/He said Who's right? Who's wrong? No one!

[scflock]

Is this the thread to post Marans in for feedback?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/383387/marans-thread-breed-discussion-pictures-are-welcome

That's the more friendly thread. Let me find the link for the serious one

 

[scflock]

Just know before you go that they are brutally honest, but some of the most knowledgeable people on the forum
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/444381/black-copper-marans-discussion-thread/10810#post_15423860

 

[RubyNala97]

My two favorite things: Brinsea and Amazon Prime

2 things we definitely have in common! oh wait, chickens! That makes 3!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

This was great, Amy. Well said. It's so true. I still let my kids have that fear that I had in the beginning....So they don't open the incubator! Lol. But it's true. I feel so much better knowing I can, quickly open it, if need be, then thinking I will kill them all. I am currently trying dry incubation on my peafowl eggs! Someone on the peafowl thread made a comment saying, "talk to Amylynn, on the chicken hatching board, about humidity"! You really are the humidity queen!

LOL Probably Kathy. I can't remember her username.

Everyone should own an copy. Good luck with the rain. No garage to build in? Or is the coop going to be too big for that?

No garage, but the coop is12x5 lol The outside is up and windows/doors are on. The metal needs to be put up for the roof and the batten needs to be got and put up. Then there's a few little things here and there. Roosts and nestboxes. I can do the nest boxes in the house. I just really want to get the roof on and the batten on.

 

[scflock]

Am I the only one that reads "Bugtraq" as something else? I had to do a double take the first time

 

[NTBugtraq]

Am I the only one that reads "Bugtraq" as something else? I had to do a double take the first time

I used to run a mailing list that tracked bugs in Windows NT...hence NTBugTraq. The "q" at the end came from the original Internet security list, Bugtraq. Think "traq" as in "FAQ"...

 

[scflock]

I used to run a mailing list that tracked bugs in Windows NT...hence NTBugTraq. The "q" at the end came from the original Internet security list, Bugtraq. Think "traq" as in "FAQ"...

Oh, I get it, it's just not what I thought when I saw it the first time

 

[NTBugtraq]

Oh, I get it, it's just not what I thought when I saw it the first time

Ok

!!

 

[WalnutHill]

Ok, I don't know how to quote a post from one thread to another, so here is the response I got when I posted the pics of Little Man on the other thread. This may be boring you guys to death, but I find it interesting. It's from IhilaniCoffee

"Type first: This male narrows considerably from front to back, indicating lack of body capacity. The narrow pelvis will carry down to his daughters. Shallowness of body shows dramatically in the first photo. We can only guess that when this cockbird stands upright, he will show a short back and high tailset. All these points show a lack of substance. The original standards for poultry in the USA were based on production, and these things will affect the size and efficiency of internal organs and digestive function as well as laying ability in his daughters. Not everyone shows their birds (I don't), but the type will have a direct correlation to production in a backyard flock or a show flock. It costs the same to feed a productive bird as it does a poor producer.

Now to color: this male shows shafting and excess copper on the chest, white at the base of tail (unless this is a reflection in the photo), and hackle halo, all undesirable in BCM. The last photo shows what look like bumps on the right side of his comb (not full sprigs, but not smooth either). It would be good to see a clear, in-focus photo of the back of the comb from side and rear angle close up. What color egg (on the Marans chart) did this male hatch out from? Also important to know when breeding as the male's contribution is half your flock. But again, type before color (egg or bird).

From the hens and coop setup in the background, it appears you are breeding your birds. You would help the breed by finding a better male. I know it can be a challenge, as so many have "propagated" BCM rather than breeding quality stock with an eye to improving with each generation and weeding out some of the faults of the breed. I hope something here has been helpful."

That's VERY interesting as I noticed the narrow hips as well. Color and comb I couldn't comment on as I'm not a fancier. But I noticed two things in the couple of photos: he is standing with his shanks slightly angled (feet not under hocks) in the side view, and he's a little cow hocked in the front view.

I breed birds for their performance (either meat or egg), and I wouldn't want narrow hips in a laying hen. When you hatch out some of his sons, look to reducing faults. Mark the darkest eggs, then those chicks at hatch. By 8 weeks you have a good idea of the overall growth rate and conformation, though full color won't be present the comb will be reasonably well developed. Tag a few best specimens from the earliest maturing, hatched from darkest egg birds and keep them all until they are fryer size, then cull those that are clearly culls. Develop a couple of the best until they are fully mature and breed those back to the hens, especially those that lay the darkest eggs.



The mother's genes may help correct the color

 

[NTBugtraq]

So I just used a temperature reading gun on my incubator. I got 88F, no matter when I pointed from the outside. I opened it, and pointed at the middle of an egg, and got between 103F and 103.5F. So I've turned the temperature down 2.5F and will check again (aiming for 100.5F)