South Carolina

[Gold Griffin Chicken Mom]

The others with much more bidding experience are welcome to correct me.

The bids are "automatic". You tell the system what you maximum bid is and it will automatically bring you up to date against the highest bidder.

Don't know about anybody else, but that makes me nervous. I do set in my mind what I'm willing to pay. Then I sit there and bid by whatever minimum the auction demands, usually 50 cents increments. I accomplish the same thing, but with a ton more key strokes!

Once you have the high bid, you need to either select email alerts to let you know if you get outbid OR check back frequently. You should have seen me trying NOT to do the Happy Dance in the commissary check out line when I realized the auction had just closed and I had won... My bagger wanted to know why I was suddenly VERY happy. I don't think she had ever heard of online auctions, let alone for chicken eggs!

Edited for spelling errors, thumb typing is not fun!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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I am so tickled for you! I know you all are anxious to see if this is a Daisy Jr or a Daryl or David or.....but whatever it is, you all will love this one very much!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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Making room for more of those OEGB?

I am glad they want your Polish. I don't know how you can let go of the buff laced though. Those are so gorgeous!

No, making room for the Marans--I keep telling hubby that the OEGB do not take up space!

Yes, the buff laced are a beautiful bird but I have decided to sell all the polish to make room for my Marans so I have to stay strong....

Good for you! Great choice, too. They lay beautiful eggs and are great meat birds so no waste there. Some folks say they eat a lot more but it is really hard for me to tell that they eat any more than my other large breeds. They may mature slow but what really large bird doesn't?

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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I can tell you what little bit I have learned over the years. I don't visit the Marans thread because they still have not been accepted into the SOP and people argue about them all the time. Been going on for more than 4 years, at least. I have probably mentioned a lot of dislikes I have over some Marans breeders so I will shut up about that.

A lot of people have always loved the dark, dark brown egg that Marans are well known for over in France. Over here, folks started trying to perfect the breed to show them the way they wanted them to look. With that, they lost egg color. So their happy butts decided to breed in Penedesencas! (Don't ask me why) Those are LF that are very flighty but lay the most gorgeous egg! Nice dark brown and a good size. However, they have carnation combs and those combs carry a dominant trait so guess what pops up when breeding some bloodlines of Marans?

I got some eggs off of the auction one time that were very dark and hatched out the chicks. Ack! I sold them as mixed breeds because that is what they are. They were flighty youngsters and probably lay a nice dark egg but not what I wanted in my breeding pen. I like my Marans laid back and gentle. Their egg color is their own and maybe not perfect but I like it just fine. If I see a sprig, I sell them but so far none of mine have produced that.

If you want a breed that lays the darkest brown you will ever see then get the black or Partridge Penedesencas but be warned, they are big birds and when they are frightened you may get clobbered. They have a nice wing span and long legs.

Amy, how soon before you could you tell you had a problem in you hatch? I am afraid I may have gotten some of those eggs. That is what I get for not doing my research. I have 8 chicks in the incubator now and at least one more hatching. The picture the man had showed great color and type but I did not know to look at the combs and he does state he had 3 pen I believe.

I wanted to have a good rooster by mid spring and probably got bit on this one. I can not even get the man to send me his NPIP number he says he has so I am thinking that is for show too. I guess I expect people to be honest....

On the ones I hatched they were about 8 weeks old before I saw it on one of them. Knowing what it was I freaked out. Looking back, I wish I had kept the pullets just to add to my laying flock and since they were already tagged I could have kept up with them but I was so upset that that weekend when customers came and wanted chicks I offered them and they snatched them up for egg layers. The roos were sold as just mix bred mutts though they were pretty boys. We may have eaten one, I can't remember now. But Penedesencas are not a very good meat bird. They are very lean birds like a Leghorn, only bigger.

The photos from the auction were very hazy and small, like he did not ant anyone to inspect his birds closely. I suppose I can see why now.
It is always a gamble when you get eggs or birds from an unknown source but as I have recently learned from friends, even breeders that we think we know are not always truthful. It happens and is a learning experience. That is life.

If you do have that happen with yours, just keep the girls in your egg laying flock and move on to a more reputable breeder to start your own breeder flock. However, you may have gotten some great eggs and will get some awesome birds.

If you need a great breeder rooster, let me know. I have some exceptional boys that I have been hanging on to but would be glad to let one go to you. If driving is not an option, shipping is.

 

[huckleberryfarm]

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Great news!

 

[huckleberryfarm]

I believe the Marans Standard was accepted late last year into the SOP. The Wheaten SOP was just finalized as well. But those people do argue a lot. I just raise my birds and mind my own business.

So far today I've had to put five goats back where they are supposed to be and not eating my roses. The light in my baby coop went off and some point and a bunch are dead. The fuse keeps tripping and I have no idea how to fix it. I hate messing with electrical stuff in the rain. And my husband's out of town!

I hate to lose more babies. He's supposed to be home late tonight and I need him to do something before the temps dip or he's going to have a house full of chicks! I already have a bunch in here.

Ah, well... at least we got some rain. The Weather Channel says we just got .65 inches but I think it's more than that. We have a lot of big puddles and that usually only happens with a lot of rain.

 

[Jackie B.]

Ugh! Lost a bantam cochin cockeral to a chicken hawk last night. Not like he wasn't going to a new home anyways, but of course he was the sweetest one. That's 2 in 2 weeks!

 

[Joycats]

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How wonderful! Congrats and fingers crossed that another one will hatch.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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Hey Susanne, can you point me to where to find that info on the Marans SOP? I haven't heard they got accepted and the new APA book came out this year but I haven't gotten mine yet. I looked on the websites for the club but they only show the French standards.
I would like to read what they finally got ironed out since the two American clubs were fighting it out for a while.
Thanks!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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Oh, on the chicks, I always keep those nifty break open hand, foot and body warmers that I can place under the brooder bags to keep them warm. I have several that will last up to 48 and 72 hours for the times that you get really stuck. Even with our generator I anticipate the worst.
Hope you don't lose more chicks!