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[Chook n Boo Mum]

I have been offered 6 Maran eggs FOC to pop under Holly's broody little botty.....given the size she is, a MF Pekin (as if her colour makes any difference at all ), I hope she will be able to cover them all & brood them to a happy conclusion

 

The plan is that as Blossom is brooding 6 Pekin eggs, the resultant hen Marans would eventually move in to the big girls WIR to refresh the flock, keeping both pens not too heavily stocked and introduce some new layers for later this year if I am really lucky or next year failing that

 

Now for the questions.......Am I right in thinking that Maran eggs are similar size to Orpingtons, in which case Holly should be ok? And are the chicks easy to sex very early on? The lady is adamant that she doesn't want any boys back & said that the boys have a black spot on their head at hatch, could someone please confirm/correct this please

 

Many thanks as always

 

Sha x

[Redwing]

What sort of Marans are they?

[Chook n Boo Mum]

As I posted this I realised I hadn't asked I'll find out tomorrow

 

Sha x

[Redwing]

Ok

 

I've never heard of marans having black head spots but I am by no means an expert

 

Cuckoo Marans have white head spots, one of the sexes has a larger fuzzy spot and the other a small defined spot but I cant remember which is which

 

In general though Marans are very easy to sex from a couple of weeks old

 

See here for some pics

 

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGK/Marans/BRKMarans.html

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Thanks Tasha, I was hoping from what Vanessa said that I would be able to tell very early on before I got attached to them ..... not much chance of that then, heyho............all fingers crossed for girls please

 

Sha x

[Griffin]

I don't swear by the head spot in cuckoo Marans but mine were easy to sex once they had wing feathers. I've got some week old wheaten Marans at the moment and I believe they're supposed to be easy to sex like salmon Faverolles, boys have darker wings. If this is the case my boy curse has struck again and I have one girl and three boys I think Time will tell because they only have tiny wing tips at the moment but I'm not feeling confident! Marans are not as big as Orps, not much bigger than a hybrid I'd say.

 

If they were copper black or blue Marans then you'd just go on their combs and in my experience boys do sprout theirs quite early.

[Madchook]

Griffin-what did the difference in wing feathers look like? I think I had a better 'idea' of sex with my cuckoo marans at day 2 than now (2 weeks-but leg rings only just came) I have one definite girl sporting pink leg ring, 1 def boy in blue and 4 'godknowswhats'

[Griffin]

I just searched through my chick photos and realised I took hardly any of the cuckoo boys Probably because I knew they were dinners. This is one from my first ever hatch last year, she was a cuckoo Marans cross but nonetheless looked exactly like a cuckoo Marans.

 

 

This is the only photo I can find of one of my boys, you can see his barring is much brighter:

 

Those boys were yummy

[Madchook]

I'm glad they were good eaters! I am still not sure, all of mine have clearer barring than that, but I am sure of my girl ...I think.... arrrgh! Not that it matters as they will have a use, but they came from lovely (not to mention huuuuge!)dark eggs so I would love some layers . Will try and get some photos.

[Chook n Boo Mum]

I'm back......been to a wedding & had to leave my darling little stroppy pants with her "uncle" Tim!!

 

OK so these lovely brown eggies have apparently come from cuckoo marans, so may or may not be easy to sex is that it

The hubby of the lady I got them from is happy to come & "do the deed" with any boys.............provided I can get the blooming things underneath my little monster Holly ........after several aborted attempts she's now sitting on two dud Pekin eggs and 2 of the 6 Marans...I'll try & slip a couple more of the Marans under her in a little while & maybe the last 2 before bed..........If I can only get her to accept 2 or 3 it'll be better than none

 

Sha x

[Jools]

Cuckoo Marans are easy to sex early on. The boys are supposed to have a larger pale head spot than the girls, though tbh I've never really noticed enough of a difference on mine to be sure. If you hatch both sexes, they are very easy to sex at around the three week mark as the boys start to look a little lighter than the girls (they have two copies of the barring gene, whereas the girls only have one). Their comb and wattles development also helps and by four weeks, you should be certain (if you've hatched both sexes lol).

 

The boys do make good eating, but need to be at least 6 months old before they're worth it. My Marans have always been very reliable layers of a nice dark egg and are right at the top of my list of favourite breeds. You should find that if they hatch before the longest day, they'll come into lay before the shortest day, giving a very welcome supply of late winter eggs.

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Thanks Jools, just got to get the little monster to sit on the blooming things......she was fine at midnight, all snuggled up with 4, then sometime before 7.30 she got off & sat in the poo tray ........will they still be ok to stick in an inccy if I can get hold of it today? Seems a shame to waste them if I can find another way to hatch them

 

I'm also torn with Holly, do I buy some pekin eggs & take the risk of her rejecting them too............

 

Sha x