Monday, August 22, 2011

Wheaten Marans

I have started another breeding program. We'll see how it goes. I'm hoping they will be up to speed by next summer. This lot are all wheaten marans. My first round of hatching didn't work so well. I only got one baby out of the 18 eggs and it has a gimpy hip. She's awfully sweet though and her coloring is going to be gorgeous. I don't know if the hip thing is genetic or an incubation problem. She's too sweet to cull though so one way or another she gets to stay.


This second lot of babies are feathering in darker than I would have liked. They are in that mangy phase right now, so they look pitiful. I'm hoping some of the black will molt out with their grown up feathers.

This is one of the two little roosters. This one has been roostery from day one. It will be interesting to see what he turns into. I caught him trying to do the deed with the bigger girl this evening. He's barely a month old and he is already trying to make more chickens!


Two of the girls


The marans lay a really dark chocolate colored egg. It will be nice to have more dark, dark eggs. They are so pretty!

2 comments:

Dare said...

Hi, Coz!

I have been thinking about you tons, wondering what is up at your house in a non-chicken sort of way. Lightning fried my computer, and I lost your e-mail.

Dark chocolate colored eggs sounds lovely, but I think if you could get them to pop out dark chocolate FLAVORED eggs, then you'd have a real winner!

Love,
Dare

AW said...

I keep checking your blog to see if there are new pictures to see what you are up to. Apparently it has snowed there all summer. :)
Things here are good. I'll go email you with life, the universe and everything.
Trust me. If I had chickens that popped out real dark chocolate eggs I would either hoard them all for myself or I would make a killing selling them off to others. Mwaaahaaahaaa! I would have a chocolate chicken empire! HA!