#cuckoo marans

[qwigoqwaga]

I think I figured out the eggs! Top picture left to right: Clementine (Welsummer), Olivia (cuckoo Marans), Annabelle (Cream Legbar), Lydia (Prairie Bluebell) and the tan one in the bottom picture is Petunia’s (Swedish Flower).

Petunia doesn’t lay nearly as much. There were 2.5 dozen eggs in the fridge and only one of Petunia’s!

[chickenor]

Blue Copper Marans: Powerful Chickens with Stunning Eggs

Engaging Opening Statement Learn about the appeal of Blue Copper Marans, a fairly unique variety of chickens that are known for their beautiful feathers and even more impressive ability to produce eggs! Popular for their bright blue plumage and the dark chocolate brown eggs they lay, these chickens are a novelty for the poultry and small scale farm growers. However as you browse through the pages…

[rotclaw]

peepers 2: the new batch

[hooksbackyardpoultry10]

Maran Chickens

Marans chickens are valued for their beautiful dark brown eggs, calm demeanor, and dual-purpose capabilities. They make a distinctive addition to backyard flocks and small farms, combining practicality with aesthetic appeal.

[todaysbird]

Todays bird is this cuckoo maran chick

[mings]

Pretty sure I have (yet another) new favourite hen. She hatched nine weeks ago from a cross with a Black Copper Marans rooster and a Cuckoo Marans hen. Looks like the rooster provided the dominant genes in this one. Isn't she gorgeous?

[the-starry-seas]

You have chickens?! Do you have names for them? 👀

yeah!!! we have nine cuckoo maran hens, they're almost three years old and they're the light of my life

I can't tell them apart so I collectively refer to them as the girls, the ladies, the darlings, and/or Fett'ike (which started as a joke about them being clones since they all looked alike)

woe pictures be upon ye

[inkedbantam]

After major life changes and many painful teary goodbyes to my old flock earlier this year, I decided to say hello to some new feathered friends

Here's the Rag Tag flock

Cuckoo Marans is Bobtail or bobby for short. Absolute chonk and drama queen

Easter egger with the white beard is Zelda, she crows in the morning because she says so

Scrunkly molty girl is Potato, absolutely sweet but skittish

And the polish is Wynona, who likes to be rood and looks like a mad scientist

It's still hard without Bitey, without Scotty, and the featherbabies I lost as well as rehoming both Behemoth and Tracey, but as I've come to learn

With every goodbye, there's always a new chance to say hello. And these girls are going to be absolutely spoiled rotten.

[madhatterer]

the 3 we raised & hatched in the incubator, enjoying some yard time. they love it! the oldest/largest one is biologically Hyacinth's (our Cinnamon Queen). the other 2 are biologically Clover's (our Cuckoo Maran). and all our chicks have Basil (our Cuckoo Maran rooster) as a father.

[kindasortasalty]

You have chickens? What kind

I’ve got 11 hens! I have an appenzeller spitzhauben (the broody one), an Easter egger, an ameraucana, a sultan, a Dominique, a golden cuckoo maran, a silver spangled hamburg, a speckled sussex, a silver laced Wyandotte, a Colombian Wyandotte, and a lavender Orpington.

Their names in order are Sid Vicious, Horace, Dipstick, Genie P, Pepper, Pumpkin, Dewey, Cinnamon, Toki, Michael Wave, and Cloudy

Do you have chickens?

[kifu]

I want to start thinking about breeding pens so bad. But the chickens are having a rough time this winter. We went in wet and it's staying cold. Bad combination.

I have one less breeding pen this year, since the turkeys were moved into the fortified breeding pen. Where the rats shouldn't get them and any more errant dogs shouldn't be able to break in. That's actually two separate chicken pens that I can't use. I don't have a pen in the barn. My grow outs aren't big enough to butcher yet. I don't really know what to do.

I'm going to set up a makeshift ugly pen in the barn to separate the boys out of the main flock. I don't understand why I'm not allowed to use the turkey pen the turkeys aren't using, but I'm not. So. This is the only thing I can think of. I don't know if it'll be enough space for them. But they'll be separate and they'll live.

I'm still starting out with a type pen. I'm going to put my dark blue mottled over my typiest black hen. Maybe two hens. I don't know what I have for black hens and pullets yet. If I ever get the grow outs butchered, I'll put all the black girls in there so I can look at them all in one place.

I need this type pen. I am disappointed with the quality of the birds that survived last year. I'm hoping a simple pair or trio, marked from hatch, will help me for next year. The type pen, unfortunately, will be headed by a cockerel with some heavy leakage in his hackles, so I'm not sure what's going to happen there.

I want a partridge pen. I have a black split partridge cockerel. He's kind of cute. I want to put him over the typiest one partridge hen that I have. One girl easily stands out amongst the rest. Then I'd like put him over the best patterned hens. Not sure if I'll use my one pullet or my black split partridge pullet.

Then I need a barred pen. I'll put my barred cock over my black frizzled girls. I'll sell all the frizzles that I hatch, keep the typiest smooth feathered birds. I would prefer to replace my barred cock with a single barred son. He's not handling the weather well and he's a hatchery bird. A very nice bird for a hatchery bird, but something that should be easily improved upon nonetheless.

A gold laced pen is also necessary. I'll put my typier gold laced cock over my two typiest gold laced hens. I think I kept back six hens. Some are easily better typed than others, but I think the better the type, the worse the pattern.

These four pens were supposed to open my breeding year. I need to choose two. However, I should have space for one trio and one pair as well as the two pens. I might also boot the Polish elsewhere and put another trio where the Polish are living.

I need to work on silver laced. I'll put together a silver laced pen, which will really be two pair. I have three cocks, one older hen, and one hen from last year. I would prefer these single paired because the type is all over the damn place and they really need the most improvement. Plus, they're so weak and fickle, I'm going to try and keep pairs together that didn't come from the same place.

In addition to the silver laced pairs, I want the last silver laced cock over a couple blue hens for a silver laced improvement pen. I think I decided he gets the lighter blues, because they're typier than my darker blues.

Speaking of the darker blues, I'm putting them under the black copper Maran for a lemon blue project pen. I just want a few from this pen before I eat him because I honestly hate him. But large fowl lemon blues in the wild are ... not lemon blues genetically.

I also need to up my lavender numbers. I want a lavender pen where I put my lavender over my black split lavender pullet and later (simultaneously?) over a couple blacks. I would prefer these typier, but again, I have no idea what's actually out there. I may need to recycle some of these blacks.

I was supposed to have a chocolate cuckoo orpington over a couple black hens, but he decided to die on me when the temps permanently dipped into freezing. He's my attempt #4 at chocolate Cochins and I'm starting to get pissed. I guess ... I'll put my blue cock over our old ass chocolate orpington hen again and retry attempt #1. I don't know if she's still laying. She's, like, seven years old now, but she's literally the only chocolate chicken that will stay alive. The two will be my chocolate pen, of which I'll hopefully hatch one (1) cockerel from to keep. That's all I want from it. One (1) motherfucking cockerel. I'm really, really, really sick of this shit. I just want chocolate Cochins! WHY IS IT SO HARD!!!!

I wanted a mottled pen, but I don't forsee it happening this year. Mayyyybe if the one outside blood mottled pullet completely compliments either my blue mottled cock or my blue cock. Anyway, instead, I'll put my mottled hen and pullets under my speckled cockerel that managed to stay alive for a speckled project pen. This will yield THIRD generation speckled project chicks for more black mottled birds that hopefully like more Cochin with softer tails and fuller leg feathers.

I would ALSO like to put the cock's parents back together for more speckled project birds. I'm not totally convinced he's ... right. I want more to assess pattern and color. More generation two birds would be nice.

I need a buff laced project pen, preferrably two. Put one or both cockerels over two of my gold laced hens. I'd ALSO like to put my second gen buff laced project pullet under one of the gold laced cocks.

I also plan on take two of the blue laced red project pen by putting my blue laced red cock over gold laced hens. I hatched out one beautiful pullet last year and the first ice storm killed her, so that was nice.

I'd love to also put a partridge or two under my typiest cock, but I don't know if I'll have time.

I also wanted to try using the wheaten Maran hen again under the red-shouldered blue laced red, but I don't think I can manage that, either. Hell, it would be pretty neat to put him over gold laced hens, too.

I also need to find time to pair my buff columbian hen with either my blue mottled or blue cock. She needs a bunch of fluff added to her, so the blue cock may actually work out better.

This was going to be hard with four pens. I don't think I can manage it with two main pens. Because I also have the Polish and the Houdans. I don't care about the Polish as much, but the Houdans need some work. I wanted two groups, but I think I'm just going to throw them in the red coop after refortifying it from the rats and hatch what I can.

I'm not as excited this year because without adequate space ... I can't do what I needed to for these projects.

[qwigoqwaga]

Getting lots of eggs! I’m not sure who’s laying which brown eggs though. Both Clementine and Olivia are clearly laying (Petunia’s eggs are much paler and the other two are the blue eggs), but one is a Welsummer and the other a Cuckoo Marans

[evemarieoftheearth]

I'm raising chickens. I had no idea how friendly and cuddly they can be.

I'm having a mixed flock of welsummer, barnevelder, cream legbar, cuckoo marans and paint white marans. RAINBOW EGGS!!

[rotclaw]

peeking peeper

this one's name is clove 🧡 she's a mottled bantam cochin

[justfacilitatinglife]

Introducing New Chickens to My Flock

Hello and welcome back to Just Facilitating Life! Today, I'm excited to share my journey of introducing new chickens to my backyard flock. It’s been a fulfilling experience, especially as I’ve found new energy and motivation since quitting drinking.

The Decision to Get Chickens

Back in March, I finally decided to get chickens. The idea of keeping chickens always intrigued me, but I never followed through with it. Years ago, I received a small coop from a friend, but it ended up stored in the garage unused. Eventually, I used the parts to create a window for a food booth I operate annually as a fundraiser for a youth service organization called the Optimist Club.

Getting Started

In March, with newfound energy from quitting drinking, I decided it was time to pursue my wish to keep chickens. I began researching online how to set up a coop and run for my small backyard. My goal was to give the chickens as much space as possible while keeping them safe from predators and allowing my dog to roam freely.

I purchased an aluminum pole run from Amazon, measuring 10x20 feet—plenty of room for a few chickens. Initially, I planned to get four chickens, which seemed manageable in this space.

Setting Up the Coop

I found a used Ecoflex chicken coop on OfferUp for $30—a fantastic deal. The coop is made of resin material, making it easy to move and clean. However, it is small, offering about 12 square feet, which is tight for four chickens (they recommend 4 square feet per chicken). Despite its size, the coop worked out great.

Choosing the Chickens

I got my hens delivered from a hatchery in Montana, which shipped them via US Mail (since FedEx and UPS do not ship livestock). I decided on some heritage breeds based on my research for looks and egg-laying ability. I wanted a mixed-colored egg basket and good chickens to be around my family. Here are the breeds I chose:

White Leghorn: Known for their excellent egg production and friendly nature, White Leghorns lay large white eggs and are very efficient layers.

Buff Orpington: Buff Orpingtons are friendly and good with families. They are reliable layers of brown eggs and have a beautiful golden color.

Ameraucana: These chickens lay blue eggs and are known for their beards and muffs, giving them a distinctive look. They are calm and docile.

Rhode Island Red: Rhode Island Reds are hardy and excellent layers of brown eggs. They have a deep red color and are known for their resilience.

They arrived as pullets, teenage chickens if you will. It took them about three weeks from arriving to start laying. They are great layers and give eggs just about every day.

Chicken Math is Real

Now that I’ve had the girls for about four months, I’ve come to find out the rumors about "chicken math" are true. It’s a form of math that multiplies chickens if you own them. First, it’s four chickens, next you have seven, then twelve, twenty, forty, and so on.

Adding to the Flock

So today, I found on a Facebook post that the semi-local feed barn happened to have some pullets. Since I was in the neighborhood, I thought I’d stop in and check them out. So here I am now, adding three more to my flock, bringing my chicken math total to seven. Here are the new additions:

Barred Plymouth Rock: Known for their black and white striped feathers, Barred Plymouth Rocks are friendly, hardy, and excellent layers of brown eggs.

Cuckoo Maran: These chickens have a similar feather pattern to the Barred Plymouth Rock but lay dark brown eggs, often referred to as "chocolate eggs."

Black Australorp: Black Australorps are known for their glossy black feathers and excellent egg-laying ability. They are calm and good with families.

They are a great addition, though they are trying to fit in with the flock. It will take some time as they are only 15 weeks old, and the older hens are making it known who is on top in the pecking order. It’s fascinating to observe their instincts and behavior.

Chicken Names and Logo Update

My daughter has named all the chickens, and I had to update my logo that I put on the eggs I give away to family and friends. The original flock consisted of:

Bertha the Buff Orpington

Snowy the White Leghorn

Chocolate the Rhode Island Red

America the Ameraucana

The new birds are:

Scorpio the Black Australorp

Oreo the Barred Plymouth Rock

Sky, a play off my daughter Skylar’s name, the baby of the bunch, the Cuckoo Maran

I’ll update once the new young hens have started laying. Until then, happy homesteading!

[butchdykenormallen]

Additionally I offer you Bobby, my cuckoo maran chook

CHOOK P.... OUHHHHHH MY GDDDDDDDD PULLS MY HAIR OUT ADORABLE