We're getting 3 Black Marans!!!!!

[Nicos]

OK...problem is I have to wait until we get back from the UK - and for Betty's little uns to get a bit older.
So...hopefully about the 20th June ( my babes will be about a month old)

The ones we're getting are old ladies who are slowing down on their egg production which doesn't bother me -it'll be nice to have the dark eggs and at a much reduced cost.
I'm presuming we'll have to pay for them- so we need to find out what they are thinking of charging.
POL are about £50 each from what I gather
At least I know all these are gals- and that they are definitely producing very dark brown eggs...sort of a rescue from culling- although being 'a wealthy Brit'...I'm sure they'll see me coming

.....getting excited!!!!

[frias]

Lets hope they don't go broody! Yes they all see the brits coming. When in Spain I sent DH to get things as he was born in Spain and price goes up for me.

[MaureenHall]

You'll have to haggle and plead poverty Nicos Not that they'll believe you of course!!!

[bluemoon]

I love my Marans, Nicos. It's a breed I wouldn't have thought of if it hadn't been for Coco, who is either a Marans or almost a Marans, but I'm so pleased we got them.

[HayleyB]

Lucky you Nicos, I am keen on the eggs of Marans

[Nicos]

Apparently the French Marans still tend to have feathers on their feet- I'm really interested to see what they're going to look like!!

[roitelet]

So it will be squidgy mud oozing through chicken feathers? Glad you found them, hope they are not too expensive.

[Nicos]

Glad you found them, hope they are not too expensive.

well....I think we should just go and look first. My original plan was to have different coloured birds so they'd be easier to identify.
Also I woke up in the night starting to worry that they may add mites or worms or something to my lovely healthy flock...is that getting a bit paranoid???

The cheapest I've found are 28E but who knows what quality of brown egg they will produce.
Need to think on......( and ask for a starting price to negotiate down from!!)...what do you reckon would be a fair price for an older bird ( I can always get a few x breeds from them with my boys!)

[Flummery]

Another adventure beckons! Good for you Nicos - looking forward to the pictures!

[Nicos]

So it will be squidgy mud oozing through chicken feathers?

That was my thought- a potential area for skin probs...BUT- I've been Googling- as one does- and apparently they were bred esp for marshy areas...so maybe that won't be a problem after all!

[Nicos]

Another adventure beckons! Good for you Nicos - looking forward to the pictures!

Life is one big adventure isn't it????...It'll be interesting to see if this is a straight forward one for a change!!! ( shh.....who's got the sh!t fairy at the moment????)

[di]

Positive thinking!!!!
As for worrying about introducing parasites,could you not keep them searate for a few days & give them a good ole dusting & dose them up with wormer before you put them with yours?
Hope it all goes well!x

[Hilary B]

If you are thinking of buying birds which would otherwise be culled, find the price of similar sized birds as meat, and offer 50% more than that. You shouldn't be paying POL prices for culls!

[Nicos]

Free range farm birds here are about £12..so if I can buy POL for £28-£50 do you think £15-£20 would be about right???
I don't want to rip the breeder off- but I don't want to pay through the nose either!
I expect he's got rid of plenty before and knows what he can get elsewhere!

I'll need to find out their medical history too- worming and vaccination....anything else??