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His comb is really good. Maybe on the larger size but I really like the way it is serrated. His legs are really good too. Are all this years chicks sired by Kong? I’m going to have a look through you pullet and cockerel photos to see anyone who stands out.

Is Kong King’s son or hatch mate? Or are they not related? Sorry, you’ve probably explained before.

Do you mean parasitic white? Recessive white makes a bird entirely white, but does nothing if split. Parasitic white is one we don’t know much about, but occurs in the tail base and wings, often increasing with age. They really are fantastic for hatchery birds, you’d think they were from an...

I should have left them another day. It got to day 26 and I composted them. One marans chick was still alive when I put a spade through the egg. It’s beak popped out with a bit of blood, but luckily I didn’t go all the way through. I put it back under but it died and got eaten by the hens. I...

I don’t know if you’ll remember, but about this time last year (it’s crazy it was a year ago now) all three silkies managed to hatch two chicks between them. I was going to update you all when the marans eggs they were sat on hatched but they never did. Spot is the white chick that had the grey...

Type, Carriage & table merit: 25/40 tail too high, not too long though. Width decreases moving down, rather than remaining throughout. Other than that, good type, back long, breast full, etc. Size & quality: 18/20 Looks like a big, powerful bird. Looses out on two points due to his tail...

@wrathsfarm Who did it better?! 🤣 Kong Freddy Spot Votes open 10pm GMT.

Say anything about Blue and I’ll let him decide what to do with you. He’s infertile, unnecessarily aggressive, 16 pounds in weight and eats almost half a pound of food a day, but he was my first chicken and he’s staying. You learn to be more clinical as you get more chickens, but you still have...

I’d call it a 6. Lovely looking eggs, a mice red shade and speckles are always a treat. I’ll explain the score in a while when I get chance.

@wrathsfarm here’s my evaluation of Joanie: Type, Carriage & Table Merit: 28/40 Size and quality: 18/20 Colour and Markings: 10/15 Head: 8/10 Condition: 9/10 Legs and Feet: 3/5 Total: 76/100 I think you may have had Chooksmans’ and others’ comments on her before, but if you want me to...

I’ll give it a go, this is the cockerel’s score, the hens actually look better than him. I also can’t tell if the cockerel in the good photo is the same as the one we see from the front. Type, carriage & table merit: 18/40 Decent length of back but needs to be deeper throughout. Looks wide in...

Thank you for the kind words, and I second this towards everyone active on this thread and to Chooksman who sadly isn’t. If it weren’t for this thread, I would never have had the platform to learn about marans. If there wasn’t the group of dedicated experts, enthusiasts and breeders, I would...

You know I’m always happy to see pictures of Kong my friend. Send me any pictures you have that are suitable for judging (recent ones will be a fairer evaluation of their quality as faults can occur with age). I’m happy to judge any hens too, it might just take me some time to get through them...

Is there any chance that you could find better photos? I need at least a photo from the side at a neutral angle, and ideally one from the front, back, top and other side. I appreciate that some sellers just take a couple of photos from their height and think it’s enough to advertise their...

I forgot to add a disclaimer that I’m not a professional judge, so it’s not 100% accurate. This is the scoring system used by judges in Britain, but like you say is useful for breaking down the quality of a marans. Notice how over half the points are awarded for type and size, stressing how...

Type and Carriage (40): 25 a bit narrow at the front, breast could be fuller and deeper. Back a decent length. Tail at good angle but too long and too open in structure, making it look square at the end. Size and Quality (20): 15 Fully feathered well, feathers nice and close to body. Size is...

Marans? Or something mysterious?

I was just scrolling back through to see some of @Chooks man ’s best roosters such as Conan the Barbarian. It’s such a shame we don’t have he input, I forgot exactly how gorgeous his marans truly were. They almost had an Orpington like quality to them, that’s how chunky and well fleshed they...

I’m going to use the English Judging criteria because I realised the one I used doesn’t really have a category for colour. Type, quality, table merits (40): 20 Big let down is the tail: too long and high, looks slightly wry. Coverts and main sickles don’t flow together. No white at base though...

@wrathsfarm and anyone else, would you like to suggest what should be 0, half and full points in each judging category. More minds the better. You might also have more experience with the typical American Marans so know what the average should be.