Hi! :) I have asked this question because I am concerned my favorite hen will go another year without molting. Last year she never molted and laid eggs right through winter without a break. The reason I am concerned is because her back is nearly feather bare thanks to my rooster, and she's...
Thank you!! :) That is very helpful! I had been wondering why the second boy looked a little lighter-colored than his brother, it is in fact possible that there could be a little wheaten in his line somewhere. Roo 1's light colored feet are a mystery to me, but at least in person they are not so...
Hello! :) I was wondering if I could please have my young cockerels critiqued? I have two I kept from a very large batch and as I am still relatively new to breed standards of perfection, could someone more experienced please take a look and point out their flaws for me? It will help me improve...
I have several two day old chicks that one of my hens attacked. The hen was broody, and has accepted "grafted" chicks before. I offered them to her tonight and she seemed to settle. I left her alone for only one hour, and when I came back, it was a mess. All but one of the chicks were out from...
I need advice! I am a Marans breeder and have been raising chickens for about 2 years now. Recently, I purchased some hatching eggs from an Ebay auction from a seller who claimed her Marans were Davis/Greenfire silver birchen Marans. In the Ebay ad, she claimed that her birchens were laying eggs...
Hmmm... I have never ordered from Gabbard farms, but it sounds like many people feel pretty strongly about them. One reviewer said that the eggs they got weren't even fertile, which is a pretty bad deal. :/ If it were me, I'd cancel and prevent the risk of a pretty big investment, but if you...
Hi again! Checked the chicks this morning, and they seem to be doing alright. They are, for the most part, fluffed out and alert-seeming. Some have "sticky spots" where the fluff is slicked down where the rotten egg goop got on them. Their eyes are clear and there is no discharge from their...
In my experience, still air incubators can be great when dealing with room dryness. :) Fan powered incubators tend to dry out the eggs a little more. Did your incubator come with an egg turner? If not, be sure to turn the eggs once daily. Mark them with a pencil on one side if you need help...
I will be doing that tomorrow. When I found them it was getting dark, and I was afraid the chicks could get chilled overnight if wet, or the mom herself. :( I am hesitant to bring them indoors because of the stink, but also because I don't want to upset the hen too much and have her abandon the...
Hi! :) I'm still sort of a newbie myself, but I'll help if I can!
Are you using an incubator for hatching, and if so, have you tested it to be sure it holds it's temperature when it fluctuates? Basically just turn it on, get it to the desired temperature (I use 37.5 C for my marans eggs), and...
My broody had 8 eggs she was sitting on, and one was apparently bad. :( I must have missed it when I checked! Today is her hatch day and she had 3 chicks already hatched when the egg apparently got cracked or exploded. I came into the coop and smelled the awful smell! The chicks all have it on...
Phoenix301, thank you so much for your detailed information! It was really helpful and I have a clear idea how to proceed with either method now. I will probably use the CO2 on the chick, but the "broom handle" method for adult chickens sounds foolproof and should I ever have to do this for an...
Well, it's been several weeks, and the chick has not improved. I was not able to fix it's leg, nor did the issue resolve itself with vitamins. Right now I am looking at the awful option of culling it. Unfortunately, the chick can't walk well, and as it grows I think it's only going to have more...
Hi! I'll see if I can describe this properly... I can take pictures if needed but my camera is old and it is hard to upload them!
Basically, I have a chick with a serious leg issue. It seems like one of it's legs is "frozen" in a retracted position. As in, the one leg always looks as though...
From my understanding, crossing strains of different colors has it's bonuses and faults in Marans. The only example specifically I know of is that BC's can get a "mossy" type feather issue when crossed with wheaten. However, I know breeders in the past have crossed lines and strains in order to...
Well, I should clarify, the breed isn't mixed-bred, just the color. The only stock I have are Marans so whatever hatches will definitely be a Marans, it's only the variety I can't predict. But you all do bring up valid points, and it sounds like if I want to progress as a good breeder and know...
Hi! I was hoping to get some opinions on this? I have a free range flock of Marans in different colors (mainly wheaten and BC). All of my stock have come from great breeders and good lines, none are hatchery or poor quality birds. Right now I have several hens and two roosters, one wheaten and...
Hi! :) Well, as the title implies, I've been using broodies, but recently got an incubator as a Christmas gift and figured I would give that a try. The incubator is a brand new Brinsea Octagon 20 Advance with autoturner. I set 8 marans eggs my own girls laid in it to "test" it, after the eggs...
Thank you for the advice! :) Ginger is doing better today, but she's still not okay. Unfortunately although she seems more alert now, she is still not eating. I can't get her to eat any of her normal feed, and I even offered her cracked corn (her favorite) and she didn't eat any. I'm thinking...