Colorado

[Pozees]

Ok I have a Cuckoo Maran question. Is is normal for this breed to have a larger comb at a young age? Here are some pics of my 2-3 week old chick I got from Elizabeth Feed. Her feathers are coming in the fastest of all three I got and her comb is growing the fastest too. Oh please tell me this is a pullet and I have nothing to worry about!

I'll check mine in another week, they're only 10 days old right now, but that does look rather male ...

 

[maggiemo]

I have no idea

I can't wait to hear what others say.
I thought that pullets feathered faster than cockerels. But I don't know....actually. What are those other chicks? They aren't marans, maybe that is why that chick looks so big?

 

[elbertchick]

Moved my 2 week old meaties out of the house today! I kept their box really clean but the smell and dander was killing us. Never had issues with the egg layers, is it because of the higher protein in their feed? I also was going to try and separate my Marans from them and get them on to the egg layer starter so...... I fixed up a nice area for them separate from their giant friends and it took them two seconds to figure out they could slip right through the bars of my dog crate and join the others, so I will have to line the crate with hardware cloth. Will the flock starter I have them all on hurt my layers? They are now all residing in my greenhouse. Put down a tarp and a ton of shavings. I figure that will save my soil and as soon as I get their coop done , weather pending, I can take the tarp to the run and rototill it in to the ground. I am concerned about the feed though, my 5 little Marans came in with the others and I had kept them together. I know they need different nutrients for the layers, will the flock raiser affect my Marans?

 

[EHook518]

I have no idea

I can't wait to hear what others say.
I thought that pullets feathered faster than cockerels. But I don't know....actually. What are those other chicks? They aren't marans, maybe that is why that chick looks so big?

The other ones I have are a buff brahma and a partridge rock (who is tiny and has the slowest growing feathers). The maran is the biggest. I got three chicks instead of two just incase something happened to one (in Denver we are only "allowed" 8 and now I have 9), but I really want a dark egg layer. The partridge rock was the add on.

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

EHook- my general experience is that boys feather slower than girls. I wish you had other Marans babies to compare her against. :/

 

[EHook518]

EHook- my general experience is that boys feather slower than girls. I wish you had other Marans babies to compare her against. :/

Me too! I even went to the feed store this week to look, and I have scoured the internet.

 

[Pozees]

Moved my 2 week old meaties out of the house today! I kept their box really clean but the smell and dander was killing us. Never had issues with the egg layers, is it because of the higher protein in their feed? I also was going to try and separate my Marans from them and get them on to the egg layer starter so...... I fixed up a nice area for them separate from their giant friends and it took them two seconds to figure out they could slip right through the bars of my dog crate and join the others, so I will have to line the crate with hardware cloth. Will the flock starter I have them all on hurt my layers? They are now all residing in my greenhouse. Put down a tarp and a ton of shavings. I figure that will save my soil and as soon as I get their coop done , weather pending, I can take the tarp to the run and rototill it in to the ground. I am concerned about the feed though, my 5 little Marans came in with the others and I had kept them together. I know they need different nutrients for the layers, will the flock raiser affect my Marans?

Flock raiser should be fine for both. Meaties have higher protein needs, and are well known to be smellier - I have never raised them, but reading the Fermented Feed for Meat Birds tells this story over and over. They are a large part of the reason Fermented Feed became so popular here on BYC - evidently FF reduces the smell of their waste significantly. It certainly has reduced the smell of my layer flock to zero. Fermentation increases bio-availability of the proteins in the grains. It is not difficult, in fact it is about as difficult as you choose to make it. When I started mine I used a colander and bowl, now just the bowl. To start, you can do it as simply as mixing the dry crumble with water and let it sit, stirring daily, until it starts to bubble (add more water if all is absorbed). I hurried mine along with ACV, some use kefir, whey, or any number of other starters, but the airborne yeasts will suffice. Warmer is faster, so near a wood stove or heat register helps.

Once mine got going I kept it simple - I scoop out 4-5 cups a day for my layer flock of 6, add a couple scoops of dry (I do one each grains and crumble) and add water to cover, stir, and store until the next day. Doubtless some I feed is just soaked and not fermented, but it's still better for them than dry. My coop doesn't smell, my girls are laying well, seem happy and healthy, so aside from the daily 5 minute investment of time, it is no problem and well worth it to me.

 

[elbertchick]

Ehook, my Cuckoos Marans shipped on March 13 , from Cackle, they're supposed to be all pullets. Look about the same size as yours, I will take photos tomorrow and post so we can see what, if any differences there are. They would be about 16 days old. I think Elizabeth Corner gets hers or some of hers from Cackle. Mine look small compared to the meatys, but I think it's because the meatys grow faster.

 

[Cellarrat1]

I think cellarrat may have RIRs, I was thinking of ordering some black sex links later in April and selling the extras. Also Elizabeth country corner in kiowa has lots of different breeds to choose from. Think I'd go crazy having cuckoo Marans and barred rocks at the same time lol.
X2!

Thank you Chester, yes, I will have RIRs on the 9th or 10th. That's if all goes as planned.
Have fun,

 

[trochefarm]

I have a couple of pics of my cuckoo on my page, but can't copy them here while logged in w my phone. Pictures aren't the greatest, but not much of a comb and her chest isn't white. She is three weeks old in the pics.