I know Marans are not egg machines, but this is ridiculous!

[omilona]

Hi All,
I am now 15 months into the Chickens of My Own adventure. April 1 of last year I got my new babies...2 silver laced wyandottes, 2 cuckoo marans, and 8 ameraucanas, all girls all about 4 weeks old, just starting to get feathered. The wyandottes turned out to be banties, but stated laying like crazy at 17 weeks and have both layed an egg pretty much every day from then to now. another 6 weeks went by and 7 of 8 of my ameraucanas began to lay and have churned them out all winter, slowing down slightly now that they are a year. Of course the last ameraucana 'girl' grew to be twice the size of the others with rusty wings and started making a terrible racket *whistling*. Then there are the marans. One began to lay beautiful dark eggs, but then died from a respiratory issue (after first running up a $500 bill at the vet, dont get my husband started). The other marans layed maybe 10 eggs in october and not one since then. My chickies live in what is referred to as The Hensly Palace. They have a 25'x25' run under a shingled roof, and a 8'x8' henhouse. They have had supplemental lighting and heat during the winter. They are fed layers mash, cracked corn, hen treat/woodpecker mix and mealy worms as well as a head of kale every day. Dear Peep, as we call her seems perfectly happy, eating well and is not stressed out looking at all. Is it possiple for a hen to be 'sterile' and not lay at all?
Thanks for your help,
Stephanie

 

[HEChicken]

Are they hatchery birds? I honestly don't know if that makes a difference but my only cuckoo marans is hatchery and I've experienced some of your frustration. She also started laying last October, laid for a couple of months and then stopped for the winter. When she restarted in the spring, she was spotty at best, and it was almost as though she didn't feel the eggs coming as I would find eggs all over the yard - rarely in a nest box. It is only the past couple of weeks that I've been finding most of her eggs in the nest box.

 

[they'reHISchickens]

Not every bird is perfect. That is why nature starts with a dozen eggs in the clutch to propagate the species ( or that's one of the reasons.)
There are women who ovulate infrequently. Some do not ovulate at all. No one thinks this unusual, but if it happens to a chicken, well, gee whiz.
yeah, there are some duds out there. Your mileage may vary.

I try to pin down who is laying what in our flock and DH keeps records. I only set the good layers' eggs and cull for egg production. That's just the way we do it here. The only one currently guaranteed a home is Barney the roo because he has shown excellent roo qualities and produces blue egg layers.

 

[Kittyf]

My Copper Marans is the same - we got her as a laying hen in Feb and it took her 3 weeks to lay, then she layed about 3 beautiful, large, chocolate-colored eggs per week until April, when she just quit and hasn't layed since. Sigh.

All hens are fed very well, get oyster shells, laying mash, mealworms, salad and BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds) in their treat pans and full feeders of high quality lay mash daily. They free range in an enclosed fenced area 7-8 hours per day, and spend the night in a beautiful secure coop, have access to lovely nesting boxes with fake eggs in them and get toys and attention daily. They have organic apple cider vinegar in their water and ice cubes when it's hot. They have a misting system in the run under large umbrellas for shade.

I don't really know what else I can do, except be delighted that 3 of the 6 are layng. The 2 speckled sussex are newly-broken of being broody, so probably won't resume laying for a couple of weeks. Then I can expect 5 out of 6 again, but who knows? Chicken math is unpredictable.

Chickens are mysterious critters. Big Karla, the marans, has a home with us no matter what, but another big chocolate egg would really make my day - and maybe it could happen...I'll keep checking.

Kate

 

[CrazyChikenClub]

We also have Marans..They are supposed to start laying anytime now...Sill waiting and waiting..We also have a he/she Has rooster and hen qualities..I think we are as confused as it is.. Bought it as a hen but now it looks like a rooster..It gets in the nesting box and clucks a little and then growls alot. We are hoping and egg will just pop out.. All of the online pics show that marans hens and roos both have waddles, so we are just waiting patiently to find out ***if they ever lay an egg

 

[omilona]

Ok, I feel better...it's not just mine! I know she qould be Coq au Vin in France, but she's likely to live to be 50 at my house. She is actually my personal favorite.

 

[Kittyf]

Ok, I feel better...it's not just mine! I know she qould be Coq au Vin in France, but she's likely to live to be 50 at my house. She is actually my personal favorite.

I know - I threaten Big Karla with the crockpot, but you know she's a pet forever! She's my fave, too.

 

[GrandmaChickie]

Omilona--I saw you listed cracked corn as something you feed regularly. I'm no expert, but I've read that too much corn can make hens too fat, and they don't lay as well when they're fat. From personal experience with my fat hens, they started laying better once I cut down on the treats. However, I'm not going to say that was the solution. Maybe they just felt like laying again....

 

[little farmer]

I have a cuckoo marans, and we got our chickens from a friend of ours. They were about maybe 18 weeks (we got them in the summer in June) and we got our first egg from our NH in about 3 months after that. My cuckoo did not start give us her first egg until Christmas Day of that year. She still didn't lay quite as often, and now about a little before a year she started laying regularly. They're slow egg makers, but just give 'em time.