International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[chickengr]

luna is laying #5-6

about 15 eggs so far, from 34g (the first one) to 50g. the majority are 46-48g.

 

[Chooks man]

luna is laying #5-6

about 15 eggs so far, from 34g (the first one) to 50g. the majority are 46-48g.

she is a good pullets than , worthy to breed from .

chooks man

 

[chickengr]

yesterday afternoon I realized 1 muscovy duck was missing. I went to the neighboring plot and found just a few feathers. I spoke to the breeder I got her from and he says that it must have been a bird. I don't know when it happened, if at night he says might have been owl (there are 2 kinds of owl in this area) and if at daytime probably hawk. unfortunately I didn't pay attention how many ducks there were in the morning. my ducks have just 2 shelters and they are not locked for night. I left the light on and put the tape over the duck's run. whatever it was it will return. I closed the chicken's pens for the first time after a year and a half and left 1 dog in the big run. in the morning everithing was ok, only my marans flock managed to open the door and get out! I have 2 stubborn naked necks with them and I believe it was their business.

what is the best way to protect run from hawks?

 

[Chooks man]

yesterday afternoon I realized 1 muscovy duck was missing. I went to the neighboring plot and found just a few feathers. I spoke to the breeder I got her from and he says that it must have been a bird. I don't know when it happened, if at night he says might have been owl (there are 2 kinds of owl in this area) and if at daytime probably hawk. unfortunately I didn't pay attention how many ducks there were in the morning. my ducks have just 2 shelters and they are not locked for night. I left the light on and put the tape over the duck's run. whatever it was it will return. I closed the chicken's pens for the first time after a year and a half and left 1 dog in the big run. in the morning everithing was ok, only my marans flock managed to open the door and get out! I have 2 stubborn naked necks with them and I believe it was their business.

what is the best way to protect run from hawks?

sorry to hear that you lost your duck .

I don t think is a hawk at night ,maybe some thing else dog or cat who have a test for the chooks .

a mesh on the top to cover the area they sleep in will be enough .

chooks man

 

[Red Banks]

Good Morning Everyone! I have missed being on the thread but things have been crazy lately. I wanted to post that Antonio is hardly limping at all.... so on the road to recovery. I wanted to thank everyone for the comments and advice. He is just so big! He needs a very short roost.

@Kfelton0002 how is your FRF cockerel? @chickengr .... Sorry to hear about your duck. I still haven't read the thread just a little here and there.

Getting ready to go to the shop. Tomorrow will be my day to catch up. I miss the chicken talk!

 

[kcrandall]

Good Morning Everyone!  I have missed being on the thread but things have been crazy lately.  I wanted to post that Antonio is hardly limping at all.... so on the road to recovery.   I wanted to thank everyone for the comments and advice.  He is just so big!  He needs a very short roost.  

@Kfelton0002 how is your FRF cockerel?  @chickengr .... Sorry to hear about your duck.  I still haven't read the thread just a little here and there.  

Getting ready to go to the shop.  Tomorrow will be my day to catch up.  I miss the chicken talk!

Hey RedBanks, I'm happy to hear that Antonio is doing much better!! About two months ago my BCM and BlueCM pullets came up lame about two weeks apart. I checked their legs and feet but no obvious problems (I.e., broken leg, bumble foot). After about a week they were fine as if nothing was wrong and have been fine since. Only thing I can figure is they had a hard landing off the roost. Maybe it was the same thing for Antonio. When I get out of bed in the morning I limp sometimes too for no reason .

Keith

 

[chickengr]

Good Morning Everyone! I have missed being on the thread but things have been crazy lately. I wanted to post that Antonio is hardly limping at all.... so on the road to recovery. I wanted to thank everyone for the comments and advice. He is just so big! He needs a very short roost.

@Kfelton0002 how is your FRF cockerel? @chickengr .... Sorry to hear about your duck. I still haven't read the thread just a little here and there.

Getting ready to go to the shop. Tomorrow will be my day to catch up. I miss the chicken talk!

welcome back. nice to hear about antonio.

 

[Red Banks]

Quote: I limp when I get out of bed but I know the reason...... old age! HaHaHa.... Thanks Keith!

 

[KF0002]

Good Morning Everyone! I have missed being on the thread but things have been crazy lately. I wanted to post that Antonio is hardly limping at all.... so on the road to recovery. I wanted to thank everyone for the comments and advice. He is just so big! He needs a very short roost.

@Kfelton0002 how is your FRF cockerel? @chickengr .... Sorry to hear about your duck. I still haven't read the thread just a little here and there.

Getting ready to go to the shop. Tomorrow will be my day to catch up. I miss the chicken talk!

Glad to hear Antonio is doing better. Heavy birds just aren't graceful with their landings off a high roost. One of my sussex cockerels flew off the top of the nestbox attached to the outside of their coop and didn't stick his landing quite right and did a sort of nose dive somersault. He of course jumped up in a hurry and shook it off trying to pretend nothing ever happened. I nearly split my side with laughter, and I'm sure the girls in the coop were just as amused.

For roosts, 18" to 2 feet off the ground is plenty high enough for heavy breeds. The issue becomes making sure any nest boxes are lower than the roosts or they will attempt to roost in or on top of nest boxes trying to get as high up as they can get.

My FRF cockerel #2's crop never would completely 100% empty. Most of the contents emptied out and he would pass any soft foods or liquids he was fed so it isn't a complete obstruction. I had been feeding him boiled eggs and yogurt with probiotics and he enjoyed it very much. He hasn't lost his appetite. Each day as I checked on him while he was in the holding pen when he should have been empty, he still had the same small mass of solid objects left in his crop. A movable clump of what feels like small stones. The clump feels about the size of a kiwi but it went down a great deal compared to the orange sized mass of feed and whatever else he originally had in there. I'm only assuming they are small stones that he has eaten because they feel rigid and larger than corn or grain. He eats the weirdest things like mud and dirt, so it wouldn't surprise me if I opened him up to find a small collection of rocks in his crop. The objects are too large to be passed on out of his crop and into his digestive system I guess. I decided to stop treating him and put him back in the coop with the others. He isn't starving and any food he is fed is slowly being digested so I will just watch him and see how he does. He continues to eat and drink fine, and his droppings are normal. The rocks may break up on their own and eventually pass. He remains vigorous with no outward signs of illness so the issue doesn't seem to be bothering him much. Aside from opening his crop up and removing the objects, there isn't much more I can do for him. And I really don't want to put him through that. We don't take our chickens to the vet so if he gets sick or stops eating we will probably just cull him.

He got used to his daily crop massages and extra TLC and would nearly hop into my arms from the holding pen he was in. He is a very sweet boy so I hope I don't lose him.

 

[KF0002]

My FRF cockerel #1 (Rusty) has a side sprig on his comb I noticed so that is unfortunate. I know the hen's comb is most important in a breeding, but aren't side sprigs a genetic trait that can be passed to or carried by the offspring to show up later? He is the only Marans I have with a side sprig. He is also the cockerel in that group I was hoping to use for breeding.

Would it still be okay to breed him? I guess if it does show up in later offspring, I would just have to cull those offspring and select away from it.