Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[math ace]

Quote:
Good morning all..

VC, I don't know about the brown down on the chicks, but a lot of white, should I say, excessive white on one of my chicks, grew into an over-melanized BCM pullet! Correct eye and leg color, non-feathered shanks, and very little copper. She lays a nice colored egg though.

Here she is a day or so old.
The one up front

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/56168_bcm_chicks_1_and_two_days_004.jpg

Here she is at about 14 days

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/56168_chicks_2_weeks_015.jpg

And here she is at about 7 1/2 months

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/56168_30_weeks_012.jpg

Debbi, she turned out beautiful!

 

[StevenW.]

I wanted to see if I could look into one of my Marans eggs..... Nope! Couldn't see anything cause they were so dark!

Oh well they hatch on May 6!

 

[math ace]

I vaccinate for Fowl Pox.

My flock got it in JANUARY 2010. This is a nasty bug spread by mosquitos which in Florida we have tons off. . .

If a bird gets it and survives they have immunity to it. It comes in TWO forms a DRY (outside the body) and WET ( inside the body). The birds will normally survive the Dry pox and will normally die from secondary infections with the WET form. My birds has BOTH Dry and Wet at the same time. It was awful. Ointment in their eyes and antibotics for 14 days. . . .

NEVER AGAIN!

I now do the VACCINE which is a LIVE VACCINE. You can order two types ADULT and DAY old. I use BOTH. I administer the day old chick vaccine to my chicks after they are a week old. Although I could give it to them on day one - - - I like to give my chicks a chance to be really strong and healthy before administer the LIVE vaccine. Then you adminster the ADULT version later ( like a BOOSTER shot) when they are at least 12 weeks old.

If your birds all over a certain age already - - I THINK it is over 5 weeks of age - - - you can skip the day old weaker vaccine and go straight to the FULL STRENGTH ADULT version of the vaccine.

The vaccine comes with a FORK like needle. It has two prongs with groves in them. The needle is not a syringe type needle. You dip it in the vaccine and the PUSH it through the skin of the wing of the bird.

1.) Keep vaccine COLD. It stores in Frig until ready to use.
2.) One bottle of vaccine is enough to do at least 500 birds - - -- You use it and dispose of the extra ( NO SAVING it for later)
3.) READ directions and mix vaccine ( kinda like mixing hair dye)
4.) We use a bowl of ice to keep vaccine COLD while working with it. You are suppose to finish what ever you are going to do within 2 hours of mixing vaccine.
5.) WORKS better with two people.
a. One person catches bird and holds it for person doing vaccine
b. Second person finds good spot on wing to administer vaccine.
Pull feathers out of skin in a dime or nickle size spot where you are sure to miss hitting bones, veins and feathers.
There is a spot in the wing to do this . Vaccine is to go through skin without touching feathers. . . WITHOUT hitting any veins or BONES.

c. Dip fork needle in vaccine and PUSH through skin.
d. Release bird and do all over again.

It is really easy to do on the baby chicks. As the birds get older, their skin gets tougher and it is harder to PUSH the needle through the skin.

Jeffers and First State carry it . . . .Jeffers was cheaper IF you placed a big enough order for free shipping.
ORDER EXTRA because it has to be shipped in an ice pack. It doesn't go bad unopened in your refrigerator for a long time

 

[VillageChicken]

Quote:
Good morning all..

VC, I don't know about the brown down on the chicks, but a lot of white, should I say, excessive white on one of my chicks, grew into an over-melanized BCM pullet! Correct eye and leg color, non-feathered shanks, and very little copper. She lays a nice colored egg though.

Here she is a day or so old.
The one up front

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/56168_bcm_chicks_1_and_two_days_004.jpg

Here she is at about 14 days

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/56168_chicks_2_weeks_015.jpg

And here she is at about 7 1/2 months

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/56168_30_weeks_012.jpg

Debbi, she turned out beautiful!

She did, but see, that's what I mean, I don't think it's consistent. Geebs says her overwhites end up with too much copper. I would like to see a solid correlation between excessive white chickdown and excessive something in adulthood.

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
Debbi, she turned out beautiful!

She did, but see, that's what I mean, I don't think it's consistent. Geebs says her overwhites end up with too much copper. I would like to see a solid correlation between excessive white chickdown and excessive something in adulthood.

VC, from what I have seen last year and this the lighter the chick the darker the adult. The least amount of white I will get better colored adults. Not adding the white feather into the mix just yet. Can say for sure in about 5-6 month. Don

 

[snowbird]

Karen, I vaccinate for Mareks at day one, newcastlr-Bronchitis at two weeks in water, make sure the water is not cholorinated as the chlorine will kill the vaccine. At 30 days I give the LT. Some states you can not give LT. Fall of the year I give the Pox vaccine.

I plan on checking into the new Cocci vaccine they have out now. Don

 

[VillageChicken]

Quote:
She did, but see, that's what I mean, I don't think it's consistent. Geebs says her overwhites end up with too much copper. I would like to see a solid correlation between excessive white chickdown and excessive something in adulthood.

VC, from what I have seen last year and this the lighter the chick the darker the adult. The least amount of white I will get better colored adults. Not adding the white feather into the mix just yet. Can say for sure in about 5-6 month. Don

I believe I have seen the same thing in the much smaller numbers of BC I have hatched. In my experience, extra white in chicks correlates with lots of black, or very dark copper. It's just something interesting to follow, it can give us a jump on which adults to use if the chicks with more black give better adult color, you don't have to wait till they feather out to repeat that mating and hatch more eggs. Or at least you know right away which matings NOT to repeat if you get lots of overwhite chicks.

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
VC, from what I have seen last year and this the lighter the chick the darker the adult. The least amount of white I will get better colored adults. Not adding the white feather into the mix just yet. Can say for sure in about 5-6 month. Don

I believe I have seen the same thing in the much smaller numbers of BC I have hatched. In my experience, extra white in chicks correlates with lots of black, or very dark copper. It's just something interesting to follow, it can give us a jump on which adults to use if the chicks with more black give better adult color, you don't have to wait till they feather out to repeat that mating and hatch more eggs. Or at least you know right away which matings NOT to repeat if you get lots of overwhite chicks.

I just done a test mating with a different male over my usual females, and the chicks were almost black, I have had this male over the female that produced the chicks with a lot of white for a week now. I will hatch a couple of incubators full and see if this holds up and if it does will post the results. Don

 

[berkeleysprings]

i ment to ask u many times befor but were abouts is wolvering country if u doint minde me asking don
Quote:
I believe I have seen the same thing in the much smaller numbers of BC I have hatched. In my experience, extra white in chicks correlates with lots of black, or very dark copper. It's just something interesting to follow, it can give us a jump on which adults to use if the chicks with more black give better adult color, you don't have to wait till they feather out to repeat that mating and hatch more eggs. Or at least you know right away which matings NOT to repeat if you get lots of overwhite chicks.

I just done a test mating with a different male over my usual females, and the chicks were almost black, I have had this male over the female that produced the chicks with a lot of white for a week now. I will hatch a couple of incubators full and see if this holds up and if it does will post the results. Don

 

[enggass]

I was born in Ann Arbor - Parents from Detroit... Go Blue!