Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[geebs]

a base of Wheat, oats, (small bit of corn...not much) BOSS, different millets, and nuts (almonds or whatever) Pepitas.... NEVER BARLEY. I even throw in some Eljur seed once in a while... Just what is on sale from time to time to make it different w/o injuring them. I have throw rabbit pellets (a scant few) in with it... They love the BOSS. They go after them like they are bugs. In the winter I save my fat drippings and let it harden and make them suet cakes with cranberries and extra "goodies" so they aren't as bored and they get to dig for treats. I tie bread as a treat once in a great while from the ceiling with jam on it and they get to Jump for it. I will put goodies in things that they have to dig for like lids or toilet paper rolls or paper sacks.. (to prevent boredom)

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
Yes Ma'am... WE HATE RAIN, but it sure makes everything all green and pretty!

I use almost exactly the same things as geebs, both feed and med. cabinet but an added must for me is vet wrap, can be used for many many things and I like that it allows things to breathe with out sticking to everything. I also use it as a band for chicks....comes in many colors and pretty darn inexpensive too.
The only other thing that I use and do differently than Jan (geebs) is I use Neem oil as an insecticide for pests and creepy crawlies and spray on everything in coops...including chickens 1 time weekly.
Jan is right about the smell of the coops when using the methods that we use...I treat once a month with an all natural & organic herbal sludge from a friend of mine that makes health products for humans and animals, after treating them with this for internal parasites and such, the coop smells like holiday baking for awhile.
I also use effective microorganisms (lactobacillus casei- soil inoculant) that I brew up as a sort of a "tea", kinda like making the mother batch of sour dough, dilute with water and hose everything in the coops....ESPECIALLY the floors as they are dirt once a month. EM (effective microorganisms) are very effective and active deodorizers, speeds up composting and sooo much more. It's been over a month since I sprayed down the coops and still no smell.

 

[geebs]

OOPPPPsss... I forgot to mention Vetrap?!!!!.... (Coflex)... My bad!!!!

I have a sprinkler system for green and pretty!!!

Neem oil... also good... Too lazy here!!! I will try it this winter as DE has only effectiveness during the summer months... Thanks Pink

 

[flgardengirl]

Wow you do lots of cool things to keep your chickens entertained. When mine are bored I let them out to dig under the rabbit cages LOL. They do run around the property eating the wild blackberries and grapes when they are in season. I am thinking of planting some mulberries and raspberries too. I just started some blueberries. Mine love the BOSS too.
I had a horrible feather picker who would chase all the roos and get grab thier feathers and eat them. She would stand on and actually scratch on one of the poor dumb wheaten roosters whenever he was laying down and eat his feathers. I was suprised but the BOSS really worked on her. She picks no more.

 

[Organics North]

Quote:
Yes Ma'am... WE HATE RAIN, but it sure makes everything all green and pretty!

I use almost exactly the same things as geebs, both feed and med. cabinet but an added must for me is vet wrap, can be used for many many things and I like that it allows things to breathe with out sticking to everything. I also use it as a band for chicks....comes in many colors and pretty darn inexpensive too.
The only other thing that I use and do differently than Jan (geebs) is I use Neem oil as an insecticide for pests and creepy crawlies and spray on everything in coops...including chickens 1 time weekly.
Jan is right about the smell of the coops when using the methods that we use...I treat once a month with an all natural & organic herbal sludge from a friend of mine that makes health products for humans and animals, after treating them with this for internal parasites and such, the coop smells like holiday baking for awhile.
I also use effective microorganisms (lactobacillus casei- soil inoculant) that I brew up as a sort of a "tea", kinda like making the mother batch of sour dough, dilute with water and hose everything in the coops....ESPECIALLY the floors as they are dirt once a month. EM (effective microorganisms) are very effective and active deodorizers, speeds up composting and sooo much more. It's been over a month since I sprayed down the coops and still no smell.

You PNW folks Rock!

Geebs... Spectacular feed!
Pink, great idea on applying EM to wet areas of the run...

ON

 

[math ace]

Quote:
Girflfriend - - - let's talk - - -especially since you are right down the street from me. . .
Everyone else - - EXCUSE us for a minute - - - a little garden detour. . .

BLUEBERRIES - - I have 10 in my yard that I jave been trying to grow for at least 4 years. They are suppose to be easy to grow, but I have had a horrid time with them and have had to replace 1 or 2 plants EVERY year since I began this experience. I have learned a lot along the way - - - so if you have never done blueberries - - pm me if you want some advice ! I may be able to help you avoid some of my mistakes.

MULBERRIES - - I "think" are considered an invasive plant, Therefore, they are not sold in at the nurserys. HOWEVER, through craigslist, you can find MANY people who have them and won't mind digging up a seedling for you.

I was able to find someone in Hilliard who had them growing in his yard. He dug three plants up and I planted them. HE said there was pretty much no way to kill them. I thought the springs with tiny amounts of roots would not survive. The one did great from day one. the second one turned all brown and lost every leaf. Two weeks later, the whole thing is full of green again. The last one, was doing ok and then my dad ran it over with the lawnmower. I put a tomatoe cage over it am watching it.

I planted these near the chicken coop and in my pig pen. They should make a HORRID mess on the ground with fallen fruit, but my pot belly pigs should handle clean up for me. THEY are VERY FAST growing which is why I planted them near the chicken coop for shade for next summer. They will reseed themselves EASILY - - - so you will have to deal with seedlings. I think mulberries taste better than blackberries, so I plan on mowing my blackberry patch over and killing them if the mulberries that root and grow well.

OK - - DONE with the gardening detour - - back to the MARANS

 

[Debbi]

Thanks geebs and Pink! Good list, I will have to go shopping now. Dumb question, what the heck is BOSS??? As far as Koi food goes, that would get me another 2-headed look around here!

The only fish that get "fed" around these parts are catfish, wonder if that would do?? What is in the BOSS and Matzuri?

 

[criker99]

BOSS is Black Oil Sunflower Seeds ... a normal (haha) supplement for horses to add fat and fiber to a horse's diet. WOW ... I could answer a question on this forum! YEAH!

 

[pinkchick]

Thanks Debbi and your Welcome!
It is fun for me to try and find ways of doing things that are healthy for the birds and all those who eat the eggs or the bird. What ever did people do before the advent of bleach and chemicals???

Matzuri is Koi food...... and a very good one. Sorry that is another thing that Jan and I do differently, she uses the Boss and Matzuri where I do not. BOSS is the name of pet food. I just use some cat food, but not too much.

ON~ Thanks!
I do not spray the EM on the wet areas of the run, I only hose down the inside of the coop, nest boxes, roosts and coop floor with it. The only residue that it leaves behind is tiny tiny white flakes that you can usually only see on anything wooden, the little white flakes is the EM waste after they have effectively "eaten" the nasty stuff that was there, completely harmless. Matter of fact, the by-product that the EM's leave behind is very beneficial for the dirt below. EM's live a symbiotic relationship with everything it touches (eats) and there for will release something that is needed by the host or area that is beneficial for it. EM's are a win win in my book. I use it with everything from brewing huge batches for my septic system, to my fish pond (no filter needed for the pond anymore), use it in the soil all of my house plants and outdoor plants. 1- 32oz bottle is around 35-40 bucko's including shipping, it is a concentrate of 1 million colony forming units, basically 1% lactobacillus, 96% water, 3% molasses (molasses is a food source for the organisms). I have only used 3/4 of a cup of the concentrate and bought this bottle at the beginning of the year. Instead of using the bottle of EM I purchased, I just keep making a mother batch from each batch I make. It can go on and on and on and on.
Also research/google ....chickens and lactobacillus casei, salmonella is found in the crop and gut of chickens and it has been proven beneficial in reducing salmonella. It has been used with chickens for this reason and good results have been found. It's amazing the things that are out there!

 

[flgardengirl]

Quote:
Girflfriend - - - let's talk - - -especially since you are right down the street from me. . .
Everyone else - - EXCUSE us for a minute - - - a little garden detour. . .

BLUEBERRIES - - I have 10 in my yard that I jave been trying to grow for at least 4 years. They are suppose to be easy to grow, but I have had a horrid time with them and have had to replace 1 or 2 plants EVERY year since I began this experience. I have learned a lot along the way - - - so if you have never done blueberries - - pm me if you want some advice ! I may be able to help you avoid some of my mistakes.

MULBERRIES - - I "think" are considered an invasive plant, Therefore, they are not sold in at the nurserys. HOWEVER, through craigslist, you can find MANY people who have them and won't mind digging up a seedling for you.

I was able to find someone in Hilliard who had them growing in his yard. He dug three plants up and I planted them. HE said there was pretty much no way to kill them. I thought the springs with tiny amounts of roots would not survive. The one did great from day one. the second one turned all brown and lost every leaf. Two weeks later, the whole thing is full of green again. The last one, was doing ok and then my dad ran it over with the lawnmower. I put a tomatoe cage over it am watching it.

I planted these near the chicken coop and in my pig pen. They should make a HORRID mess on the ground with fallen fruit, but my pot belly pigs should handle clean up for me. THEY are VERY FAST growing which is why I planted them near the chicken coop for shade for next summer. They will reseed themselves EASILY - - - so you will have to deal with seedlings. I think mulberries taste better than blackberries, so I plan on mowing my blackberry patch over and killing them if the mulberries that root and grow well.

OK - - DONE with the gardening detour - - back to the MARANS

I only have 2 blueberries so far. They are in pots with acidic soil. They seem to be doing okay. I think I will put them in raised beds next spring when I can add some more.
I usually participate in the co-ops over at Dave's Garden in the spring to get lots of tropical plants, tropical hibiscus, bananas, other edibles, etc. You can get really good stuff dirt cheap that way. They are sold as small liner plants but catch up quick here with our long growing season. I am considering getting a tax id # so next spring I can order directly from Agristarts ( a tissue culture place in near Orlando) and purchase some 72 count mixed trays of edibles myself and go pick them up. They carry a lot of the southern blueberry cultivars.

Chickens love mulberries, my grandmother had one and her leghorns would go crazy for them and then poo out purply poop all over the place lol. There is a lady from one of my other garden forums that is sending me 3 different kinds of mulberry cuttings (lavender, black, and white) from S. Florida. They are easily started from cuttings just like the figs trees are and will bear sooner than the seedlings will.
We have an LSU purple fig that has a berry like flavor to the figs, the chickens will gobble them all up it if they can get to them before we do. I am trying to get a small orchard going here with both tropical trees that I can keep small and overwinter in the greenhouse and also some larger regular fruit trees/shrubs that can deal with our winters and heat. ,

We used to have a potbelly pig named Moses that loved grapes and raided all the cherry tomato plants lol. I am sure yours will love the mulberries too.