Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[coq au vin]

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I've just discovered something absolutely horrible last night. My Quechua have started feather-picking each others' beards. Barley was an ingredient in my feed recipe, but coincidentally I removed it from this morning's batch. They never were really excited about the barley and so I had been trying different things to get them to eat it all, like soaking it and mixing it other treats into it. I guess it seems that coercing them into eating it was a bad thing?

The Marans and the roosters all look lovely and I certainly hope to nip this problem at the bud.

 

[Happy Chooks]

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Thank you! I'd love to see a picture of her if you have one.

 

[Lotsapaints]

Well I was sprouting the barley but they were not crazy about any that wasn't totally sprouted too bad for me as that is local and very reasonable.....

 

[berkeleysprings]

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[coq au vin]

Are a lot of people here mixing their own feed?

I am, but I am also nervous as heck at the thought of feather-picking breaking out. I think boredom is usually the cause and if I'm being honest, I did leave the Quechua on the same plot for a little too long before moving them to fresh tall grass. And now I need to take a close look at the effect of removing barley from that recipe.

 

[snowbird]

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Pullet #2-#3 are very nice color and Type wise. The Wheaten approval show will be at the Crossroads show next year in Indiana.

 

[Lotsapaints]

I just sprout wheat, oats and BOSS now I am trying to get peas so I can sprout those and yes I'm trying this for fresher feed and I don't have grass until after Thanksgiving and it dries up by April so I think my birds are missing that "green feed". My birds always looked nice but seemed hungry all the time now that I've been doing this they seem to eat less and I had a pen of feather pickers and it's gone from adding BOSS or the sprouts I don't know. My eggs are bigger too sprouting in a bucket is just so easy and they do want it right away in the morning. I've only been doing this for a month or so my birds seem more filled out and content I'm just experimenting with what I can get so I'm using my local feed mills mix which isn't a bad one very little soybean in it and coarsely ground just made 2 weeks ago too as the base out 24/7 and feeding my sprouts in the AM. I do add flax seed to my layer and a 18% whole grain rooster feed and I'm cutting out my scratch the birds don't seem to really like it that much anymore since my change. Cost wise I'm close to or maybe a little less than before as they don't ever seem hungry like before they really seem to like whole grains way more than any crumbles or pellets too. The feed man said I was wasting my time doing the sprouts but his wife is doing it now too so she started after I did

 

[snowbird]

Feather picking is mostly caused by Protein level too low . I put Meat Scraps in my feed and 5 % fish meal also.

 

[bargain]

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Pullet #2-#3 are very nice color and Type wise. The Wheaten approval show will be at the Crossroads show next year in Indiana.

That's good to know. I was thinking they were good. I'll try to take some more photos of roosters as well. I have yet to figure how to get to them when they are not moving! Thanks for your input!

 

[Lotsapaints]

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That's what I read but it was 20% didn't like that feed gave the birds runs so adding the BOSS and the sprouts and changing to a different brand of starter crumbles all that helped. I cannot get fish meal going to try that koi feed I guess....When I clean out the freezer I'll have meat to cook for them and my dogs ...