Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[math ace]

Quote:
Nope, no chance of injury. I knew the one was having vision issues and we have started giving her treats separately so we can watch and see how bad they are. Today, I identified a second one from that hatch with the same type of issues but not as extreme.

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
I've inspected the beaks - - no deformities.
They are the same size as the other birds from the same hatch.
They are 17 weeks old and active.

They come to me for treats, but don't seem to be able to find the bread once it hits the ground.
I have two birds with issues. Dh tossed a piece of bread about the size of a quarter on the ground and she was missing it. Her aim is to low by about an inch.

Definitely sounds like a vision problem. Do they eventually eat the treats or do they not at all?


Another question....might they be the lower birds on the proverbial pole? Perhaps waiting their turn for the others in higher pecking order to get theirs?

 

[gilavina]

Quote:
Soon I hope....working on possible meet up plans with Zanna since I am going to be working in Portland Oregon for a while and she lives about an hour south of there. Will be posting him AS SOON AS I GET HIM HOME...believe me! I can't wait to see him either. She has 2 of them and I am thinking that maybe I should get both of them from her, but one is just waaayyyyy nicer than the other. *insert biting nails smiley here*

lovely! If it were me....I would only take the best one. I suppose that's just me tho and you will know when you see them if they are both meant to come home with you.

by the way I know i've been saying I'll get some more pics of my birchens growing out...and I'm not feeling too horrible in my back today...so I might be ok to catch up some of them...and see if I can't snap a few shots. These are all F1s of a cross so they are all in various stages of progress...but the potential is there to really have a good hatching year this next year! Its all about the baby steps with these guys at the moment.

 

[math ace]

Quote:
I've inspected the beaks - - no deformities.
They are the same size as the other birds from the same hatch.
They are 17 weeks old and active.

They come to me for treats, but don't seem to be able to find the bread once it hits the ground.
I have two birds with issues. Dh tossed a piece of bread about the size of a quarter on the ground and she was missing it. Her aim is to low by about an inch.

Definitely sounds like a vision problem. Do they eventually eat the treats or do they not at all?


Another question....might they be the lower birds on the proverbial pole? Perhaps waiting their turn for the others in higher pecking order to get theirs?

We thought about this .... so we started isolating them so we could watch. These girls WANT the bread bad. They repeatedly try to get it, but just can not hook up with the bread. It just lays on the ground in front of them while they peck the ground below the bread. If they get lcuky and make find it they gobble it right up.

Today we moved up to 1/2 slices of bread. Hopefully, once they find it and there are not threats of it being stolen they will figure out where it is.. . .

 

[Debbi]

Lisa, Are these Marans or another breed??

 

[pinkchick]

Math~

I wonder if it is a depth perception problem.....I have depth perception problems and I over shoot where I am walking or bump into to things all the time because I can't really judge the distance of them. Such as trying to grab a pencil off the counter....I always grab 2x because the first time I am off. I hate it when I spill oatmeal and rice. You don't want to know how long it takes me to clean all the stinking little pieces up.

I have learned to laugh it off but once upon a time it was very frustrating.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
I've inspected the beaks - - no deformities.
They are the same size as the other birds from the same hatch.
They are 17 weeks old and active.

They come to me for treats, but don't seem to be able to find the bread once it hits the ground.
I have two birds with issues. Dh tossed a piece of bread about the size of a quarter on the ground and she was missing it. Her aim is to low by about an inch.

I have one bird, an EE, with the same issue. She was one of 10. Purchased from a commercial hatchery. She is a year and half old now. A fabulous layer, maintains good weight, seems like a happy girl in general. But NOT easy to hand feed because when she misses, she comes in again - harder!! VERY hard on the hand. Always figured it was a near sited issue with her too. However, if I hold the treat between my thumb and fore-finger rather than letting her pluck it off the palm of my hand - she NEVER misses. It is the oddest thing. I keep teasing her and tell her I'm going to get her glasses!!!

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
I bet this is exactly what the problem is.

 

[Ivywoods]

"Building the coop race." Yep. That was me. I think you were ahead from the git-go. I haven't started mine. I've been collecting material so I will be ready to go in the spring. Hubby's "problems" took priority this year. Trouble with the hay mower. Trouble with one baler. Trouble with the other baler. More trouble with the mower. Sell that one, buy a new one. Trouble with the new mower.

Anyway, maybe it's a good thing it got put on hold. It's going to make it tough keeping them separated this winter, but in the meantime I have revised how I want to build it, and I think I have come up with a much better plan that will work great, even in our extreme weather fluctuations here.

Regarding Math's eyesight problem... I think it's genetic. I mean her chickens. Silkies, aren't they? Well, just look at them. I don't think they have been bred for their athletic talent.

edited to correct the people mix-up.

 

[DFCottage]

If I may ask a question a bit unrellated to the subject being discussed, I am growing out 8 BCM pullets and 3 of the oldest birds (6 mos) are just starting to lay. One of the girls is an absolutely lovely bird. Im still learning about the marans standard, but this bird has a comb that is larger than the others but falls to the side like a leghorn. Im not breeding for SQ birds, but Id certainly like to have birds that are as close to the standard as possible. Is that comb form acceptable? Shes a huge beautiful bird and Ive gotten lots of compliments on her, but no one has been able to tell me if that's something I should definitely remove from the flock..

Thank you