Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[chevgrl]

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Do you have any of that "No Pick" purple stuff. I have used it on chicks that are toe peckers..I found it to work pretty good. Funny to watch the chicks shake their heads after they get a little taste of it. It doesn't take much either.

Pink, No I do not have any--where can you get it? I do not think I have even seen it before. If I am going to raise Marans I think I might need to get some. I have now been told they are a little more active than cochins and tend to pull at feathers from time to time. Lets see, red light and "No Pick" . I am starting a list. I hope for now the ones that are seperated out do not peck on each other and with a little neosporin they heal!! Thank you all for your help!!

I heard somewhere as a preventitive measure you can add vinager to their water in the beginning. Makes their skin taste bad. I've never tried it with chickes but have with my older pullets/cockrels it seemed to help!

 

[gilavina]

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yeah...they are hard to come by....a lot of them...even if they appear to be solid blue are really over melanized and are hiding copper or birchen genes under there....So, hopefully you'll get a solid blue. Test mating is always a good way to test that out

I'm gonna have a few to do that with this next year as well...

It's too early for my brain to work... what color should I test-mate with?

well...last year when I had my solid black boy that's what I used, but this next year I might do the unthinkable...haha... Nah...I plan on doing some test mating over a blue ameraucana boy that I know for sure is solid. I was going to make some olive eggers, so test mating at the same time sounds good to me. If the chicks end up with leakage, I know where it comes from then. It takes time, but I'm ok with that

 

[Cattitude]

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It's too early for my brain to work... what color should I test-mate with?

well...last year when I had my solid black boy that's what I used, but this next year I might do the unthinkable...haha... Nah...I plan on doing some test mating over a blue ameraucana boy that I know for sure is solid. I was going to make some olive eggers, so test mating at the same time sounds good to me. If the chicks end up with leakage, I know where it comes from then. It takes time, but I'm ok with that

Sounds like a plan; I have been wanting to make Olive Eggers!

 

[chevgrl]

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isn't the gentian violet for thrush on babies?

 

[Hens and Roos]

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It's too early for my brain to work... what color should I test-mate with?

well...last year when I had my solid black boy that's what I used, but this next year I might do the unthinkable...haha... Nah...I plan on doing some test mating over a blue ameraucana boy that I know for sure is solid. I was going to make some olive eggers, so test mating at the same time sounds good to me. If the chicks end up with leakage, I know where it comes from then. It takes time, but I'm ok with that

So if you didn't have another breed of chicken to use(only Marans), what would be a good choice for test mating?

 

[Debbi]

Don't know, never had a baby with thrush? Blu-Kote contains 1% of it though.

 

[chevgrl]

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What's this? We are "carving pumkins" today! What do you use this for? Chickens or baking?

Vicki- hoping you splash marans lays an egg!

haha....we use it for feeding to the chickens during the colder months...at least that's when I am going to feed it. I had asked Kim for her recipe and was asking a couple questions on measurements. I plan to take my recipe and add some of the things Kim adds to see how they like it

I'm feelin pretty good since I found that place online that sells the spices really reasonably in bulk.

Spices for the chickens?

lol your chickens are spoiled lol. Is this with whole pumpkins or just witht the innerds?

 

[gilavina]

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well...last year when I had my solid black boy that's what I used, but this next year I might do the unthinkable...haha... Nah...I plan on doing some test mating over a blue ameraucana boy that I know for sure is solid. I was going to make some olive eggers, so test mating at the same time sounds good to me. If the chicks end up with leakage, I know where it comes from then. It takes time, but I'm ok with that

So if you didn't have another breed of chicken to use(only Marans), what would be a good choice for test mating?

that's part of the trouble....the not having many solids out there. If I had to pick...I'd say a cuckoo...thats just my instinct. The only hitch in the works with that for me would be in test mating one that has birchen hiding...I'd have to make sure I picked a cuckoo that didn't have the birchen influence in the neck.

Maybe someone else will have a better idea, but I'm just thinking of birds I already have here

 

[pinkchick]

Chev~ I use pumpkin once a week in a gruel that I make for the chickens.


Debbi~ I have used the Blu Kote on the back of over mated hens too and it seems to work good, like it is very soothing for them.

This is the pick stuff...I had the name of it wrong.
I started decorating early for Halloween can you tell....cobwebs everywhere.

 

[Debbi]

I give mine a whole pumpkin with a couple of starter holes in it. If you've never seen chickens attack a pumpkin, you're in for a treat! OMG, mine were hysterical! All that was left of a 13# pumpkin was two pieces of shell, and the stem!