Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Debbi]

I've been having some weird dreams lately. the last one that sticks on my mind from the other night, was so vivid! I was in France, (wonder if the Marans had to do with that?), and started to work on a, get this, Coporate Dairy Farm. ???? Huge silver barn, stuck out in the middle of nowhere. Went into work, dressed for, well, cows. All the people in the office and in the barn were dressed in business suits!

I guess I looked kind of odd to them, but they kept telling me, "you have a real proclivity for this job, you just need to dress better".

Really?? Do the cows care how I look?? How do you slosh around in the sludge with loafers and suits on?? They all just roared, and kept saying I had a proclivity for the job. It must've been the coporation new niche word, they kept telling me that. Got out to the barn, and there was no sludge, just tiled floors, clean cows, and a large grassy holding pen! Wow, I wish I could find that place! They paid really well, and served wine with lunch and breaks!!

How bizarre...

 

[gilavina]

I've been having some weird dreams lately. the last one that sticks on my mind from the other night, was so vivid! I was in France, (wonder if the Marans had to do with that?), and started to work on a, get this, Coporate Dairy Farm. ???? Huge silver barn, stuck out in the middle of nowhere. Went into work, dressed for, well, cows. All the people in the office and in the barn were dressed in business suits!

I guess I looked kind of odd to them, but they kept telling me, "you have a real proclivity for this job, you just need to dress better".

Really?? Do the cows care how I look?? How do you slosh around in the sludge with loafers and suits on?? They all just roared, and kept saying I had a proclivity for the job. It must've been the coporation new niche word, they kept telling me that. Got out to the barn, and there was no sludge, just tiled floors, clean cows, and a large grassy holding pen! Wow, I wish I could find that place! They paid really well, and served wine with lunch and breaks!!

How bizarre...

haha that's fantastic!!

 

[Cadeau]

Debbi - that's the reason we put up with the GUINEA FOWL!!
Totally worth the racket to have all the bees and ticks GONE - haven't had a tick on the dogs (or us

) since we got them several years ago!! Plus, I'm allergic to insect stings....white tailed hornets are M-E-A-N!!!




As for the cow barn - I HAVE found that barn, except they have pigs!!

We take the 4-H kids down to get their pigs at this place - a (wealthy) retired couple have this for their HOBBY!!-

First, your truck and trailer have to get desanitized.

THEN you have to get into one of those zoot-suits complete with booties and hair net/hat! and leave your boots behind


They have this SUPER cool feeding system, where each pig enters that stock and gets WEIGHED!!

Then, a ration computerized just for HER (complete with vitamins, minerals, and any supplements or meds) comes down the chute....sow eats and then moves back to her pen

It is all computerized, from the time the sow's pen gate opens, she is pushed down the hall (a gate sort of follows "encourages" them, but, once they learn they're headed for FOOD, they seem to go just fine!) weighed, fed and all the way back to her piglets/pen.


AND the stock weighs and assesses each piglet and GIVES the vaccinations!!
I think the only thing it doesn't do is castrate them!! (not kidding!)

Auto waterers in their pens.
AND auto pen scrapers, too!

A-mazing!!! and totally worth the trip with the 4-H kids each year!


Can't imagine what their chicken coop would look like, if they had one!

 

[gilavina]

Thanks!!!

It's that darned chicken math!
I could have sworn I only had about 12-15 that were going - UNTIL I boxed them up tonight!

Vicki - Let's see (this might be scary!)

BCM or BBS Marans
blue band with 7 girls
purple band with 8 girls and 3 olive eggers
bryant roo with 1 girl

1 little blue girl with street sweepers
1 little black roo both about 7 weeks old


Mille Fleur Bantam Cochins
1 roo w/ 5 MF girls
1 roo with 4 MF girls and 1 black mottled girl
10 3 week olds
17 day olds

2 young roos coming up

BBS Wheaten Americauna
18 2 week olds
1 splash hen

Layers
Soon to be about maybe 3 dozen layers (I never count them!! but I have about 80 right now)

YAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!

and DOUBLE YAAAAAYYYYY to be selling some of the goats!!

uggghhhh! I was in the middle of responding when my server kicked me off yet again. For the last three or four days I have been having major issues with being able to stay online for very long!

To me it sounds like you are doing fantastic at culling down! And yahoo on the goats being sold!! I wrote something before, but can't remember it now after my fight with the server.

I remember what it was!! I was gonna say I am still working on emailing you back....been having trouble getting the photos to load with the server, so I'll keep plodding along...

 

[Cadeau]

<a href="http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2223399390050219460MkRErK"><img src="http://inlinethumb46.webshots.com/49837/2223399390050219460S425x425Q85.jpg" alt="eggs3-26"></a>


ok - the new BYC won't upload pics for me....

It keeps saying there is a temporary error and try again....


But - anyhow - those are the eggs I picked today out of my young girl pen!!
(I should have taken the pic with the MOACC card)


Vicki - I think my girls heard your talk about teeny - tiny eggs and made some for me, too!
(and they're next to pullet eggs!)

 

[gilavina]

ok - the new BYC won't upload pics for me....

It keeps saying there is a temporary error and try again....


But - anyhow - those are the eggs I picked today out of my young girl pen!!
(I should have taken the pic with the MOACC card)

when I tried to open the pic, it said that it has moved....

 

[Cadeau]

Ugh - I HATE internet problems....

We actually paid an extra $1,000 to get cable run onto the farm, b/c the net card was horrible (very poor reception - we're up in the mountains! no phone line, either!)

 

[Cadeau]

Sorry - try again....it's giving me fits....I *think* it's there now!



No worries - the pressure is off a bit, though I think I'd like to cull down from the 7-8 in each pen....

I've been doing a lot of sitting in the pen, hanging out, and taking notes of things I notice.

 

[gilavina]

Sorry - try again....it's giving me fits....I *think* it's there now!



No worries - the pressure is off a bit, though I think I'd like to cull down from the 7-8 in each pen....

I've been doing a lot of sitting in the pen, hanging out, and taking notes of things I notice.

that's exactly how you will learn to spot the good birds....by watching them and seeing how they move and how they are built. It also forces you to examine things you don't see from a distance...good job! Keep it up...plus, its about the biggest way to relax besides taking a nap haha

 

[Cadeau]

haha - I'm glad I'm on the right track!
I do see little things and write a note with the band color, so I can look at the notes later!

It IS really relaxing!!


My SO laughs b/c the new Border Collie puppy has learned to watch "Chicken TV" with me!
He can hang out for hours and just watch them!

I wonder if HE is taking notes!!




Oh - BTW - I realized I have THREE hens with orange bands.
double orange
orange and green
orange and pink

soooo - going to have to do picture day for them again!