Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[pinkchick]

Thought I had the issues worked out! Hmm?!

Missed ya'll too! Spits out loud when you 'puter dies.

Anyway....nope haven't had any further predation issues, thus far. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[gilavina]

Thought I had the issues worked out! Hmm?! Missed ya'll too! Spits out loud when you 'puter dies. Anyway....nope haven't had any further predation issues, thus far. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Good! I was sure wondering what had happened to you and whether you were having any more problems or not. How many geese do you have left then?
I have some chickies running around, unplanned of course. 3 marans x sussex (huge and beefy, black and blue chicks), 3 sussex and hatched out two blue large fowl wyandotte chicks today under a broody that still had another clump of eggs to go. I didn't incubate any eggs from the sussex or wyandottes, so I'll take these few for sure!

 

[Debbi]

I need to ask some of you experts for some information. My 16 week old pullet started limping last week. She is now, "down on her hocks".. Do any of you know what is wrong with her and if there is anything I can do for her? I have her in isolation right now. It started with one leg and it seems she now has trouble getting up at all. One thought was that she had a genetic disorder from her mother having poor nutrion. Another thought is some kind of vitamin deficiency. I thought at one time she just hurt her leg, but now her other leg is doing it. Any suggestions? If I have to put her down, how is that done? When do I know if there is nothing else to do for her????? Poor baby. Have any of you had any experience with this type of problem? She is the only chicken I bought from a local lady. Thanks for any help.

I may be way off base here, but it almost sounds to me like a selenium defeciency. In lambs, the whole back end would go down slowly, and they would eventually be literally dragging themselves. It was called "White Muscle Disease". Injectable selenium saved almost the whole lamb crop. You may try adding some Vit. E and Selenium to the drinking water or syringing some into her mouth. Just a guess here. Be very careful with the Selenium, it can be toxic if given in high doses. If I were to try it on a chicken, I would use the syringe, and give literally 4 drops at a time; 1 drop Selenium to 3 drops of Vitamin E. I'm no vet, so take this for what it's worth, but if nothing else works, what do you have to lose?

 

[Debbi]

Hey Kim! Glad the predators have eased up. Good to see you again!

 

[ChickChickChicky]

Thanks for the support everyone. Tomorrow and the possible next couple of weeks will be rough. My mighty employer is gunning for me, so
I may lose my job. Its sad because I didnt do anything wrong. Im finding out more and more that there is no room for honesty and good people in this day an age. The world is getting more corrupt and evil. We the people are told to be silent and just go along with the program or be shunned. Sorry I don't roll like that. If the lord can die for me and my sins then Im going to try and do the best I can to stand my ground. And then to top everything off I found out a close uncle of mine died today. When it rains it pours. Im just looking for the rainbow that follows.

Went thru kind of a similar situation last year with employer. I DID end up losing my job (and so did another person who was who they were REALLY gunning for, I was just collateral damage), but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. In our case, a co-worker ( who was THOUGHT to be a great friend of the other fired person) told a bald-faced lie on us. The other person who got fired now has his own business, and I am working for a temp agency which I love... flexible hours, something different all the time, and if you don't like the people and/or job, it's no problem because tomorrow I'll be somewhere different working with different people. The place we got fired from was notorious for it's schizoid working conditions... how else do you explain an 80% turnover... so I'm thankful we got out of there with honor and psyches intact. Just make sure that you document EVERYTHING that happens to you.

Sympathy on the passing of your uncle, it's always hard losing someone we love.

 

[Arielle]

Thanks for the support everyone. Tomorrow and the possible next couple of weeks will be rough. My mighty employer is gunning for me, so
I may lose my job. Its sad because I didnt do anything wrong. Im finding out more and more that there is no room for honesty and good people in this day an age. The world is getting more corrupt and evil. We the people are told to be silent and just go along with the program or be shunned. Sorry I don't roll like that. If the lord can die for me and my sins then Im going to try and do the best I can to stand my ground. And then to top everything off I found out a close uncle of mine died today. When it rains it pours. Im just looking for the rainbow that follows.

It is still surprising to me how the rainbow does appear after all the grief and problems at work. For example. MIL needed to find a job after many years working at a lawyer's office handling closings and such, took another job and the people were a family of raging bulls, she quit, not knowing the future. SHe could not work under those conditions. At church she found out the Bishop was looking for a secretary!!! She just retired after more than 15 years and 3 bishops later!

Have faith! Have conviction! Find peace--we can't change everything . . . sometimes tolerance is a teacher too. Prayers for you.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Vit E /Se --most animals can handle one dose that is a it too much. Long term use of high dosing is a problem. Look at your feed bag--look for Selenium in the ingredients Definitely worth doing. Most areas east of the Mississippi are deficient and animals, and humans need supplements if we eat foods only from that region.

Good catch Debii.

 

[Debbi]

Vit E /Se --most animals can handle one dose that is a it too much. Long term use of high dosing is a problem. Look at your feed bag--look for Selenium in the ingredients Definitely worth doing. Most areas east of the Mississippi are deficient and animals, and humans need supplements if we eat foods only from that region.

Good catch Debii.

Don't know if it's a catch or not, but it may be a possibility. The lamb cases happened back in the early 90s, and the Vet told us back then, that the soil and consequently the grains that were being fed were sorely lacking in E and Selenium. We live west of the Mississippi by about 120 miles. Back then, my friend had 200 head of ewes, and we had to work about 475 lambs by ourselves! That was lots of fun!....NOT!

At any rate, once given the shot, the lambs went from pitiful and dying, to up and springing around in a day or two. It was really gratifying to see all that hard work pay off, and so quickly!

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Amazing!! Fast fix for all those lambs.

I keep my ewes and rams ( and lambs) on grain every day because of the vit E/Se, they eat it up!!

There are maps that show the areas of low Se, large vast expanses of regions and pockets here and there.

Hoping this little chickie will recover quickly whatever the problem.

Looks like rain today--already overcast. Not a good day to dry laundry though.

 

[snowbird]

I would worry about Mareks at this point ....

I have to agree with barnGoddess1 about the Mareks being the cause the leg problem. She is at the right age for it to show up. Usuall around 16-18 weeks.

I doubt that it would be Selinium fault in chickens if they are on store bought feed. The requirement for selinium in Poultry is very small.

Some do not believe in Vaccinating for Mareks but I have always vaccinated all chicks hatched here with never a regret for doing the vaccinating