Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[pmessner]

I don't have an official LGD, but do have a Newfoundland/Australian Shepherd cross beast that is fantastic at warding off predators, including warning the chickens of overhead predators. Its funny to watch him communicating with the chickens, but they sure listen. He has this strange yip noise he makes and they all start growling and running for the hills. Here's Goliath as a 6 month old pup, he's now about 2 1/2 times this size now. Depending which side you see him from, he looks like a different dog.




Death on watering cans. grrr

Isn't he a good boy... that is exactly the dog i want... can't wait til we move, get re-settled and I'm gitten me an aussie mix puppy. I'm enjoying catching up on the threads... I'm in New England and my flock is absolutely veggie starved right now... I have resorted to buying bags of frozen french style green beans at walmart for them as a treat. I'm also going to add live meal worms next winter as well... mine are contained in an area with an electric fence but with all the snow on the ground they have become restless and keep trying to break out... I think they are hungry for bugs and greens. As long as a I make sure they get enough greens they stay contained.

 

[Zanna]

here's a 1918 article on mangels for poultry.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...&pg=1129,529887&dq=mangels+for+chickens&hl=en

A local breeder around me grows and feeds the mangels to his birds, he says they eat it all. I have been putting beets straight from the garden in the breeder pens. Some of the chickens like them and eat the whole bulb as well as leaves, some just eat the leaves and I then give the bulbs to the ones that eat them. Same with cabbage, some eat it, some don't. I find if you hang the greens, they can then tear chunks off and eat it more easily. Usually though, I am just lazy and toss it on the the ground and they manage! I've also been digging up lots of dandelion plants and feeding those (DH thinks I am nuts! I reply with "Well, I am weeding and giving the breeders who are locked up some extra greens/nutrition!"). Again, some of them devour them (none eat the roots) and some of them won't eat any.

 

[flgardengirl]

I know chickens LOVE onions. The chooks got into my garden last spring and ate up every one of the 100 onion plants. As soon as the bulbs started to sprout again they would eat them up again. I saw one hen even eating up red onions, then she would go over to the mint afterwards to freshen her breath lol! Most of them don't care for the mint.

Been sick for awhile so haven't posted lately.
I had a good hatch yesterday and got a ton of lav orpington babies, some silkies, 3 black marans, a couple golden cuckoos, 1 silver cuckoo (looks like a male), only one of the lemon cuckoo project eggs developed that I had set, a couple of bcms, etc.

Looks like the black broody Marans hatched 4 chicks as far as I can tell. She wont let me near them. If she has them out, as soon as she sees me, she squats down and clucks and they all run under her. From what I can see they look good.

I have 2 silkie hens brooding 7 chicks together. They are sharing duties and the chicks just run from one mama to the next lol. There are 2 more silkies on eggs due to hatch any day. When they do, they will inherit a bunch of these lavender orp chicks that I hatched out lol.

Next time I am setting all Marans eggs. This time I was mainly doing the orps and threw in other random stuff.

Almost forgot, we also have one rabbit with 3 babies that are lionshead x netherland dwarf with long hair. One has short hair. 2 black and 2 buff colored.

Last night the other bunny had 3 babies. It got to freezing here so of course she would have them then lol. They all seem to be doing okay.

The muscovy hens have decided they want to have babies under one of the rooster bachelor coops. I don't know how that is gonna work out but they have a huge nest under there. The roos are afraid of the muscovy ducks so we will see how it goes.

Is it spring yet? There are babies everywhere here lol.

 

[Wynette]

Vicki, BC Marans, Welsummer, LF Polish, Blue Laced Red Wyandotte. LF Blue Cochins, Silv. Penciled Rock LF, RIR Bantams, White Rock Bantams, and White Wyandotte Bantams. Forgot Faverole Bantams.

That should be a really pretty assortment!

I'll soon be hatching as well. Just as soon as I can get my brother to help me finish up my home-made cabinet incubator. If I can get it going, it'll be filled all spring...and likely then some. Sigh...

 

[ashandvine]

Thanks for the bit on Mangels. I was surprised when my birds at my radishes... and then my basil.... This time of year I expect they'd eat most anything. I put pine bows in there and they peck off the needles. I want to try drying and saving some grass cuttings from the yard this year. IDK if I can pellet them like the stores do but it might be a neat experiment.

Here's this week's installment:


She's been laying a week and nearly a half. Feedback?? (I know they aren't dark enough.) They do seem more red (terra cotta) in person and still have dark spots which I hope will become an over all color. I thought the size was good given that they are 'pullet' eggs. You get the idea I guess.

 

[winniem13]

Doesnt my rooster look black to yall? He was labeled as blue copper on his egg

, but so far at 8 weeks I havent seen blue or copper on him! His feathers look black to me!

 

[gilavina]

Isn't he a good boy... that is exactly the dog i want... can't wait til we move, get re-settled and I'm gitten me an aussie mix puppy. I'm enjoying catching up on the threads... I'm in New England and my flock is absolutely veggie starved right now... I have resorted to buying bags of frozen french style green beans at walmart for them as a treat. I'm also going to add live meal worms next winter as well... mine are contained in an area with an electric fence but with all the snow on the ground they have become restless and keep trying to break out... I think they are hungry for bugs and greens. As long as a I make sure they get enough greens they stay contained.

I love him, the only thing that is surprising in some aspects is the stubborness of the newfie mixed with the over exuberance of an aussie to please and just plain be excited. He's a whole lot to handle if he gets excited about something these days. Hopefully when he's fully out of pup range, he'll do better, more settled. He's just a bit over two and know most Newfies don't settle fully til they are about 3....so we'll see.

How do your birds like the frozen green beans? I grow a lot of bean and never thought about the off cut stuff that's not good enough to can might be alright to freeze for winter feeding. That's a really good idea!

 

[Irishgirl]

you know that's really interesting, must be that down here the squirrels are not winter hungry because they have no interest in the chicken food... but come May/June when my lychee harvest is going on those darn little xixixi!!! try to eat all my lychees...

There's a lychee tree? I thought they grew in frozen yoghurt stores.

I have 2 squirrels giving me a headache right now! Cute as they are.....I can't stand them anymore! I can't shoot them because where they hang out is facing the neighbors house, so I tried a live trap and only caught my cat. Guess I shouldn't have used catfood as bait.
The squirrels are trying everything they can to find ways into the coops while they are locked up tight but with no luck. However, they know the chickens and geese are going to be let out for the day and they know the coop pop door will be open...it's a free for all with those rodents and they are making me CRAZY!
My neighbor also wants to know when if I catch them so he can eat them. I told him since he did such a nice job taking care of the bobcat, he could catch my squirrels. He laughed and said, "Nope, that's the hard part, but once you've got 'em give me a holler."

Now the chickens do not pay the squirrels any attention, but my gander, though he is not fast, he will certainly give them an earful and a quick chase.

Look up the Squirrel Catapult on YouTube.

 

[gilavina]

I know chickens LOVE onions. The chooks got into my garden last spring and ate up every one of the 100 onion plants. As soon as the bulbs started to sprout again they would eat them up again. I saw one hen even eating up red onions, then she would go over to the mint afterwards to freshen her breath lol! Most of them don't care for the mint.

Been sick for awhile so haven't posted lately.
I had a good hatch yesterday and got a ton of lav orpington babies, some silkies, 3 black marans, a couple golden cuckoos, 1 silver cuckoo (looks like a male), only one of the lemon cuckoo project eggs developed that I had set, a couple of bcms, etc.

Looks like the black broody Marans hatched 4 chicks as far as I can tell. She wont let me near them. If she has them out, as soon as she sees me, she squats down and clucks and they all run under her. From what I can see they look good.

I have 2 silkie hens brooding 7 chicks together. They are sharing duties and the chicks just run from one mama to the next lol. There are 2 more silkies on eggs due to hatch any day. When they do, they will inherit a bunch of these lavender orp chicks that I hatched out lol.

Next time I am setting all Marans eggs. This time I was mainly doing the orps and threw in other random stuff.

Almost forgot, we also have one rabbit with 3 babies that are lionshead x netherland dwarf with long hair. One has short hair. 2 black and 2 buff colored.

Last night the other bunny had 3 babies. It got to freezing here so of course she would have them then lol. They all seem to be doing okay.

The muscovy hens have decided they want to have babies under one of the rooster bachelor coops. I don't know how that is gonna work out but they have a huge nest under there. The roos are afraid of the muscovy ducks so we will see how it goes.

Is it spring yet? There are babies everywhere here lol.

Hope you get to feeling like yourself fully very soon. Sounds like you are already getting swarmed by wee ones. Hopefully I'll have some running around here soon myself. For now its just seedlings

 

[gilavina]

Thanks for the bit on Mangels. I was surprised when my birds at my radishes... and then my basil.... This time of year I expect they'd eat most anything. I put pine bows in there and they peck off the needles. I want to try drying and saving some grass cuttings from the yard this year. IDK if I can pellet them like the stores do but it might be a neat experiment.

Here's this week's installment:


She's been laying a week and nearly a half. Feedback?? (I know they aren't dark enough.) They do seem more red (terra cotta) in person and still have dark spots which I hope will become an over all color. I thought the size was good given that they are 'pullet' eggs. You get the idea I guess.

The only thing you'll want to watch on grass clipping is if there are any treatments or amendments that have been added to the lawn, such as fertilizers, weed treatments, etc.

As long as you are mindful of your breeding, you will be able to make improvements on the color of the egg. Working with the birchens (who for the most part don't have great color) I've been able to watch how things change from generation to generation and have seen improvements on eggs with lighter color than the ones you posted.