Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[gardengoats11]

We observe a 14 day period of throwing away eating eggs when we treat. Since the product isn't labeled for chickens there isn't a reported time frame for withdraw time.

 

[Feathers n Fur]

New marans mama here. I have a flock of 7 varying breed hens and recently purchased 7 more chicks, 3 of which are Black Copper Marans. Just curious to know if it is normal for marans girls to develop a comb at 3 wks old. Two of them have small combs, not red yet just peach color but one has barely a comb and it is dark, almost brown. One of the two comb wielding marans does a "silent crow" but the other one does not. Does this mean I have two boys and a girl? All three have the same size tail feathers (I was told boys don't grow tail feathers as fast as grils) and all three have the same thickness for feathery legs. I don't know how this breed matures so I am trying to learn all I can. Any thoughts?

 

[jeepgirl13]

I jjust got a couple Maran roosters too. They are beautiful sweet birds. My girls aren't laying yet so I don't have to worry about that! Thanks guys! Good luck with your new marans. U joined the right thread to learn. Everyone has been very helpful to me

 

[flgardengirl]

Some Marans hens will have larger combs than others. If you are seeing a good sized comb on a chick that is only 3 weeks then it could be male. Watch for coloring early on and wattle development. If you see any reddening in the wattle area early on then it is usually male for sure lol. Some hens can fool you though. One of my blue Marans hens had a huge comb, huge thick legs, and huge body early on. I thought for sure she was going to be male. She is a great hen though so I am glad I kept her. On the tail feathering, and feathering in early in general: Sometimes it is true and sometimes not. It really will depend on the line and there is a lot of diversity between lines.
On my orpingtons the early feathering on the wings and tails seems to present females.
Not always so on the Marans lol. I have a baby cuckoo marans male right now that has a long long tail and almost completely feathered in at 2 1/2 weeks. He is definitely a boy though. You can always try posting a photo, maybe we can guess...

 

[flgardengirl]

We observe a 14 day period of throwing away eating eggs when we treat. Since the product isn't labeled for chickens there isn't a reported time frame for withdraw time.

I usually do the Wazine for round worms first. Then 10 days later, I do Valbazen- I put 1/2 cc in a tiny piece of bread and they gobble it right up. I give 1/4 cc for my bantam silkies. With the roos who give all their food to the girls, I have to catch them and feed it to them with a syringe but it's not too bad, just pull down on their wattles (or beards for the Ameraucanas) and its easy to open their mouths. I switched to the Valbazen from Ivermectin last year because it kills more kinds of worms and apparently the worms are becoming resistant to the Ivermectin now.
Here is a good thread on worming
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-now-molting-short-days-few-or-no-eggs-anyway

 

[Runawaylobster]

I usually do the Wazine for round worms first. Then 10 days later, I do Valbazen- I put 1/2 cc in a tiny piece of bread and they gobble it right up. I give 1/4 cc for my bantam silkies. With the roos who give all their food to the girls, I have to catch them and feed it to them with a syringe but it's not too bad, just pull down on their wattles (or beards for the Ameraucanas) and its easy to open their mouths. I switched to the Valbazen from Ivermectin last year because it kills more kinds of worms and apparently the worms are becoming resistant to the Ivermectin now.
Here is a good thread on worming
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-now-molting-short-days-few-or-no-eggs-anyway

thank you so much for the info.. I have had a full bottle of Valbazen in my cupboard for a couple of months now worrying about how i was going to get it into them... so much more complicated than the wazine that i stick in the water... I will try the bread and see how that goes .... at least the laying hens will be easy, in the growout pen that may be another story, there are so many of them and they are really quick!!

 

[Wynette]

Hi, Friends!!!

This is a shout-out to BYC member GeoKan for placing THIRD OVERALL in the egg show at the prestigious South Texas State Fair, in Beaumont, Texas, with his Black Copper Marans eggs. WAY TO GO, GEORGE!!!

 

[jeepgirl13]

ive heard the same about parasites in horses. Due to people not properly rotating their wormers the buggers are growing resistant. Same with a lot of other things. Bacteria becoming resistant to penicillin and other antibiotics due to over use and not finishing them. Does anyone know of anything natural that will kill the worms? Tobacco is supposed to kill worms in dogs and people. I've never tried it tho ski I don't know.

 

[Runawaylobster]

ive heard the same about parasites in horses. Due to people not properly rotating their wormers the buggers are growing resistant. Same with a lot of other things. Bacteria becoming resistant to penicillin and other antibiotics due to over use and not finishing them. Does anyone know of anything natural that will kill the worms? Tobacco is supposed to kill worms in dogs and people. I've never tried it tho ski I don't know.

I read somewhere to use tincture of black walnut.. but i've never tried it

 

[desertmarcy]

About the comment that Marans need more protein: boy I sure found that to be true. I was giving mine 17% layer pellets. I had a horrible time with feather picking, in both the black copper and the blue coppers. I also had the problem in my Good Shepard Barred Rocks and Mohawk Rhode Island Reds. I had heard that the Standard Breed chickens need a higher protein, but I guess I didn't believe it....well proof is there for me, now. I talked with the breeder of my RIRs, his are brothers/sisters to mine, and he, if anything, has them more confined than mine so it isn't a space issue. He uses 20% game bird feed plus BOSS and hasn't had any feather picking. I recently switched to mixing the layer pellets with 22% chick starter and adding fish meal. The final protein is around 22%. I think it has helped already in the RIR and BRs. But I have all my Marans in separate pens right now so I can collect eggs and know who they came from, so I don't know if they will still be picking, BUT one Black Copper in particular is the worst. Her feathers, BTW, are pristine---when I rotate the male into her pen, she immediately starts picking his feathers. I have to wait until I see him breed her (which doesn't take long), then take him out and put him with another hen because his feathers have already been picked really badly and I don't want her to continue to pick him.

Are some individuals just incorrigible pickers? I am wondering if I will just have to hatch a bunch of her eggs and then get rid of her. I don't have the pen space to keep her penned by herself indefinitely. Has anybody ever figured out if this tendency is genetic?