Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Wynette]

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?

I had two layer hens from a hatchery - a naked neck and a...gosh, I think a production red-type bird. They were in with several other breeds of hens and my back-up Jersey Giant cock bird, a huge splash. These females were probably 2, things had always been just peachy in the pen, and then suddenly, round about June of last summer, my Giant cock bird went into a molt - very early, and the only one in the pen. I watched closely and found that those 2 hens mentioned were following him around plucking feathers from him, mostly from his butt. He was almost bald. I sprayed him with Blu Kote and they continued. And they are fed plenty of protein. I finally ended up pulling both of those hens out and putting them in a completely different pen (same feed), and they stopped. They're still in the other pen as I had no need to move them last summer, but I do now. I'll be curious to see if they start picking at the splash male again.

Point being, I DO think that sometimes they fall into habits such as picking and that you have to turn their little worlds upsdie down in order to break them.

 

[Ray from PA]

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!!!

CONGRATULATIONS GEORGE !!!!!

Nicely Done ! Great to see your efforts pay off ........

 

[flgardengirl]

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!!

Here is what I do. I get some of that 4 ft high welded wire fencing that comes on the roll and make a circle with it and put in a bamboo stake or two and zip tie the ends together. Make two different circle pens with it. Pull them out of the original pen one at a time and throw them in the 1st circle pen with a piece of bread. Once they eat it, then take them out and put them into the 2nd pen. Once they are all done then you can put them all back. If they free range you may not need the second circle pen...just throw them out of the 1st one after they get the bread. It is more time consuming but at least you know who got what lol. I do just a few different pens of birds at a time so it isn't too much work.

I use these types of pens for babies to play in when I have a lot growing out. They are temporary grow out pens and you can move them around as needed. I wrap them around the brooders and they go back inside at night. A plus is that they can run under their brooders which are up off the ground a few feet for cover from hawks during the day. You can also zip tie shade cloth across them for more shade etc. If you have a lot of daytime predators like neighbor dogs it might not work out for you but I only let them out when someone is home to watch them.

 

[Feathers n Fur]

Quote:
flgardengirl: Thanks for the insight. Maybe I'll just hold out hope that all three are girls. I'll tell them to think girlie thoughts - LOL. I have a lot to learn.

 

[flgardengirl]

Congrats to Geokan!!!!!

 

[desertmarcy]

I had two layer hens from a hatchery - a naked neck and a...gosh, I think a production red-type bird. They were in with several other breeds of hens and my back-up Jersey Giant cock bird, a huge splash. These females were probably 2, things had always been just peachy in the pen, and then suddenly, round about June of last summer, my Giant cock bird went into a molt - very early, and the only one in the pen. I watched closely and found that those 2 hens mentioned were following him around plucking feathers from him, mostly from his butt. He was almost bald. I sprayed him with Blu Kote and they continued. And they are fed plenty of protein. I finally ended up pulling both of those hens out and putting them in a completely different pen (same feed), and they stopped. They're still in the other pen as I had no need to move them last summer, but I do now. I'll be curious to see if they start picking at the splash male again.

Point being, I DO think that sometimes they fall into habits such as picking and that you have to turn their little worlds upsdie down in order to break them.

Interesting! Let me know what happens when you move them back in with the splash. I thought their little worlds were turned upside down when I moved them into individual pens, by themselves. Chickens have such unpredictable behaviors sometimes. Who knows what triggers them to do certain things. One of my Ameraucana hens inexplicably started picking on an Orloff that she had been with for months. She would run clear across the pen to get the Orloff, who was doing her best to be submissive and avoid the Ameraucana. I have no idea why she suddenly decided she didn't like that Orloff, but I like her, so I moved the Ameraucana in with the Black Copper Marans since I was thinking about hatching some olive eggers anyway. That really shut her up. Now she spends all her time on the roost avoiding the other birds, and is still up there, even though now there is only one Black Copper hen in the pen with her. Like your hens, it will be interesting to see if the behavior starts up again when I move her back into the layer pen where the Orloff is.

 

[GeoKan]

Awww. Shucks. Thank you Wynette and everyone. My first ribbon. I must say — it feels great!

Wynette won 2nd place in the same show!

She beat me.

And, there's no jealousy what-so-ever. Only gratitude and I feel very fortunate that my entry was place behind her gorgeous eggs.

 

[gilavina]

Well, I can officially say that I'm getting impatient over the eggs in the incubator! Day 5 today and I just want babies already! haha
Finalized the breeding pens in all the Marans and now down to 32 that will stay. That's the least I've had since I started. 8 Black Copper, 6 Blue Copper, 2 splash Copper, and for the birchens, 3 blacks, 4 blues and 4 Splash. Then still also have the 5 Silver Marans. Suuuuch a good feeling! Now here's to hoping I have really good hatches this year!

 

[Runawaylobster]

Here is what I do. I get some of that 4 ft high welded wire fencing that comes on the roll and make a circle with it and put in a bamboo stake or two and zip tie the ends together. Make two different circle pens with it. Pull them out of the original pen one at a time and throw them in the 1st circle pen with a piece of bread. Once they eat it, then take them out and put them into the 2nd pen. Once they are all done then you can put them all back. If they free range you may not need the second circle pen...just throw them out of the 1st one after they get the bread. It is more time consuming but at least you know who got what lol. I do just a few different pens of birds at a time so it isn't too much work.

I use these types of pens for babies to play in when I have a lot growing out. They are temporary grow out pens and you can move them around as needed. I wrap them around the brooders and they go back inside at night. A plus is that they can run under their brooders which are up off the ground a few feet for cover from hawks during the day. You can also zip tie shade cloth across them for more shade etc. If you have a lot of daytime predators like neighbor dogs it might not work out for you but I only let them out when someone is home to watch them.

That sounds so efficient... definitely on my to try list. You would have laughed at me on sunday catching the babies to put their leg bands on .. I don't have as many pens as you but I can see how that could be so useful.. thanks so much for the advice... I have dogs and it's really a double edged sword.. the dogs definitely keep the other predators away, but they would love a mouthful of feathers as well. We have a routine, dogs out during the day while i'm at work, then dogs come in and chickens go out .. But I do think the dogs would not bother the pens, they have learned to stay away since i trained them that all pens have an electric fence and now they just don't touch them.. I'll be needing more growout pens soon....

 

[Runawaylobster]

Awww. Shucks. Thank you Wynette and everyone. My first ribbon. I must say — it feels great!

Wynette won 2nd place in the same show!

She beat me.

And, there's no jealousy what-so-ever. Only gratitude and I feel very fortunate that my entry was place behind her gorgeous eggs.

congrats to both of you ... !!!! woot!.. is that the black egg i see on her new avatar..