Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[OHmamma]

Wynette I am not confused about the variety. I have the emails and PMs to verify.

Hi Don,

I do remember a conversation the I had with you and Walt about allowance in the tail of the cuckoo. I do believe that it is just an allowance before a fault and too much would be a DQ. Of course that was the Cuckoo not BC. Sometimes the white is not a genetic or color flaw but caused by damage to the follicle or to rapid of a rate of growth. Most judges understand that so it would be allowed to some extent as either one of those could also be a conditioning factor. This is true for all varieties.

I would be very interested to know who would be petitioning to the APA to change a standard. It certainly wasn't anyone from the MCCUSA. I am a regional director and on the standards committee and anything like that would have been brought up to us first. Unless it is just some rogue breeder out to make their poor breeding skills look better. I am sure there are plenty of those out there. Perhaps they are even a member of our club, but by no means did they do it with club approval. If they are falsely representing themselves well, that is just as bad as accusing someone now isn't it??

As for the white that is showing up, from what I have learned by talking to several different genetics persons, it is believed to be caused by a combination of the e+ / eb genes and/ or certain black melanizers, and hormones. Shank color is irrelevant maybe more coincidental. Of course light shanks are often a sign of eWh genes, but also e and eb. But it isn't an "always" thing you could still have black or even blue shanks with any of those. All of the breeding advice of using an over melanized BC female to those males showing too much color in the breast is one of the causes of most of the white we are seeing now. Those males are likely to be carrying eWh, e or eb. Especially from WJ lines which were basically a mix of Birchen, Duckwing, Wheaten and Black. You can make both a DW and a eWh appear to be a BC if you have enough black...Unfortunately what you see isn't always what you have. After the crazy breeding experiments I did this past season I seriously wonder how many REAL pure Er based "BC" there are out there.

Culling for it is one way to go, test mating to have a better understanding of what you are fighting is more appropriate. I tested my males with DW,Wheaten, and Cuckoo. Also hens can carry the same genes that cause the white in the males only they hide it better due to the lack of the hormones that cause it to show. If you are fighting it in a real for sure BC then it is most likely too much black cull away from the beetle sheen.

I hope you have found the culprit by the time I have typed this. I would really like to discuss it with the person in question if it is true.

 

[ladycat]

Maran question please

how broody are Marans?
Interested in them but really tired of breaking up broody hens.

thanks

Of the 8 Marans hens I had this past summer, 1 went broody.

This coming summer I will have many more than 8 hens. This should be interesting.

 

[maryhysong]

Culling for it is one way to go, test mating to have a better understanding of what you are fighting is more appropriate. I tested my males with DW,Wheaten, and Cuckoo. Also hens can carry the same genes that cause the white in the males only they hide it better due to the lack of the hormones that cause it to show. If you are fighting it in a real for sure BC then it is most likely too much black cull away from the beetle sheen.

OK< I am a little confused here. You are saying that white feathers are caused by too much black? Could you explain this a little more fully?

 

[Wynette]

All of the breeding advice of using an over melanized BC female to those males showing too much color in the breast is one of the causes of most of the white we are seeing now. Those males are likely to be carrying eWh, e or eb. Especially from WJ lines which were basically a mix of Birchen, Duckwing, Wheaten and Black.

I used a mahogany (overmelanized) male over a mossy female, and all the offspring I hatched were mossy, though I only hatched a handful. I was just curious, and frankly, I've always liked the looks of the mahogany, even though I know we aren't to be breeding for that. Oddly, most of them ended up clean shanked or close; I don't remember if any had white feathers in their shanks, but they very well could be.

Yes, I'd love to understand this better, and as I'm beginning to learn about genetics, I appreciated your post above.

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

I get that. Broodies are easy to break - I take a plastic dog crate, cut the bottom out & replace with hardware cloth, then place the hen inside - NO shavings, and raise the crate up onto blocks so that the air passes underneath. Usually 2 days in the crate (of course provide feed & water in cage cups) will break a broody.

Maybe YOUR broodies are easy to break Wynette! I have had to put hens in "chicken jail" rabbit cages up on bricks for up to 10 days. I usually start with 2 days. If I find them in the nest boxes that night back in jail they go for 5 days this time. The real stubborn ones are there over a week. It's frustrating in a layer flock.

 

[Zanna]

Maybe YOUR broodies are easy to break Wynette! I have had to put hens in "chicken jail" rabbit cages up on bricks for up to 10 days. I usually start with 2 days. If I find them in the nest boxes that night back in jail they go for 5 days this time. The real stubborn ones are there over a week. It's frustrating in a layer flock.

I put mine in a pen with a young cockeral. Most get over it pretty fast!

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

I put mine in a pen with a young cockeral. Most get over it pretty fast!

*L* I imagine that would do it! I haven't had cocks in decades so I'll try that next time. I can't believe she's trying it this late, but I have a GLW that is looking like she wants to go broody on me in NOVEMBER.

 

[MandyFitch]

Nope, nobody answered

I'm sorry! Definitely try in the emergencies /diseases section.

 

[math ace]

This is the fourth bird we have had do this, one BO and three BCM, all at about seven to eight weeks old from three different hatches. ...

Botulism seems to be the likely answer to me as the birds will not eat much for awhile, perhaps clearing out the system and then the high protein and vitamins help it overcome.... I'm am still guessing but that's all I got. Thanks again.

Since it is consistently happening aound the 7 to 8 week age period, it makes me think it is something other than Botulism.
Certain Virus tend to effect birds at a certain age more than at any other time.

Also, at 7 to 8 weeks of age, watch for things like "dog piling". The chicks on the bottom of the pile can suffer all kinds of things, even death.
This is an easy thing to check for... Just go look at them at night, after they have gone to bed. If they are piled on top of each other, this could be contributing to your problems.

 

[math ace]

I put mine in a pen with a young cockeral. Most get over it pretty fast!

I have found it a good time to dip the chickens with adams flea and tick dip...
You will have a very peed off hen, but she won't be broody by the time she dries out.
Plus, she will smell good LOL

I have a few marans that go broody and they are always in the Spring or Summer, so dipping isn't a problem in that kind of weather.