Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

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I feed 17% all purpose poultry, I do not use oyster shell (the roos don't need it and they get enough calcium from other sources), I do provide chick grit in the runs from time to time but it is not used as a feed. I supplement suet cakes, one per week each coop depending on size of flock in a coop, some coops get 2 suet cakes per week. Once a week they get a nice warm gruel that has all sorts of goodies in it:
Oatmeal, steel cut groats, whole groats, a little flax (not too much flax), millet, rooster booster vitamins, cooked mashed bananas, apple, CRANBERRIES, finely chopped and cooked pine nuts if I have them or peanuts, sweet potato, tumeric, cinnamon, garlic, thyme, scrambled eggs, finely ground pumpking seeds, some plain yogurt and whatever else I think I can cook in the same pot that I think may be good for them. I let this cool and mix it with a little feed and disperse to the chooks. They love it.
The rest of the week they get all purpose feed with fresh greens....lettuce, chard, keil, fresh pumpkin if I have it, zuchinni, squash or whatever they can have out of the fridge or storage.
Once a month I treat with an all natural wormer that my girl friend makes, she makes all natural human and animal health products and human beauty products, this wormer is the sludge at the bottom of the barrel that she divides 3 ways between her, my best friend and myself. The chickens love this and eat every last bit of it......I don't know what is in it but I can tell you that I love it and it makes the coops smell like Christmas baking for days.
I feed very little scratch grains....a 50# bag lasts over 2 months here with just less than 200 birds.
I also use Apple Cider vinegar in the their water maybe once every 3 weeks and I also put a few drops of effective microorganisms in their water every other week. (effective microorganisms = lactobacillus casei) I make a brew of this once a month from a mother source that I ordered a bottle of off line.
I feed pretty much the same things as geebs does and if I missed something she will chime in and tell us what I forgot.
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PS at the moment I have a quarterhorse mare and a american shetland pony mare. The rule at our house is I can have as many horses as my husband has power-hammers ... a very large mechanical hammer for blacksmithing...one chicken for every regular handheld hammer. At the moment we are even with horse to power hammer.... any guesses on the chicken to hand hammer ratio?? He has about 50+ hammers..... I have about 13 chickens! I have some catching up to do!
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My Hubby is a woodworker and says this is a great idea.
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Course he's talking large woodworking equipement like lathes, table saws etc. Needless to say, doing it this way, he has catching up to do, in spite of his 3 car garage shop, esp. after hatching season this Spring.
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Hum,
Karen

oh no..... you can't count chicks..... only hens in lay and roosers not for eating! this is chicken math after all.
 
morning pink, math and, lotsapaints..... and any one else up!

Math, when are you going to bring a marans to the show? Maybe no one else is brave enough and you have to be the one to break the ice?

Pink, I think it would not take much to twist my arm into having some blue copper. I love the color of them and they are nice and plump just like the Black Copper! Have you shipped eggs out to the east-coast with any success?
 
I have shipped eggs to the east coast several times... 75 percent hatches...
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Pink and I aren't far apart!!!
 
Top a the morn' to you Ms. geebsie!

The only eggs I've ever shipped that far away is to Tennessee to Raven1, we did not get any chicks, but she had development and a pip in a Wellie egg. Her dogs were being rowdy one day and knocked the incubator off the table which she discovered upon returning home.
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I've shipped eggs closer to us over here and hatch rates were pretty good.
 
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I gave you a Blue Copper pullet......where is she hiding out?
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You could cross her with your Willhe and see what happens, I bet your boy would help with eye color in the offspring as her eyes are dark and I think he would help out with hackle color.
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morning geebs
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that is soooo good to hear. I think I am going to have to start a hatching eggs finance plan as I see money being spent soon!

btw thanks for the update on other vermonters. We vermonters are usually a quiet crew...... I should see if I can get a succesful "where am I where are you" post going. The ones in the in the past have died pretty quick. I'm going to run over there and see what happens.
 
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I gave you a Blue Copper pullet......where is she hiding out?
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You could cross her with your Willhe and see what happens, I bet your boy would help with eye color in the offspring as her eyes are dark and I think he would help out with hackle color.
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not me! But if you want to give me a pullet I am all for it!
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Pink.. That blue pullet is hangin out in Willhe's pen... I think you are right that it would make a nice cross... haven't seen an egg in a while...from any of em... I do have a broody in there though... You will have to come and visit... or I will have to send you some eggs to hatch... I will separate her out this spring and may do just that!!! I will send them up to you if ya want... Wilhe is fertile...I sent out a test hatch!!! He is just starting to perform...
 

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