Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[flgardengirl]

I would wait also. Most of the nurseries aren't even shipping plants right now due to the weather around the country. I have plant orders on hold too lol.

MountainMel: You sound just like my dh. All he thinks about is fishing LOL! He has Okuma reels too

 

[Hens and Roos]

Quote:
I'm good with waiting-it looks like we will be setting another round of eggs once the current hatch is done- we candled the other night and ended up removing most of the Partridge Bantam Cochin and Blue Andalusian(this is our other pair, that we are trying to set up a second line from) eggs- these are the birds the kids are using for 4-H projects. So as you can see, no need to rush.

 

[Debbi]

Well, looks like I'll have a solid blue roo with Blue Butt. His deformed little buddy, Bump, is a blue copper for sure, already showing copper in the hackles and saddle. No copper on BB. They are now 6 weeks old and growing fast! Next time I see a chick in distress hatching, I will either intervene quicker or not at all. This will make 2 deformed roos due to shrink wrapping

Got to say though, Bump is quite the charecter, and at least he is company for BB. Don't know what I will do with him when spring comes, I doubt he will get along too well with others...then again, I said that about Fugs, and he is top man out there.

 

[Mountain Mel]

As Promised...More Chick Pics. Pink, I am sorry that the Splash chicks are such camera snobs and wouldn't let the Blues out in front to strut their stuff for the lens. I have noticed that the Blues, especially the larger of the two, have very large legs/feet. Is that to be expected? The Blues' legs are also sporting some feathers where the Splash....not so much. Another thing that I have noticed is that these birds seem to be much more docile than any other chickens I have dealt with (except maybe my Columbian Wyandottes).

 

[pinkchick]

mel, those splashes are olive eggers and are not suppose to have feathered shanks. i made them with bill who is clean legged and clean legged olive egger moms. yes the bigger ones especially bills kids have big legs, fact bills kids are just big. lol

 

[Hens and Roos]

cute babies!

 

[Debbi]

Just changed Blue Butt and Bump over to the "big bird" brooder cage, and noticed I was wrong! Blue Butt is going to be a Blue Copper after all!

Pink, looks like the Bump will be more of Bill's coloring, but BB is more like your Gnarles' coloring! No, these are not Pink's babies!!!!! Can't wait to get some of them! But...I will

 

[math ace]

Quote:
If you choose your treatment carefully, you won't have to toss any eggs.

You have to toss eggs when rx enters the blood stream. Lice and Mites are an external parasite.

I use Adams Flea and tick DIP in warm weather. I do it early, mix it up in a 5 gallon bucket and EVERYONE gets a dip.

There are powders you can use in COLD weather. If you have mites, you have to spray / treat the coop too. The insects are hiding out there waiting for dinner to come roost at night. I THINK one of the powders is Sevin dust. I have heard people say they put the powder in a large bag. Then put the chicken in the bag and squeeze the bag shut at the neck so that the powder doesn't escape and get in the birds eyes or throat. Then they shake / roll the chick in the powder.
PERSONALLY, I have no experience with this. . . . I've only done the dip before.

 

[math ace]

So, it has been raining cats and dogs for three days here. Today was the first day of sunshine. So, I spent today painting my recent creation - - A brooder.
While it was raining, I planned and constructed the brooder. I am pretty happy with it. There are two things left to complete on it

1.) INstallation of STORM WINDOWS - - - for the cold weather coming.
2.) Decide what type of flooring I want to use of the wire screening. During the summer, I will want the screening for ventilation. However, with temps in the 30's, I need to put something solid over the screening before my chicks can go in their new home

Here is a picture of it being assembled in my living room while it was raining outside

If you decide to put a brooder together in the house - - - make sure you have french doors so that you can get it outside when you get done

I put the WHOLE thing together by myself, well almost the whole thing. Dh helped me with the door!
It can be done in 1 day. The painting is EXTRA. Construction and assembly takes only one day!

 

[HarmonyOaks]

Ivy, you have a couple of options for treating mites or lice: topical dust or spray, topical systemic, oral systemic.

For ease and effectiveness, I prefer to use Eprinex. It is a topical cattle systemic that has NO slaughter or milk withdrawl. It was suggested by our poultry leader and got the nod of approval from an avian vet I use. A couple of drops on the skin under the wing, and your birds will lose their bugs and any worms within a couple of days. If you go this route, get some 1 cc syringes. It is the easiest way to apply a correct amount...1/4 cc per 5 pounds of chicken.

Some breeds are more prone to bugs. Cornish, for one. I can grab every other bird and see not one bug, then pick up a shiney feathered, fat and sassy Cornish, and presto, bugs all over the place.

I am a pet groomer, so not unaccustomed to seeing "hitchhikers" on animals, but sheesh, until the Cornish arrived, I never saw a bug on one of my birds. Double uck! For this reason, they are so on my short list of birds to take to auction when the weather improves. Shame too because they are really good free-rangers.

If you wish to go with a dust (Ortho Sevin) or a spray-- I use the Adams Flea and Tick spray (blue bottle) as a preventative when I coop out at every show-- keep in mind it will take repeated applications to keep them bug free (based upon the pest's egg/hatch cycle).

Oh and yep, as mentioned by someone else, them mites and to some extent lice, enjoy hanging out in the cracks and crevaces of the coops/roosts. I have heard that some people use "foggers" when the weather is good and their birds can be turned loose, others spray, and some douse the boards with a pesticide white wash. If I find bugs, the last thing I want to do is wait on weather. Impractical in the snowy Sierras.

Wish you the best in your debugging, whichever avenue you take.