Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Blarneyeggs]

OMGoodness! Debbi! My neighbor did mention white Marans... Poly Vi Sol, not flor... And no iron. Took her out to giver her a dropper of water and swab her butt with cornstarch, she pooed -good sign?! I rinsed cup, checked for open wound on bottom, but didn't see one. She is chirping up a storm now. Yay! I'm hopeful. Now back to the school for pick up.

 

[Debbi]

haha...I don't know if its that or not, but do know that every so often I've heard stories of people having a hen that will occasionally crow.

There's no telling. I've got one hen that has spurs and spars with the roos! I've got another that honks like a goose, and fights with the hens. But I've never had a crowing hen or one that tried to breed another hen. I've heard of crowing hens, and out here, they are supposed to be a bad omen! Some saying that if a hen crows on your front porch, something bad is headed your way. My friend's father would kill any of the hens that crowed, and they wouldn't even eat them, and they were very poor! Ozarkian folklore, you gotta love it!

 

[Debbi]

OMGoodness! Debbi! My neighbor did mention white Marans... Poly Vi Sol, not flor... And no iron. Took her out to giver her a dropper of water and swab her butt with cornstarch, she pooed -good sign?! I rinsed cup, checked for open wound on bottom, but didn't see one. She is chirping up a storm now. Yay! I'm hopeful. Now back to the school for pick up.

Good deal!! Just keep an eye on her, and she should perk up some more now. You might add some electrolytes or sugar to her water too. Good poop is always a good sign! That little Silkie of mine that bled is tearing up his run outside now! Oh, and lucky you for getting a White Marans!

 

[Debbi]

Hello Marans thread-
I have one BCM roo that is just starting to crow. He is becoming very beautiful, with his hackles starting to develop, etc.
I have a few questions, as I have only had chickens for about the 4 months that he is old ( he was my second chicken purchase).
First, are Marans supposed to have feathered legs? also, what is their temperament generally like? I have him in a large pen with 17 other chickens.
Most of them are EE hens, but I do have a silkie roo, 2 polish, and 3 tiny bantams in there as well. they pretty much have been together since babies.
His name is Emilio. Can I leave them all together, or what? He is definitely at the top of the pecking order, and by far the largest chicken in there.
The silkie roo is about the same age, but much smaller. They hang out together all the time. Will they continue to be buddies, or will I need to separate them later?
Thanks in advance-

First, welcome to the world of Marans! Yes, Marans of any color should have feathered legs and outter toes. For the most part, my roos have been very mild mannered with other roos, save for one, and I have 3 that run together here with no problems, youngest 8 months-2 years. If yours was raised with the other roos, he should be ok, until the hormones start to kick in, then you will just have to watch and see. If you have enough hens/pullets around them, they should be fine. All those ladies will keep all the roos busy. A few scuffles may occur, but that goes with the territory. Just keep and eye on them. The two here that were hatch mates were best buds for the longest time...until one day they just weren't any more. Can't keep them together. You might want to build an extra pen just in case??

 

[Arielle]

Okay, back with the one sick chick from the school. Teacher was not over reacting, this chick is very bad. She was dried to the bottom of the bator, looks like she didn't absorb her yolk sac, the 3 chicks that hatched successfully were pecking her. She chirped loud and strong on the way home, school is 1/2 hr away. I dipped her in some warm water to soak off the egg that had cemented itself to her eye and back, got some PolyViFlor infant vitamins down her throat, slapped some antibiotic ointment on her butt and back, put her in a tea cup (I'm not really sure why, just panicked) and put her in the bator that's running here. She's stopped chirping and seems to be bleeding, it's pooling at the bottom of the tea cup. She is still breathing and has tucked herself all up. CRUD! I'm hearbroken.

She was still attached to her Marans shell and is indeed a yellow chick. I guess my neighbor gave me a cross?

OMGoodness! Debbi! My neighbor did mention white Marans... Poly Vi Sol, not flor... And no iron. Took her out to giver her a dropper of water and swab her butt with cornstarch, she pooed -good sign?! I rinsed cup, checked for open wound on bottom, but didn't see one. She is chirping up a storm now. Yay! I'm hopeful. Now back to the school for pick up.

 

[Arielle]

Hello Marans thread-
I have one BCM roo that is just starting to crow. He is becoming very beautiful, with his hackles starting to develop, etc.
I have a few questions, as I have only had chickens for about the 4 months that he is old ( he was my second chicken purchase).
First, are Marans supposed to have feathered legs? also, what is their temperament generally like? I have him in a large pen with 17 other chickens.
Most of them are EE hens, but I do have a silkie roo, 2 polish, and 3 tiny bantams in there as well. they pretty much have been together since babies.
His name is Emilio. Can I leave them all together, or what? He is definitely at the top of the pecking order, and by far the largest chicken in there.
The silkie roo is about the same age, but much smaller. They hang out together all the time. Will they continue to be buddies, or will I need to separate them later?
Thanks in advance-

My marans are at the top of the pecking order, but they are not bullies. Given enough space the rooster behaviors are minimized. Maintain enough space for everyone. The 10 square feet per bird is the minimum in my opinion. You will have a better chance of them getting along if they have grown up together.

 

[chicknfun]

Thanks Debbi- I was planning on separating the 2 at some point anyway, as I wanted to keep all the silkies together in a separate coop/run.
I don't know for sure if my sebright is a roo, but I am thinking maybe, i am guessing I probably should separate him out too.

 

[chicknfun]

Thanks Arielle! i didn't know about 10 sq ft per bird.....OMG, I need more and bigger pens....LOL

 

[Flowerbh]

Any guesses on this Maran/Ameraucana chick? It was suppose to be an Olive Egger, but it has a single comb. Found out it is a


7/8 Maran and 1/8 Ameraucana. It is about 5 1/2 weeks old. I also noticed black spots on its comb. Is that normal? Also has some wattle already developing. More feathers on its legs than head! haha.. Also very slow feathering on shoulders, head and neck. The breeder I got her from has a really high success rate on sexing and we all thought this was a pullet, but now am beginning to wonder. So roo or pullet?

And by the way, when I look for earlobes, all I see is fur. Do they have to be a certain age to see earlobes?
ReplyQuote Multi

 

[desertmarcy]

You may have two problems, keep that in mind. If you continue using them you may want to sift them for the chicks and keep only the big flakes. You can buy screen at the hardware store or make you a colander of sorts... drill some small holes in a bucket and shake...... I may start doing that for my store bought shavings. I use the saw mill shavings for the big birds ONLY.

I raise my chicks on a fine sawdust/small shavings left over from a local cabinet maker. Pine or ash. The first 2-3 days, they were put on paper towels. By the end of that time, they knew where the food was. Then I'd switch to the sawdust. I never had a problem with it, and raised hundreds of chicks like that. Sure makes a dusty mess though.