Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[desertmarcy]

desertmarcy

Try:
treats (Cabbage) hung from the ceiling or just on the floor - boredom
Increase your feed to 22% - protein deficiency
get a big umbrella for the run (or some other shade) - increase the space they have to move around
Branches in a corner - somewhere for the "picked on" to run and hide and gives some vertical space

All the suggestions I could think of ..... hope things go better..If I wasn't so far away, I would help you with the overcrowding.
Patricia

Thank you, those are all good suggestions. I did switch them to finisher pellet (17% protein) from the grower crumble (22% protein), not sure how long ago, it has been a couple of weeks I think. I will switch back. I'll see if I can get a tarp up there somehow. It is all wire top, continuous with the pens on either side, so not easy to spread out a tarp and secure it. It gets very, very windy here, so anything like that--umbrella would be impossible, has to be really tied down. On second thought, it will probably have to be shade cloth, not tarp, that top is flat, can't have water standing on it and we will be into our monsoon season in another month.

It seems like the picked on ones don't even try to run away. They just get picked. I can never figure that out. There is a nest box up on cinder blocks in there, plenty of room for a chicken to hide in there, or even hop into the nest boxes, and there is a roost the birds could go up on that, too. But they don't, they just get bloodied. I wonder if they just don't even feel it??

 

[Debbi]

I am so disheartened this morning. I am having major picking problems--I have a 25'x10' grow-out pen for the Marans pullets, there are 7 blue coppers and 17 black coppers in there, 2-3 months old. I found one of the smaller ones with her butt all picked and bloodied this morning. I sprayed the area with Furasol and isolated her. Finished feeding and watering some of the other birds, maybe took 15 minutes, went back to fill the feeder in the grow-out pen and there was another one picked! Same thing, smaller pullet, butt all bloodied. I found a third that was starting to be picked, her butt was just a little raw, not bloodied yet. I sprayed both of these birds also, and isolated the bloodied one. I hope they make it. I don't know if it is just one bird that is doing this or not. Of course they don't do it when I am out there and it is too hot to sit and watch. Early morning, there is a lot of shade in the front part of the pen, and that's when I saw the problem. By 9:00, there is only a small strip of shade in the back of the pen, and all the pullets are huddled back there until the sun moves around and there is shade again over more of the pen. Which means if I sit out there to watch them, I would have to be sitting in the sun and I can't. I just don't know what to do! I lost (died) a cockerel in the cockerel grow out pen yesterday, his butt was all bloodied. I am assuming he was picked and died and not that he died and then was picked. That pen is on the other side of the large yard and has a lot more shade, a lot of space. I don't know if it is the heat that is causing this, too much boredom, too many birds in pens, combination? I had a little bit of problem with some Orloffs I'm growing out, but not with any of the other breeds. I am wondering if the Marans as a breed do not take confinement as well. The 2 pullets that were bloodied badly are nice---they are ones I am keeping, nice black, no mossy, nice copper hackles. I am so upset!! I don't have anyplace else to move the birds or thin them out, I've got a sale ad on CraigsList right now selling 2-3 month old pullets $15 each buy 5 or more and I've thinned them out by selling, but still 4 or 5 left to sell from that pen. I've thought about ordering some of those peepers---always thought those were just for big commercial operations!! Anybody ever try them? They are supposed to stop picking. I am desperate. Any ideas on how to identify the culprit if it is just one bird doing the picking?

Marcy, Sorry to hear this. I know the heat and humidity here can make my birds all crazy, but I've never had a picking problem. Is there any way possible for it to be something other than a chicken doing this? Any holes in the ground on the inside of the run? Any rats around your place that you know of? Do you have a Game cam you could set up near the run so you might be able to see the culprit in action? I have two roos here that will stay with my young ones, and neither one will tolerate any squabbles amongst the youngins. These are all just out there guesses on my part as I've never had this occur. I sure hope you can get it figured out soon!

 

[Debbi]

I HAVE BABIES! 1 blrw and 1 from pinks eggs EEs 2 BR yeah! I know there is more I cant see them

Happy for you!! Here it's my Marans Hatching Anthem again; "Zip, zilch, nada! I ain't got squatta!"

 

[desertmarcy]

Marcy, Sorry to hear this. I know the heat and humidity here can make my birds all crazy, but I've never had a picking problem. Is there any way possible for it to be something other than a chicken doing this? Any holes in the ground on the inside of the run? Any rats around your place that you know of? Do you have a Game cam you could set up near the run so you might be able to see the culprit in action? I have two roos here that will stay with my young ones, and neither one will tolerate any squabbles amongst the youngins. These are all just out there guesses on my part as I've never had this occur. I sure hope you can get it figured out soon!

No, nothing else is getting them, it is picking.

 

[Debbi]

No, nothing else is getting them, it is picking.

Then I'd have to say it's probably from crowding when they all need to squeeze into the smaller area for the shade. I know mine get bored and snappy in the winter when the snow is on the ground, and the sissies don't want to leave the coop. When that happens, I toss in a couple of whole bales of good hay into the run, either alfalfa or some good clover/grass mix. They are so busy tearing up the bales, (because they think it's taboo) that they forget about the snow, spats and boredom. Plus, they get to eat all the seeds and leaves which ups the protein for them. I do have some birds that will occaisionally go after feathers on the ground and eat them. To me, this means they need a boost in their protein, so I give them some BOSS or mealworms, or better yet dry cat food, with 31% protein. That seems to end that problem...

 

[Hens and Roos]

Thank you, those are all good suggestions. I did switch them to finisher pellet (17% protein) from the grower crumble (22% protein), not sure how long ago, it has been a couple of weeks I think. I will switch back. I'll see if I can get a tarp up there somehow. It is all wire top, continuous with the pens on either side, so not easy to spread out a tarp and secure it. It gets very, very windy here, so anything like that--umbrella would be impossible, has to be really tied down. On second thought, it will probably have to be shade cloth, not tarp, that top is flat, can't have water standing on it and we will be into our monsoon season in another month.

It seems like the picked on ones don't even try to run away. They just get picked. I can never figure that out. There is a nest box up on cinder blocks in there, plenty of room for a chicken to hide in there, or even hop into the nest boxes, and there is a roost the birds could go up on that, too. But they don't, they just get bloodied. I wonder if they just don't even feel it??

We found a black mesh type tarp to use on the top of our runs, to keep it in place we used zip ties- not sure this would be a workable option for you. We have all our birds on a 22% crumble and seems to work good. Good luck with everything.

 

[desertmarcy]

Then I'd have to say it's probably from crowding when they all need to squeeze into the smaller area for the shade. I know mine get bored and snappy in the winter when the snow is on the ground, and the sissies don't want to leave the coop. When that happens, I toss in a couple of whole bales of good hay into the run, either alfalfa or some good clover/grass mix. They are so busy tearing up the bales, (because they think it's taboo) that they forget about the snow, spats and boredom. Plus, they get to eat all the seeds and leaves which ups the protein for them. I do have some birds that will occaisionally go after feathers on the ground and eat them. To me, this means they need a boost in their protein, so I give them some BOSS or mealworms, or better yet dry cat food, with 31% protein. That seems to end that problem...

I would have thought it was from crowding into the shade, but it happened early this morning when they had more shade and room.

 

[desertmarcy]

Then I'd have to say it's probably from crowding when they all need to squeeze into the smaller area for the shade. I know mine get bored and snappy in the winter when the snow is on the ground, and the sissies don't want to leave the coop. When that happens, I toss in a couple of whole bales of good hay into the run, either alfalfa or some good clover/grass mix. They are so busy tearing up the bales, (because they think it's taboo) that they forget about the snow, spats and boredom. Plus, they get to eat all the seeds and leaves which ups the protein for them. I do have some birds that will occaisionally go after feathers on the ground and eat them. To me, this means they need a boost in their protein, so I give them some BOSS or mealworms, or better yet dry cat food, with 31% protein. That seems to end that problem...

Sheesh...you know what they sell good alfalfa for around here? It is at least $14/bale, on sale!

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
I don't know how many eggs you can spare -- I had a picking problem with one of my BCM pullets last winter. Isolated her when they were confined and fed her LOADS of hard boiled eggs and she quit very quickly. I see that you don't know who is picking but maybe, if you can spare the eggs, feed LOADS of them and

That taste for blood can be hard to break. I hope you figure it out quickly!!

(PS. I also added a VERY high protein Gamebird Startena (28%) on the advice of other Marans breeders just in case and the girls seem to be MUCH happier. I call it their candy!)

 

[buckabucka]

desertmarcy, if you can identify who your pickers are, the peepers really do work. I believe there are some chickens that can't be broken of the picking habit. I have a leghorn that started picking and eating feathers as a chick. After a cooped up winter, she got worse, and a few others started picking up her habit.

I increased protein, provided entertainment (cabbage and such), and started free-ranging for part of the day, which helped, but the leghorn and one Welsummer continued picking, so they got peepers and the problem stopped. This year, I removed the peepers. The Welsummer is reformed, but the leghorn went right back to picking. She'll be wearing peepers for the duration of her time here. If you go this route, I recommend putting them on in the evening. Good luck!