Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Debbi]

Good morning everyone. I just woke up. I am exhausted. I have been studying all week for a huge test. My brain is fried and Im worn out mentally and physically and I have a few days yet. Its been so long since I had to study for anything. Im stressed that Im not retaining enough and I have to pass this. I just put another Roo up for free. Developed white real bad. He looks like he's an old Rooster! Now I have 2 to get rid of. I want to get them out of my pens. What would be an acceptable humane sized cages to put these roos in until either I get rid of them or butcher them?

As long as you are not going to keep them in these cages for weeks at a time with no outlet, I would shop around on Craig's List for some large, wire dog crates. These can also come in handy when you need to transport some birds. Any animal swaps in your area where you could sell/give these roos away?

 

[CountryFriedChicken]

Vicki~
DH has pretty much made up his mind and ix-nay'd Montana and the final decision is Colorado. We are surfing, but we can't do much else until this place goes. He was ready to leave Washington 10 years ago, but I would not commit to leaving until recently. Colorado is closer to sneaking over and borrowing that Luella anyways, LOL!

Lucky... I have been itching to move out there. Hopefully in a few years. I found out that one of my dad's exes just moved there... working at a community college close to Golden/Denver.

 

[Debbi]

Wow! Kim's moving to Colorado?? My Son is in Colorado Springs area. Watch the areas you want to move to, the cost of living is very high in some! Maybe you need to move Easter, that's more east in Missourian speak!

Lots of construction going on out here, despite the lull elsewhere.

 

[Debbi]

Hey Vicki, I'm baaaccckkk! And now, I've got purple too! Yehaaawww!!!

 

[laughingclown]

As long as you are not going to keep them in these cages for weeks at a time with no outlet, I would shop around on Craig's List for some large, wire dog crates. These can also come in handy when you need to transport some birds. Any animal swaps in your area where you could sell/give these roos away?

I dont want them to be a sardine or like what they do for veal. I want something ample in size so they can move. Where I live space is a premium. So if I can move a Roo out and a Hen in thats what I would like.

 

[RyeRanch]

Welcome back. Glad thing are starting to look up for you.

 

[gilavina]

Hey Vicki, I'm baaaccckkk! And now, I've got purple too! Yehaaawww!!!

Yay!

I've MISSED YOU!!!!!

 

[berkeleysprings]

[COLOR=800080]Hi all! It's been awhile since I've been here, trying to pull my arse out of some personal muck, so it's been slow going. Feeling a bit better now, and starting to enjoy the chooks again. No telling how many pages behind I am, not even going to look! If I missed anything of real importance, I'm sure I'll stumble across it somewhere. Nice to be able to finally start to see daylight again, I have missed this place, and you guys![/COLOR]

nice to see you back . glad your ok. i was starting to worry.

 

[Debbi]

Thanks all! Things still aren't the greatest here, but at least there is now light at the end of the tunnel. Hi Randy! I was just checking out the chicklets yesterday, the three are 16 weeks old today. Miss Wheatie Pie is growing up quickly. I noticed her comb seems very red? Don't know if that has to do with her color that I am not familiar with, or if she is going to be an early layer?? 4 months seems a tad too young, and didn't you say your girls don't usually start to lay until 7 months or so? Clyde isn't chasing her yet, and he has been my best indicator so far as watching for POL.

Remember the black chick with no tail? Everyone thought roo, well my gut was right, it's a pullet. Odd chicken it is, still no tail! She does have a tail bone, so not rumpless. The tail kind of wraps down over her privates, if you will. She also had two feathers, one on each side, sticking straight out towards the rear. I notice she lost them the other day to one of the older hens who was being a turd. So, her name is "Kiwi", as in the Australian bird. The Blue girl, Gabby, the one who would never shut up, is looking good to. All three have nice combs!!!

So at least there is an improvement there; and they all three have lovely shank/toe feathering. Those were two obstacles I had to overcome here, and Clyde seemed to fix both. I was also worried about the eye color on the black one, as her mother, Olivia, has almost black eyes. Kiwi's eyes are going to be a nice color! Pip, yes, the ingrate, is still with me, and he seems to have settled down quite a bit. He has two cinnamon edged feathers now in his primaries, so there had to be a BCMxWheaten mix in there someplace. If he had a bigger wing triangle, he would look all Wheaten. Funny, how the cinnamon has just now showed up at 2 years old? Will have to try to get some pics of the chicklets today. Hoping it doesn't get too warm today and the yellow jackets get riled up, as I need to clean out the coops, and muck out some of the runs. We had quite a bit of rain here last week, and it is a soupy mess!

 

[Debbi]

Hi Vicki!! Did you finally get some rain relief up there?? Seems like it's an all or nothing thing down here any more, and we made up for it in spades over the last month or so. Probably got 3" or better the other day! I'm still trying to cull down the Silkie flock with no success. Feed prices here keep going up, and the sales of all livestock seems to have come to a screeching halt. Need to move some of the roos, so there may be a give away in the near future! Going to try some turkeys in the spring. Hope to get some more eggs from Randy too come spring. I am afraid to look at the winter forecast this year, I am hoping for another mild one, but it's probably not likely. I will muddle through somehow...