Marans' vigor

[cashdl]

I have araucanas which are very difficult to keep alive sometimes it seems. I hatched out 5 marans chicks this year and only have 1 left. They are kept with my Araucana babies of the same age. This year I have had good success with the Araucanas but not the marans. I am left with 1 very mossy clean legged pullet. I do have a nice roo I got last year still alive. I had gotten 2 marans pullets last year. 1 died, the other is a roo.

I don't think I am going to continue on with the marans. Nothing against them, but I only have time for 1 difficult breed.

Lanae

 

[Nostalchic]

One of my broody Australorps hens hatched out two Wheaten Maran cockerels - both had lightly feathered legs - last year and they were extremely vigorous - but only two of 10 eggs hatched. I'm trying for a few more right now, but the man I get the fertile eggs from says his incubator hatching rates are quite low for this breed, about 50%, and told me that he believes that because there are limited lines, they are closely bred and tend, generally, to have this problem. Which could also affect vigor and health after hatching, obviously.

 

[Debbi]

I feed Game Bird grower and when they are older, Game Bird conditioner feeds, about 22% protein. I aslo supplement with BOSS, millet seed, safflower, whole grain breads, plenty of fresh water, and on occaision (until I can start breeding my own!) mealworms. My birds have yet to get sick. My pullets all started laying at 5-5 1/2 months old, the older ones started in Nov. 2010 and haven't stopped yet, still producing nicely colored eggs, and on average 5 per week. These are fast growing birds, with big frames, and I feel they need the extra protein. That is what I was advised when I started, and that's what I do now. We had a horrendous winter here this past year, and an extremely WET spring so far with more rain on the way. Our temps can and have already, gone from 89* during the day, down to 25* at night. We've just had two nights of frost after wet and cool days. NO sick birds here. I do not use external heat sources for my birds. They live in a draft-free coop with good ventilation, and are allowed to free range for a good part of most days. I use a feed with animal protein as opposed to soy protein. I don't like soy...period. Cheap protein but not so great for fertility or quality of amino acids. I also find that by feeding the higher protein, that they require less feed. That's just me folks, I do what is working for me. I guess if you want to find out what Bev or Brenda feed, you should ask them?

 

[lebentier]

i have only one adult marans, a wheaten, but she is definitely large-and-in-charge. never sick and i think she is practically indestructable. oh, and purchased from a small breeder. i must have the exception to the rule.

 

[wood&feathers]

My remaining Wheaten is indeed "large-and-in-charge", but I am not sure that will protect her from illness. Dixie even ranks over one of the 1 year old hens!

I was feeding high protein because I like my birds to have good strong, shiny feathers (I use their shed feathers in crafts). I started the high protein and feeding protein treats before getting the Marans. I suspect there is extra protein need for a laying Marans. Could that be a result of the demands resulting from putting all that extra bloom on the eggs? But I don't know why the rest of the birds, chicks or cockerels, should need extra protein.

I wonder if the split in hardiness among my birds reflects the more numerous lines on the clean legged English stock that has been in hatchery lines longer. My cuckoo hen certainly seems to be a robust and productive bird. But her eggs aren't much darker than a RIR. Personally I am not in search of the super dark eggs, just the shiny extra bloom. I believe it extends shelf life for the eggs in my fridge.

I am sorry to hear the wheaten may not be as hardy. I really liked the 2 we got, and everyone loves Dixie. She was the first to jump in my lap this morning, even though I was ruffling feathers to check for bugs!

 

[Katy]

I started out with cuckoos from a breeder about 8 years ago....then I added the wheatens 3 1/2 years ago. I liked my wheatens so much I sold off my cuckoos. I don't pamper mine and they do fine as both chicks and adults. I've lost a hen to being egg bound but other than that they've had no issues. I'm sorry that some of you are having issues with the variety.

 

[Sparklee]

Quote:
I was trying to figure out what your feelings (see above quote) were based on. So I guess your feeling that Marans need a higher protein count in their feed is based on personal experience starting last year and what you were "advised when you started" by someone unknown. Okay. Good enough.

Quote:
Ouch. I guess I didn't make myself clear. Sorry about that. I was trying to figure out which flavor of Marans expert may have stated that Marans need a higher protein count in their feed or if there was some published evidence of some sort because you sounded definitive. Your personal experience, though, is of value. I'm glad you shared it. Over the years to come, it's something that should be kept in mind when others come forward and tell us that their experience is the same. However, I don't think I'm happy to hear it because, if it's true (and it's not in my case ... yet), then it's a black mark on the Marans breed if they need extra protein due to a weakness. I'm not really sure of all the implications.

Quote:
You said it. It sounds like you and I are raising our birds similarly. Ours get millet, but it's in their feed. Really, though, I think it's only 9% protein, right? So it's not high at all. Our birds get mealworms (when I'm keeping up with the bins, usually just chicks get them). Sunflower seeds daily or ground up for chicks. No supplemental heat after 4-8 weeks depending on overnight weather. Free range as early as possible. Plenty of ventilation without drafts at night because those fumes can ruin good chicken lungs, etc., and I can't scoop/scrape every day.

While I'm sorry folks have had such trying times with their Marans, I'm glad so many shared that they have vigor problems. I find it puzzling. I'm hoping it's not breed related and that instead it's just a normal percentage of sickness that affects all breeds and groups.

It sounds like eggs from your healthy Marans, Debbi, are the ones folks should buy.

 

[ChicksterJo]

I'm going to chime in because I was a little worried with their vigor at first, too. But then they started growing so big so fast that I figured they're healthy birds anyway. I had two black coppers, one pullet and one roo, and I still have a blue copper girl. My black copper pullet had very little feathering (almost none) and she suddenly died just a couple of weeks ago. I don't know from what, because she looked healthy one minute (no symptoms that I could see or hear, etc.) and she just flopped over, had a seizure, and died. I had to give back my black copper roo but he was BIG and healthy. My blue girl is doing well. I didn't really baby them when they were chicks, either. At three weeks old, I started turning off the heat lamp at night (given that they were in a room with no drafts).
I didn't feed them feed with extra protein. So far I am enjoying this breed. To me they feel more high maintenance than my red sex-links because I paid more for the former than for the latter

 

[Debbi]

Sparklee ,

Sorry if I came across as curt when refering to Bev or Brenda's chicken rations, that was not my intent. All people that raise Marans seem to have a different feeding program, but the one's that seem to have the best looking and laying birds all seem to have a higher protein formula. When I first started with mine, I hatched a clutch of 4, and fed as I had fed chickens in the past. It had been 18 years since I had had any chickens, so there was much to learn. Although my first birds were fast growers and were healthy, I was seeing a difference between mine and some other's birds. It was advised to me to up the protein in the feed, so I tried it. When I did, the chicks grew quicker, feathers developed faster, they had more energy, framed out quicker, and just looked and acted healthier. Since I started using the Game Bird feed at 22% as their basic ration, I noticed they are actually eating less, but looking better. Better utilization of the feed? This is not a breed, I would say, that would be classified as "easy keepers". You know the types, throw anything in the pen and they seem to thrive. These birds also eat more like ponies than chickens!

Little pigs with feathers, but now that they are older and can be let out to free range, that has helped a bunch too. Due to all the hawks in this area, I won't let them out until they are of a good size. I love this breed, they are quite the clowns, and so very entertaining. They are also very challenging when it comes to breeding towards the SOP AND acheiving nicely colored eggs. Mine are very much a work in progress as I am a small breeder with limited space. I don't and won't sell chicks or eggs until I can see what is being produced, cull for DQs and serious faults, and get some kind of consistency in conformation/color and egg color and production. These birds are for my personal pleasure for right now, but if along the way I can produce something to further the breed, then that's all I could hope for.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Don't you mean the a proposed SOP since they aren't accepted by the APA yet?