Marans' vigor

[flgardengirl]

I don't think Marans are high maintenance at all. My silkies are more delicate than the Marans are.
I have 4 wheatens and they do seem stockier and just as healthy as the other varieties of Marans that I have. The roos are sweeter too, except for Sweetie Pie, the shoe freak wheaten roo, who has to 'go after' any new shoes that enter his run lol. He never bites feet or people...just the new shoes. I have to wear the same old ones or else...
The problems I have had were mostly with chicks (not Marans but EEs) that I bought from a feed store.

 

[ChicksterJo]

I said that kind of tongue in cheek

They aren't actually high maintenance. I have a question though, concerning the short legs. My Marans has short legs and she's Bev Davis line, and I was wondering if shorter legs has anything to do with vigor (positive or negative).

 

[Sparklee]

Quote:
?? Weren't they accepted (Black Coppers) last month? Or did that get rescinded?

I think I need to go back to bed and start the day over.

 

[OHmamma]

Constant linebreeding too close for too long wears down the immune system in ANY type of animal. I have seen it with dogs,horses,rabbits,goats, and now chickens.

I bought all my Marans chicks from several different breeders because of that. I do keep a couple of the lines pure but those that I found "weaker" from the start or that seemed to have more genetic defects were culled or I let them free range and do not use them for breeding.

As for the original question...Yes I find that in my experience that the ones with the heavier leg feathering were more succeptible to being sick. Particularly form one breeder. Maybe ours came from the same breeder. I had a similar issue last year when I purchased 30 chicks. They were shipped form Texas to Ohio and they all arrived alive but as I got to inspecting them I found droopy eyes,webbed feet,crooked toes, and missing digits. I can't even believe the guy shipped them like that. Healthwise
they seemed fine until they were off the brooder then they literaly dropped like flies, some without even showing signs of illness. After all was said and done I have only two hens left from that bunch. The breeder had told me that his were all original WJ and that he had carefully line bred them to keep them form being too close. I find that hard to believe now and will never buy from someone like that again. I also had to disinfect and fumigate my entire poultry room in my barn before incubating and brooding this year just incase...

Another line I have is a Davis/Presley based line and it is very hardy BUT there is also a lot of English influence in it. They are not as tall as my WJ c1 roo but they are stocky and utilize their food much better. I find that the roos are firendlier and they also lay a much darker egg. I am however finding that it is hard to keep the feathers in the legs but I have grown to like them clean legged. I think they look much neater and they hold up better as far as free ranging.

This might sound wierd to some but I think that when you turn the chicks out it stresses them and if they have been harboring any illness unnoticed they will show it once they are off lights. That is why I now add asprin to their water the day I move them out and give them some fresh veggies and vitimins. I also keep them in the same area as my younger brooding chicks so they can still have the comfort of the light without as much of the heat.

But I am a little nutty about things and perhaps I consider their feelings too much. I just know I wouldn't like to live under a bright red warm light for all my life then be put in a cold & dark possibly damp coop all in one day.

Time to check the chicks!

 

[OHmamma]

Quote:
?? Weren't they accepted (Black Coppers) last month? Or did that get rescinded?

I think I need to go back to bed and start the day over.

They were accepted as a continental breed. That was why I went to my first show.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
?? Weren't they accepted (Black Coppers) last month? Or did that get rescinded?

I think I need to go back to bed and start the day over.

I think the BCs were accepted, but that is the only variety and for some reason I thought the OP was talking about Wheatens, but now that I go back and look I guess they weren't.

 

[wood&feathers]

Thanks for all the info, OHbigmamma! It sounds like you have owned enough Marans to form credible opinions. I knew my experience is lacking, but it seemed like more than coincidence that my clean legged 3 are recovered and fit, while the 3 with feathered legs dragged out sick off and on for 4 months before 2 have died.

I did wind up with a droopy-eyed girl. She is the only wheaten - though both parents appeared to be black copper. Are there other unseen weaknesses linked to this trait? She is the hen I would say is "large and in charge"!

I did the usual thing of taking the birds outside on warm afternoons for a couple weeks before putting them out full time. They were all quite eager to be out by the time they moved outside. Due to the lingering symptoms in the lesser birds (and the wacky weather of spring in KY), I kept 2 heat lamps available in various corners of the coop so they could self regulate. Plus during all this cold rain my adult birds grew addicted to dust and "sun" bathing under a lamp in our "sand box".

Chickster Jo, my adult cuckoo hen does seem to have short legs. I didn't really think about it. She just seems very "collected". She is fast on her feet in spite of short legs, and jumps and flies better than my other LF birds. I swear she is smarter than the average chicken - very social, manipulative, and always with a "plan". I call her Digger because she maintains foxholes at various places around the premises and frequently disappears for hours into them.

 

[ChicksterJo]

woods&feathers, I laughed thinking about a chicken having foxhole hideouts.

I think my Marans is a pretty smart chicken, (for what a chicken is/does). Reminds me of today when she jumped onto the roost while all the other chickens were freaking out about the broom I brought into the coop. She got out of the way and just watched me (which helped) while I kept tripping over the Red Stars who were running around like their heads had been chopped off.

 

[Sparklee]

wood&feathers, I found this earlier today on a similar site:

"... in my experience marans seem more susceptible than some breeds to mycoplasma infections. Close monitoring for symptoms is warranted."

So, I would expect that since extra protein is required to fight infections in humans (some circles state this), then it could be the same in chickens, which supports the view that extra protein is helpful, but doesn't necessarily prevent illness in all cases.

I'm not saying that your chickens have a mycoplasma infection. I have no idea what is causing your poor chickens' condition. I am just adding the above quote as support for your theory that there may be a genetic weakness in some of the Marans' strains/lines.

I will say that so far so good on my Marans. Knock wood. I don't want to paint the whole breed as troublesome when mine have been faultless when it comes to their health, mothering ability, and breeding ability. While my Marans flock is closed, my decision to not add more outside birds to my flock is reaffirmed.

 

[Debbi]

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

They (Black Coppers) were approved last month by the APA. Wheatens go up for the approval show, I believe in October.
As per Bev Davis: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=383387&p=1448 Post #14478