Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome! - Page 3923

Vicki.... did you ever think to ask your dad why you always pick bird with GREEN sheen? 

I just read what the PURPLE sheen is.... Mahogany .... that maybe why you AVOID the Purple.  So avoiding PURPLE sheen would maybe breed out the MH genes or at least get them to mh.

Did I learn something?  IDK LOL..... 

Debbi I am reading that link you put up on the Color of Plumage... the page is gone BTW.... I saved it to a PDF
 

I'm new to raising Marans.  I purchased a small handful of Cuckoo chicks from a woman about an hour away.  I ended up raising about eight of them--two roosters and the rest hens.  The first winter, I had quite a few of them get sick and die, and I was down to five or six.  Some died the second winter, and then I've had one or two die last year (third winter).  I am down to about three hens and a rooster.  This group is not hardy, BUT when they were young (first two years), they laid a surprisingly dark egg for cuckoos. 

I called the woman I purchase them from to try to get replacements, and she said she sold them to someone.  She would not tell me who, and of course, I have no idea what they were sick with (I imagine she knows since she moved all her chicken pens completely away from the area that she had them). 

I purchased some more chicks from someone who promised the chicks were from dark eggs, and they were from brown eggs (more like RIR).  I was pretty sick about it, but I remembered reading that the roos are the ones that make the egg color in their daughters so I was a bit encouraged.

Unfortunately, the birds still keep getting sick.  (They get a thick, gooey substance in their eye and finally go blind, and I'm thinking it could be Marek's disease.  However, the odd thing is that I've had all my other birds in pens right next to them (I was clueless that they had anything and didn't understand why some got an eye infection and died), and not a single bird has gotten it in the surrounding pens.  They don't get tumors just that goo in their eyes--usually only in one.  I put a few hens in with them, and I've had one or two get it, and they died, but the other birds have not gotten it.  This is a four year thing now, and nobody else gets it, so whatever it is must only be contagious if in direct contact or it could be genetic, but if genetic, why did the woman I got them from move all her three flocks completely away from the area.)  I took one that had died in to have it checked at a univeristy lab, but they could not determine what the problem was from that dead hen.  They asked for a live bird.  I'm down to so few that I don't dare give them a live bird (it would have to be a hen) for fear I will get rid of the best one.

I have one roo that is about four and acting like he isn't doing well.  I have three hens.  I managed to get two cockerels this spring before I started having problems with my incubator.  I did not get any pullets.

I have looked online at eBay to see what color eggs are from Cuckoos, and all of them that I've seen are lighter than the ones from my hens.   I don't want to get another problem.

I'm pretty frustrated with my situation, but I love the dark eggs.  I also love the look of the cuckoos and don't want another color.  I was told that, if I want dark eggs, I should get some Welsummers.  But they have one color variety, and it is not a color I like (my preference tends toward black and white colors).  Although the coppers are very pretty colors, I just don't like the brown/red and black.  And I do not like white.  I considered trying lemon cuckoo, but I don't see that they have any egg color, and part of the reason I want Marans is the egg color.

Does anyone have any thoughts that would help me get past this hump and keep the birds I have?  I am not going to turn over one of my live birds to have them kill it and see what is wrong.  I can't afford the loss of the bird.  If I can get six or eight, I might then, but I don't dare do it now with only three hens and one rooster (and I'm not even sure which of the hens I have now are producing the lighter eggs.  I know I had one this year that produced the dark egg (and probably two), but one of my hens is sick now, so I would imagine it must be one of the dark layers).

Any helpful thoughts would be appreciated.  I imagine there has to be others that produce dark egged Cuckoos, but I surely haven't found anyone at this point.

Ok folks... I did it.  Got pics of my butthead black copper boys.    Let me just preface this with...they don't really like it when I grab them and take pictures.  lol

Ok, I have 6 black copper cockerels.  They are 5 1/2 months old.  I hope to end up with two of them that are decent enough to keep.  I see DQ's in many of them.  I have taken 4 pictures of each one and will be listing them by their leg band number.

NUMBER 6  my notes: tail is straight up, some copper leakage on chest, wobble in front of comb.

NUMBER 4  my notes: tail seems to be 45 angle, wobble in front of comb, white under fluff in tail, possible thumbprint in comb. Very minimal copper leakage on chest.

NUMBER 5  my notes: comb seems decent, white fluff in tail, decent tail angle, not much copper leakage, sparse leg feathering

NUMBER 7  my notes: weird twisted feathers in wings, smallish comb, tail angle high, generally weird body shape to my eyes.

Edit... removed pics of number 7 cuz I already know he is a goner.

NUMBER 2  my notes; tail is high, no copper leakage on chest.

NUMBER 3  my notes: side springs, tail straight up and down, no copper leak on chest.

Edit:  removed pics of number 3 cuz of his side springs....lol  sprigs. And he is a goner.

There now only 4 birds, might make it easier.

Well there ya have it.  This is my first time culling black copper marans so I need help.  From my "notes" you can tell what I am looking at mostly...tails, combs, chest color.  I need help training my eye to see what I need in these birds.   Are there two birds worth keeping in this bunch?

Thank you so much!

Deep cleansing sigh  *that moment when you realize that you must totally start over*.

I think I will keep one BCM to make olive eggers and what not...  and start looking again for marans.

Just wanted to share a photo of my cuckoo marans.