Barred Rocks and Cuckoo Marans look identicle???

By standard Plymouth Rocks have Yellow legs and Marans have White legs. Depending on where you got them they could even be a cross??

Are you talking about Hatchery Stock or Breeder stock?

Hatchery stock will look pretty much the same but breeder stock should look nothing a like.

Chris

x2

Hatchery barred rocks may or may not have yellow legs (the ones I have had did not), and the barring may be pretty fuzzy.  Exhibition lines of barred rocks will be much larger than hatchery birds, will have yellow legs and crisp, precise lines of barring.  Think of it as looking like lines drawn with a marker while using a straight edge.  Cuckoo barring, in comparison would look like lines drawn freehand with a crayon or piece of chalk.  I've not seen any hatchery marans (that I know of), so I can't say how far off their barring would be, but I suspect it would not be as fuzzy as exhibition cuckoo birds.

Also, marans may have lightly feathered legs, depending on the breeding.

Breeder stock marans will have much less white in their barring. The barring will also be messier than the BR.

As others stated, the BR have yellow legs, and the marans have white/pink. I do have a BR who somehow got pink legs. Both parents were pure BR with yellow legs. I assume there was something mixed in a few generations before.

Oh it should be pretty easy to tell them apart, just listen...

Your Barred Rock will sound American and your Marans should have a French accent!

It's all in the cluck.

  And the Cuckoos will say, "oooo la la" when they lay an egg!  If they are hatchery Cuckoos, don't expect the eggs to be much darker than the BRs.

I have hatchery BRs and hatchery Cuckoo Marans.  The BRs are barred where as the CMs are mostly black with a hint of barring, but I can't really call it barring.  The CMs have smaller combs.  Their legs are pinkish white while the BR legs are yellow.  I really like the BR personalities better.  The BRs seem to be more mellow and more people friendly.

I had three cuckoo marans one time from cackle hatchery. Two started out laying a 2 on the marans scale and NEVER laid darker than a 2 and the third hen would occasionally lay a 4 and lighten to a 2. And one of the cuckoo hens had spurs needless to say I won't be buying any cuckoo marans from cackle hatchery anymore.