Let's talk Cuckoo and WHITE marans... breeding strategies...

[OHmamma]

Is there a stable line of Blacks? Just wondering. I was reading today that they are usualy just overmelanised coppers and the red-brown can show up later. That could have just been UK.

Does anyone have pictures of Ghost Barring? I have some juvies that are from a crossing of a BC roo over my Cuckoo hen. I was looking over them today (because they are so friendly and lovey) and I could almost see the barring but from a distance he looks solid just like a BC.

My whites are growing so fast I need to post some more pictures of them. They are becoming very tame as well.

Still crossing my fingers for my Bantam Cuckoo Marans eggs from TN, I can candle and see growth. They go in lockdown in one day.......it is my last hatch of the year I hope it is a good one!

Look how sweet.

 

[OHmamma]

Quote:
Blue Tailed buff?? I think I have seen it somewhere. Love the hackles!

 

[Lotsapaints]

Quote:
Blue Tailed Buff wow don't tell Pink....Hen Tymes you would want to use Salmon, Black Tailed Buff , Black Copper or Wheaten for Golden's. Black would be for Silver Cuckoos and true black is hard to find very rare.....I would like some Silver Salmons those are beautiful

only problem is the egg color is lacking with most of the rare colors

I'm happy with my new Blue Birchens and I hatched a couple of Salmons and have some more in the incubator.....I do like the rarer colors I want to make some nice Blue Cuckoos with great egg color and I'm working in the right direction with my Golden Cuckoos it's just one step at a time

 

[Goose and Fig]

Quote:
Isn't he awesome?!?! I know- not to standard at all, but I have to use him for something. Most of the chicks I have hatched form him carry the same excessive red. Fingers crossed for a girl!

The marans are so much fun! I agree lotsapaints- the silver salmon are soooo pretty.

 

[HenThymes]

Quote:
Blue Tailed Buff wow don't tell Pink....Hen Tymes you would want to use Salmon, Black Tailed Buff , Black Copper or Wheaten for Golden's. Black would be for Silver Cuckoos and true black is hard to find very rare.....I would like some Silver Salmons those are beautiful

only problem is the egg color is lacking with most of the rare colors

I'm happy with my new Blue Birchens and I hatched a couple of Salmons and have some more in the incubator.....I do like the rarer colors I want to make some nice Blue Cuckoos with great egg color and I'm working in the right direction with my Golden Cuckoos it's just one step at a time

They are running with my gold male and my wheaten at the moment and I did see the wheaten breeding or trying to breed one the other day. He is expected to leave soon, maybe I should save some of these eggs and try to hatch a few, band them and see what the next generation egg color brings?? Once he leaves I am just down to my all gold trio. Good side is the they are all French including the wheaten.

The blacks I have are suppose to be solid black, they are still very young and growing so only time will tell. I do have a couple of cockerels that just tower the others in the group, will be very interesting to see how they all finish out??

 

[KZ]

Ok, so maybe this is a silly question, but are white marans rare at all? I have the most beautiful white cockerel that apparently hatched as a sport from BCM eggs and I can't really decide what I should do with him. He is about 12 weeks now, and I don't want to get rid of him, but I really don't want to breed him with with my BCMs (different hatch not related) because as I understand it, I will be introducing that white gene into the offspring, right?

I have blue and blue splash marans that I was thinking I could breed him with, because my understanding is his genetics should be the same as a black marans and give me blue or black offspring (right?). How would I get other white offspring?

Here is a picture of him about 2 weeks ago. Honestly, he gets more stunning each week. Big gorgeous bird.

 

[VillageChicken]

Quote:
Yes, that is correct. You'd need to breed a few blue or black pullets from him and breed them back to him, and you'd get about half whites.
I don't think whites are so rare, it is just that they are only recently becoming a bit more popular. They are out there if you look for them.

 

[VillageChicken]

Quote:
Blue Tailed Buff wow don't tell Pink....Hen Tymes you would want to use Salmon, Black Tailed Buff , Black Copper or Wheaten for Golden's. Black would be for Silver Cuckoos and true black is hard to find very rare.....I would like some Silver Salmons those are beautiful

only problem is the egg color is lacking with most of the rare colors

I'm happy with my new Blue Birchens and I hatched a couple of Salmons and have some more in the incubator.....I do like the rarer colors I want to make some nice Blue Cuckoos with great egg color and I'm working in the right direction with my Golden Cuckoos it's just one step at a time

Golden Cuckoo according to the only standard I have found (british) is for a crele pattern, or barred "golden salmon". Blacktailed buff will not give you the proper color barring in wings or breast, just a barred buff bird. Blacktailed buff carries unwanted genes like Db that reduce the amount of black in the bird, and make it more orange than "golden". Barring also dilutes the red, it is very hard to get a barred red bird - they usually end up barred buff. And using wheatens might give you a correct Golden Cuckoo colored rooster, but the hens will all be the wrong color. Mixing any of the above stated "options" will only complicate matters and create offspring that don't breed true or produce anything that looks like the parents. At the time, since very few golden salmons have good Marans type or egg color, the best option is a good silver cuckoo (it would have a more stable genetic background than the mystery genes of most golden cuckoos) crossed to black copper. You won't get the barred tan wing triangle, but the standard hasn't been written, and most people aren't even paying attention or even care.

 

[VillageChicken]

Quote:
I think there are a few lines out there, but the ones with good egg color are from black coppers. It came up several months ago in a discussion about "solid blues" and it turned out most of the ones with good egg color are BCM based. The extra melanizers are often recessive though, so they should breed true if you don't mix anything else in. I've not heard about gold leakage in any of the good BBS lines.

Not sure what you mean by Ghost Barring. I have a barred columbian that has barely visible barring on the white areas, but I thought a bird was either barred or not barred. A very dark or fast feathering single factor barred bird will have the more "marbled" cuckoo pattern rather than clean barring - but I think that is preferred in Marans, at least in hens.

 

[Goose and Fig]

Quote:
Blue Tailed Buff wow don't tell Pink....Hen Tymes you would want to use Salmon, Black Tailed Buff , Black Copper or Wheaten for Golden's. Black would be for Silver Cuckoos and true black is hard to find very rare.....I would like some Silver Salmons those are beautiful

only problem is the egg color is lacking with most of the rare colors

I'm happy with my new Blue Birchens and I hatched a couple of Salmons and have some more in the incubator.....I do like the rarer colors I want to make some nice Blue Cuckoos with great egg color and I'm working in the right direction with my Golden Cuckoos it's just one step at a time

Golden Cuckoo according to the only standard I have found (british) is for a crele pattern, or barred "golden salmon". Blacktailed buff will not give you the proper color barring in wings or breast, just a barred buff bird. Blacktailed buff carries unwanted genes like Db that reduce the amount of black in the bird, and make it more orange than "golden". Barring also dilutes the red, it is very hard to get a barred red bird - they usually end up barred buff. And using wheatens might give you a correct Golden Cuckoo colored rooster, but the hens will all be the wrong color. Mixing any of the above stated "options" will only complicate matters and create offspring that don't breed true or produce anything that looks like the parents. At the time, since very few golden salmons have good Marans type or egg color, the best option is a good silver cuckoo (it would have a more stable genetic background than the mystery genes of most golden cuckoos) crossed to black copper. You won't get the barred tan wing triangle, but the standard hasn't been written, and most people aren't even paying attention or even care.

Thank you!!!!! There's something I can wrap my head around.