Wheaten and Blue wheaten Marans Discussion Thread

[Katy]

Quote:

Pretty boy, but I see the cottonball and a couple of white sickle feathers as well (in the second pic). Being 5 months old, he may molt them out in his adult molt?

The one in the forefront of the picture is almost 3...the younger one is towards the rear. He does have a little fluff but not too bad. I really hadn't noticed the white in his sickle feathers....I'm going to have to check them out in the light tomorrow. In the one picture it looks like it's the sky showing thru the space between his feathers.

 

[knjinnm]

Quote:
Hi Debbi,
No doubt the limited gene pool is a "MAJOR" problem but there will not be a "gets (and releases) a new set, or sets, of genes".
We have what we have.
We have to work out the kinks. If the APA comes up with a standard we can't reach then we have to have more Marans USA show that meet our standards.
The problem with "takes time" is many hobbyist drop out and resort to "EE'S" which isn't all bad because EE's bring new people into the hobby, but the turnover is horrendous.
I don't believe "While I hope the Marans does get APA approval, in the back of my mind I keep thinking, it may be too soon."
The APA "SHOULD" be looking at what's best for Marans and that may be accepting the European standard since Europe has the genetic diversity to further the breed.
Our problem is "SARS, Bird flu ... etc" If we wanted Marans to develop we should send 1000 eggs to Asia and let them know eggs are worth $5.00/ea or chicks are worth $10.00/ea .. ask the orchid or betta Splenden breeders ... there would be more varieties than we could imagine ... and all eggs colors would be a 10!
Joe

 

[jeremy]

Quote:
This is a French breed, so that would make a lot of sense...

Why is there a difference in the standards? Do Marans from France have that many differences in appearance than their American cousins?

To address the lack of genetic diversity... why not just import some more? There are lots of Orp people doing it right now...

 

[Medicine Man]

Lack of genetic diversity, it would help if so many peple were not so terrified to cross lines as though they were different species.

 

[Illia]

Crossing Golden Salmon and Wheaten birds won't hurt too much, however it won't solve the cottonball issue.

Crossing with Black Coppers may solve the issue, but I'm hoping if anyone works on this, they consider two things:

Work with a typey Marans, no serious faults, and with REALLY good egg color

Make sure you're experienced and know genetics, so the second generation birds will be worked with properly.

 

[jeremy]

Quote:
Why is crossing lines so terrible?

 

[Medicine Man]

Quote:
Why is crossing lines so terrible?

I dont think it is, but I read it a lot. My BCs are all mixed and I'm happy with them.

 

[berkeleysprings]

it depends on the lines and the faults they carry
Quote:
Why is crossing lines so terrible?

 

[jeremy]

Quote:
Why is crossing lines so terrible?

I dont think it is, but I read it a lot. My BCs are all mixed and I'm happy with them.

For those that say mixing lines will ruin a bird's egg color, yours should be testament that there's no truth to that at all!

Quote:
Why is crossing lines so terrible?


But wouldn't selective breeding fix that issue?

 

[blackdotte]

Ok, so now that there is a greater understanding of genetics why aren't they changing the way they decide things, taking all into consideration?

Usually because the people in charge of Standards, in any country, are very conservative and have a "what was good enough for Grandad is good enough for me" or " If it's not broken don't try to fix it" attitudes. Also very few have any understanding, or interest, in poultry genetics.

Why is crossing lines so terrible?

It isn't if you know what you are doing. If you don't you can run into major problems. The French often talk about Marans families, what then are referring to is that groups of varieties are based on different 'e' alleles.
Black, Cuckoo & their Blue variants are based on Extended Black
Brown-Red (BC), & Birchen & their Blue variants are based on Birchen
Wheaten, Columbian,Black-tailed Buff & their Blue variants are based on Wheaten
Golden Salmon,Silver Salmon & Golden Cuckoo & their Blue variants are based on wild type Duck wing
White can be based on any, but the more melanised Extended Black & Birchen are usually avoided.

Mating between the above can result in grey shanked birds were the requird colour is white, etc

Crossing Golden Salmon and Wheaten birds won't hurt too much

Sorry I tend to disagree. I see many photos of so called Golden Salmon hens that do not have the required rose coloured breast. The males are nearly indistinguishable unfortunately. When barring is added to these birds they get called Golden Cuckoo, when in fact they aren't, they are Cuckoo Black-tailed Buffs.
Sorry it's a bit off the topic of Wheatens
David​