BCM chicks problems

[enola]

Cuckoo marans are auto sexing.

 

[Country Marans]

Oh, sorry. I meant when you cross them with black copper roos. You get gold cuckoo cocks and black copper pullets, right? I'm new at all this, I don't even know if you can tell them apart that way, either.

 

[snowbird]

Well, I can see the fused toes on Ostrich as an incubation problem, but the stunted toes on others is definitely genetic (seeing as there is more than one chick with this problem.) I would really like to hear otherwise, but it seems to be a pretty definite thing... 3riverschick, you said that you quit raising Marans because of color issues, but did you experience the toes problem yourself? I know a lot of people have had a rough way with this relatively new breed, but they seem to be gaining popularity so... if mine is just a freak thing, I would definitely want to try again. They do seem to be very smart.

Well let me give you some info on Marans. Most all Marans chicks are hatched with yellow shanks and they will change with time most of the time. The fused toes are a genetic fault and should be culled as breeders. Do not worry about the White feathers until after the Juve molt. If the short toe is the outside toe it is called a Rudimentary toe, and happens on feather leg breeds and is not to be a fault, I prefer not to use them in my breeding program though.

 

[Country Marans]

Wow, that's great! Thanks snowbird!

 

[3riverschick]

Well, I can see the fused toes on Ostrich as an incubation problem, but the stunted toes on others is definitely genetic (seeing as there is more than one chick with this problem.) I would really like to hear otherwise, but it seems to be a pretty definite thing... 3riverschick, you said that you quit raising Marans because of color issues, but did you experience the toes problem yourself? I know a lot of people have had a rough way with this relatively new breed, but they seem to be gaining popularity so... if mine is just a freak thing, I would definitely want to try again. They do seem to be very smart.

Yes, I had toe problems. Once it was genetic. the other time I raised my chicks on slick newspaper. all 12 had crooked toes and feet. I knew to raise them on chips but decided that time I would just use newspaper instead. What a mistake 12 chicks ruined. I found out later that when chicks are raised on newspaper, the sleep with their toes curled underneath them and the toes grow crooked. On the chips, they must tend to lay on stretched out toes because I didn't have that problem when I used hardwood chips.
Best,
Karen
Find someone with a vintage ;line-bred strain. Fugate, Fitch, Little Peddler, Bev Davis , etc. Buy the pure strain and get egg shells from the dam and the sire's mom before you buy. That's where the dark egg genes come from. Tell the breeder you want "foundation birds". A trio ( one boy, two girls) which is of the same strain but you want to be able to bred the girls to the boy. Then follow the breeder's advice for establishing a strain. If you can get older retiring breeder birds and then you can mate them this year and hatch with the rest of us. often a breeder will have older birds they simply don't need anymore because they have enough get from them to proceed. With Marans it is doubly important to get the very best stock to start with. Check the show results online and see who is winning consistently at the shows. Preferably in your region of the country.
I don't think this is funny at all. You have a right to be upset and the breeder owes you a refund. Full price for every disfigured chick plus shipping. And don't take replacement stock either. You got rooked.

 

[Country Marans]

Update: The chicks with white feathers turned out to be black coppers, and the ones I mentioned having copper barring? Partridge. Somehow I ended up with three partridge Marans hens, and the breeder doesn't even have- or at least advertise for- this color. I don't know how it happened, but they are turning out really pretty!

These photos aren't recent to the day, but my roo here has grown gold neck feathers, as has the partridge hen below him.

 

[3riverschick]

That bottom chick is not a partridge. eb (brown) based partridge doesn't exist in the Marans breed
because the eb gene isn't in the breed( or shouldn't be). I think that is poor autosomal barring in
your young chick. Keep it and find out what it will feather out as an adult.
Best,
Karen

 

[Country Marans]

Here's what the brown ones turned into. Unfortunately, all of them have some kind of toe defect. I'm guessing they shared a parent. I'm sure the eggs will eat fine, though!


And here's what 'roaster' turned out to look like.


And here's the only black hen I ended up with. If you'll notice, she lacks the copper head, as does two of the three blues. Only one blue with a copper head. Hope she lives to breeding age.

They all still have the white feathers on the wing-tips, but are mid-molt as I type this. Will update when the 'big girl' and 'big boy' feathers come in.

 

[3riverschick]

Oh that's too bad. there is nothing here worth breeding. Well, start over again. been there, done that multiple times in Marans. Don't get discouraged. You can always sell these are egg layers or use them in your egg flock. Go online and look up results for the Marans national meet for the last 3 years. Look at the body type of the birds which win the high awards. See those deep bodies and width of body? That' important for a Marans. They are also a meat bird. Look up the Newnan, Georgia poultry show. That's usually where they have the national meet. Contact the folks who won and get some eggs from them, or chicks. It's not too late in the year yet to hatch egg for winter layers, if you do it right now. If you can get started chicks, that's even better as the breeder will have assayed them for excellence at least once by now. Pay the bit extra for started birds, you won't regret it. Then you can show your birds eggs and even the birds, if you want and start hatching with the rest of the Marans fancy next year.
here, go here: http://www.poultryshowcentral.com Check the breeder's directory where folk selling show quality Marans. Pick one from a vintage strain. Ask them how long they have been breeding that strain. The Little Peddler birds from Brenda are French in origin. Australia bred Marans are too big to show here in the USA. Some breeders have combined the Aussies with the smaller USA Marans to down size them a bit for showing. Ask the breeders where they show and what they won. You are seeking a breeder who has won in quality competition. Now just against 1 or 2 other Marans. Also ask them if they show their eggs. It's not a DQ if they don't just interesting if they do and you want to also.
I suspect a lot of the folks listed also hang out here on BYC which is a great resource for contacting them and discussing their birds. Get the names from there and then come back here and look for them on the many Marans threads here in BYC. That way you can actually discuss the birds here and see topics and stuff.
Best,
Karen

 

[Country Marans]

Yeah, the gal I bought them from was a newbie. I guess I should have done little more research before I bought them instead of after. I wouldn't be so upset if I had actually gotten what I had ordered instead of three brown 'curly-toed weirdoes.' I'll just have to wait and see about the egg color. If it's good enough, I might sell a few chicks for eggies until I have enough chicken funds to pay for a pair of GFF Marans.