Birchen Marans Thread

[Broad St Farm]

 

[Broad St Farm]

 

[reddogmama]

Thanks for the advice and your patience! I'll try to get some better pics of him when we get a little better weather!

 

[hargreavesheber]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum. So first of all hello. I'm based in the UK and have kept poultry on and off for the last 30 years. I have recently started keeping poultry again after a break due to loosing my land so starting out with a new breed to me. Marans.. I started out with Wheatens and have a small flock of 12 hens and 1 cockerel.
Whilst looking on the Web I came upon this forum and Birchen Marans. I thought they were some of the nicest birds I've seen in a long while.. .. After much searching online I only came across 2 people in the uk with them. The first guy imported his from Belgium and had no spare stock. The 2nd was a woman from a different county offered me a cockerel. Silver blue... He's 6 months old now. First of all I'd like to ask what you think of him and secondly since I only have 6 copper/french blue hens and 3 blue splash pullets only. If I put him with them what are my chances of getting Birchen chicks?
Many thanks in advance
Heber

 

[jan12]

@Hargreavesheber, I think the best bet is to find some birchen marans hens. I have read somewhere that if you cross a pure blue splash (not copper blue splash) you may get some birchen chicks. But I am no expert and have not tried that - and I don't know the outcome. I would stay away from breeding him to copper blue hens since you're trying to breed the copper out for birchen.
About your cockerel, I think the first thing that stands out to me is his upright tail. It really should be around 45 degrees. But otherwise and some minor leakage of copper on his wings, he looks pretty good to me.
I am no expert and will defer to others in this thread for better advice.

 

[lawatt]

speaking of birchen genetics, here's a question -- I have a 5 week old pure-black marans chick, & am not certain of the gender yet -- and regardless of gender, if i bred that chick (once its grown) to a birchen marans, would i get a combination of birchen and all-black chicks, or would i get something like a diluted or diminished birchen? i guess i'm not clear yet on how the silver gene(s) work(s)...

similarly, what might a male birchen x female cuckoo produce?

 

[DMRippy]

speaking of birchen genetics, here's a question -- I have a 5 week old pure-black marans chick, & am not certain of the gender yet -- and regardless of gender, if i bred that chick (once its grown) to a birchen marans, would i get a combination of birchen and all-black chicks, or would i get something like a diluted or diminished birchen? i guess i'm not clear yet on how the silver gene(s) work(s)...

similarly, what might a male birchen x female cuckoo produce?

So if you use a Birchen roo over black you would get a mix with silver. If you use a birchen hen you will get sex lined Birchens (not hat hatch) the roos will carry the silver.

A birchen male over a cuckoo would make sex links too. The roos would be a birchen/Cuckoo (not a proper look for cuckoos) and birchen pullets.

 

[DMRippy]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum. So first of all hello. I'm based in the UK and have kept poultry on and off for the last 30 years. I have recently started keeping poultry again after a break due to loosing my land so starting out with a new breed to me. Marans.. I started out with Wheatens and have a small flock of 12 hens and 1 cockerel.
Whilst looking on the Web I came upon this forum and Birchen Marans. I thought they were some of the nicest birds I've seen in a long while.. .. After much searching online I only came across 2 people in the uk with them. The first guy imported his from Belgium and had no spare stock. The 2nd was a woman from a different county offered me a cockerel. Silver blue... He's 6 months old now. First of all I'd like to ask what you think of him and secondly since I only have 6 copper/french blue hens and 3 blue splash pullets only. If I put him with them what are my chances of getting Birchen chicks?
Many thanks in advance
Heber

Do you have any pullets for him? Solid blue or black marans would be ok but a birchen would be best. I would put blacks with him and you will get 50/50 of each color. I don't breed for splash but that is just my preference.

 

[DMRippy]

@Hargreavesheber, I think the best bet is to find some birchen marans hens. I have read somewhere that if you cross a pure blue splash (not copper blue splash) you may get some birchen chicks. But I am no expert and have not tried that - and I don't know the outcome. I would stay away from breeding him to copper blue hens since you're trying to breed the copper out for birchen.
About your cockerel, I think the first thing that stands out to me is his upright tail. It really should be around 45 degrees. But otherwise and some minor leakage of copper on his wings, he looks pretty good to me.
I am no expert and will defer to others in this thread for better advice.

NO COPPER in the birchens.... that would be a mess.

 

[lawatt]

So if you use a Birchen roo over black you would get a mix with silver. If you use a birchen hen you will get sex lined Birchens (not hat hatch) the roos will carry the silver.

A birchen male over a cuckoo would make sex links too. The roos would be a birchen/Cuckoo (not a proper look for cuckoos) and birchen pullets.

thank you! are there any charts anywhere that explain how silver works -- is it one gene or more, etc? i'm just trying to get my head around it, and find that charts can make it much clearer (like charting out the BBS pattern etc.)