Blue Cuckoo Marans

[LoneStarHen]

My pet and most prized rooster was killed yesterday by a neighbors dog.

I'm very distressed about the whole thing. He was a cross between an EE rooster and a cuckoo maran hen. He was gorgeous and looked like a blue cuckoo maran with a beard. He followed me around, sat in my lap, and was more like a dog than a chicken. Right now I am saving all of the eggs that I can to see if I can hatch some of his offspring.

While I know quite a bit about horse colors, I know very little about feather color genetics. Currently I have a mixed flock of EE and marans. I've spent the last two years working on improving the traits I want in my flock as well as having diverse egg colors.

He is the only bird I've ever hatched with the cuckoo markings so far. With the risk of getting flamed from purists, how can I repeat this combination? I loved him and his color very much. He is irreplaceable, but I'd love to see if I can repeat the color.

His sire is no longer living (red EE with blue tail and wings), but I currently have two of his sons one who is all blue, and one who has some blue, and I still have my cuckoo ladies. Will the blue roo + a maran hen possibly give me another blue cuckoo? Do the daughters of the marans who don't show the cuckoo gene also carry a recessive cuckoo gene that could be passed on?

So many questions... Maybe because my brain is so fried over my roo...

 

[nicalandia]

Will the blue roo + a maran hen possibly give me another blue cuckoo?

if the Maran hens are Cuckoo, then yes.. but Only 50% of the Males(roosters) will be blue cuckoo, the other 50% of the males will look like normal blue cuckoo, NONE of the Females will look cuckoo at all, and 50% of them will be just blue, and 50% of them will be just black

 

[LoneStarHen]

I collected as many eggs as I could get right after he died. They've finally hatched! It looks like he was a busy boy because I think the majority of the chicks are maran crosses. Most of them came out of olive eggs, so I know they're not from the maran hens. Silver, black, and blue chicks! There's a couple of roosters I think because of the big spot on their head. Not sure what's going to be barred or not. Exciting!