BR, Cuckoo Maran, or... ?

[Shepdog]

All right, I've gone through all the posts, looked at all the pictures between the Marans, the BR, and...

*laughing* I give up. One moment, looks like one, the next, looks like another. All I know is that it's a very happy, friendly chicken of some sort! So, I bow, admit defeat gracefully, and beg the experts here to try and give it a shot.

Came from McMurray's in the Ornamental Layer Collection I got five weeks ago - all healthy, all happy. This was the only chick that looked like this in the entire group...

Thanks so much for any help!

 

[MissPrissy]

Cuckoo Marans - white feet or feet with slate wash

Barred Rock - yellow feet and legs

Looks like a cuckoo marans based on the feet and leg color.

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

I say cuckoo marans. Even hatchery barred rocks dont have that bad of barring, so it is cuckoo, and like Misspreissy said, the leg color. Another reason is that it came in the ornamental layers, barred rocks would come in the brown egg layer I think.

 

[Katy]

Yep...I agree the barring and the pink/white legs are Marans.

 

[McGoo]

Get ready for some nice deep brown eggs!!!!

 

[MissPrissy]

McGoo, based on my exprience with hatchery marans from McMurray they aren't really that dark. I have some barred rocks that often lay almost as dark as the marans. Hatchery birds are poor on color.

 

[Shepdog]

Yay! (Not that I would have minded either way... but hey, neat.)

Thank you, guys, greatly appreciated! Well, I was pretty sure that's what she was -- like you said, Miss Prissy, she didn't have yellow legs, but man, she's changed so much in the last week, I wasn't sure.) But having never had anything but Lakenvelders, EE's and Cochins... I was like, am I doing a bit of wishful thinking here? *grin*

Aw, it's okay if they're not the greatest depth of color egg for me... I just wanted to add some different colors and breeds of bird to my little group. I had a feeling that was the case, based on what I've been reading here about commercial hatchery birds. I offered to raise them and split them with someone who wanted to start chickens of their own. My deal was that I got first pick, if I had to invest all the time and the spare bedroom.

However, I've been reading all I can (this is a greatly informative board and I'm learning in leaps and bounds - thank you, thank you!) I have a feeling at some point, I'm going to have to think long and hard about shuffling some of the crew and starting to look at birds from good private breeders.

... and I'm eyeing those gorgeous Blue Laced Red Wyandottes and some of the other blue colored breeds as well.

Thank you again for all your help!