BR vs Cuckoo Maran

[mduerksen]

Last week I picked up my chicks I had ordered 3 Barred Rocks, along with others. I decided to add 3 Cuckoo Marans to my purchase before I left the store.
How do I tell them apart?

My BR are pullets but the Marans were being sold straight run so I want to watch and hopefully I get one pullet!

 

[CascadiaRiver]

You could always mark them with bands, those birds are painfully similar as chicks, both straight combs and colours.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You may have some challenges for a little while but you should be able to sort them as they grow. Both rocks and marans have single combs and yours are both black barred, but Marans should have white skin while Rocks have yellow. The black pigment might mess up leg color but look at the soles of the feet. You might be able to see a difference in color there.

They should have a different barring pattern as they mature. The Barred Rocks should have crisp clear barring while the Marans barring should be a lot more scattered. How clear that difference is will depend on the quality of the birds.

Barred Rocks have clean legs. Marans might or might not have feathers on the legs. So any chicks with feathers on their legs are Marans but clean legs does not guarantee Rocks.

I think you will be able to figure it out as they grow but it may be a challenge for a bit. Good luck!

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Oh! and Marans should be a little heftier!

 

[mduerksen]

Oh! and Marans should be a little heftier!

Wow. Really? My adult BR's are pretty big gals. Thanks! I'll just have to wait until the are older to tell them apart. I believe my CMS are feathering out a bit faster. We'll see.