Breeding different color marans...what will I get?

[blackdotte]

Hi Krys,
Ducking as a hobby term rather than Duckwing as a genetic term. As the Golden Cuckoos could be based on Birchen, Duckwing , or Wheaten in Marans I would have been more correct is saying 'unbarred red/gold' pullets.
David

 

[walkswithdog]

Quote:
What makes you say that?

According to the Marans site: cross breeding color lines outside their groups will in general yield poorer egg color.

That's why there are color groups listed. And suggested breedings to maintain egg color. Out crossing to other color groups appears to have a negative effect on color of the eggs.

That's in the breed information posted on the French site. I figured they knew what they were doing.

YMMV.

 

[crazy4eggsJulie]

That makes sense. I'm trying to decide what kind of roo to get ( I can only have one) and wanted to know what would happen with each of my hens in the event that down the road we choose to let some eggs hatch out.

 

[Krys109uk]

In my experience it can work both ways.
There are quite a few genes involved in brown eggs. As the indivdual genes have not been properly studied, as far as I know. If they were I'm not sure how one would tell the individual effects apart.

I've found in the first cross the eggs can get considerably darker. It seems logical to suppose that perhaps some of the dark egg genes were dominant, or incomplely dominant, & some carried by one strain were not exactly the same as the dark egg genes carried by the other.
It is also logical to guess that those genes would be heterozygous in these birds. Thus in the following generation those genes would start to segregate giving some with lighter egg colour than either of the original colours. Also one would get some with darker egg colour than either of the originl colours.
Well this my hypothesis to exaplain what I have observed in my birds.
When messing with different colours I've found it important to trap nest & keep records of the parents of each individual bird.

 

[Krys109uk]

Thanks David,
I see what you mean.
I've seen some wheaten based cuckoo birds which sort of resemble the golden cuckoos as on the French website.
Golden cuckoo is supposed to be based on birchen isn't it?