Calling All Marans Experts! Are these Wheatons Boys or Girls???

[MNKris]

I know brown = girl, black = boy, what does brown and black equal? These are my first marans. They are 12 days old in the photos. Thanks for the help. I definitely need it!

 

[hcammack]

what color marans are these I have not seen anything like them ?
i am not a marans expert though. where did you get them?

henry

 

[MNKris]

They are wheatons or wheatens (I have seen it written both ways). They are absolutely my favorite color of all the marans I have seen.

Here's Bev's from Florida. Absolutely beautiful. I didn't get these first ones from her, but I am on the list to get some eggs from her.

http://www.bevsmarans.com/wheaten.htm

 

[Katy]

I'm on her list too.

I'm getting some from another source next week. I agree they are beautiful. I'm hoping they lay as dark an egg as my cuckoos do.

 

[MNKris]

I am really excited to get some eggs from Bev. I didn't have the greatest luck hatching out these last ones, but at least I did get some. I figured someone here would know if these chicks are boys or girls. They are ALL the same color so either I must have all boys or all girls. Murphy's Law says all boys, but I guess I need to be thankful that I have them at all.

I also hatched out a couple BCs and I ordered 12 Cuckoos from McMurrays just to see what they are like. The chicks are huge, like 50% bigger than any of the 10 other breeds I have them with (australorps, cochins, andalusians, rocks, etc.). I hope the males will lighten up with age because right now they are all the same color. Some have a bigger white spot and that is about it. It will be interesting to see what they turn out to be like and how dark the eggs are.

To be honest, some of the wheaton eggs I got were the same color as some of my red stars lay and this is a very well known breeder of marans! They were mostly 4s, with a few 3s and a few 5s. She had mentioned they were lightening up due to time of year and lay cycle, so if I was lucky enough to get any hens, I may be able to see some darker eggs yet!

 

[greyfields]

I thought Marans could only be vent sexed. At least that's what a breeder told me at a poultry show.

 

[Katy]

With my cuckoos it doesn't take very long before you can sex them by color.....males much lighter, pullets darker.

 

[greyfields]

Even at hatch though? It's pretty obvious as adolescents, but even in the chicks?

 

[MNKris]

Cuckoos and Wheatons are supposed to be able to be sexed at an early age. In well bred Cuckoos, the males are lighter due to double barring. In wheatons, the males are supposed to feather in black, the females in light brown by 10 days of age. Mine all look the same. They have mostly light brown with dark on the edges. I just thought someone would be able to look at these and go "yep, female, or yep, male". It doesn't seem so easy though...

 

[equine chick]

They are very pretty birds. I just have the cukoo's, interesting colors.