Confirm these Marans are roos please! *Updated Pictures*

[amazondoc]

I don't know cuckoo coloring one way or the other, but I'm pretty good with combs. I can usually sex my chicks by the time they're 2-3 weeks old. By 9 weeks, the difference should be incredibly obvious -- as it is in your case.

If you've got more than 1 roo there, I'll buy the extras from you.

 

[Andora]

I'm still not convinced that they aren't all roosters! They are all so light colored. Here are some updated pictures from today...

Captain Obvious:

And the other three:

 

[enola]

I have 8 cuckoos that I hatched, they are not competely feathered out yet. But, I know what you mean about telling sex by coloring. Mine are 3 different shades of black/gray. I have one obvious rooster and two obvious hens.

The other 4 are just as much a mystery to me as yours are to you.

I am thinking about keeping the trio of 'properly' colored ones. By the way, when they hatched, there were 2 gray ones and 6 black ones. So much for sexing by hatch color . . . .

 

[amazondoc]

I have a theory about why your roo is the same color as the pullets. I can't prove that its true, but it fits the genetics of that color.

First -- barring is sex-linked. That means that hens can only have one copy of the barring gene, while roos usually have two copies. That's why barred and cuckoo roos are usually lighter than barred or cuckoo hens.

Second -- there are different "strains" of barred and cuckoo birds. Some strains are much lighter than others. That's why you sometimes hear terms like "dark cuckoo", "silver cuckoo", and even "platinum cuckoo".

So -- I think your birds are from a lighter cuckoo strain, which would explain the lightness of the hens. And I'm guessing that, on top of that, your roo has only one copy of the barring gene -- which would explain why he looks the same as the hens. That is not especially common, but it does happen.

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

 

[sarafrog]

I had 2 Marans hatched on 3/12, so about 9.5 weeks now. One (Penny, shown below) feathered out much more quickly than the other (we'll just call him Bo) and Bo developed a comb at about 3-4 weeks and wattles at about 5 weeks, then he began crowing at about 6-7 weeks. Well, Bo went to a new home because I don't want roosters...then Penny started trying to crow and her (?) comb is getting a little bigger and a little redder. I posted these pics of her on this forum yesterday under "What sex are my 9-week-olds?" I'm really hoping Penny is a pullet and not a subordinate roo who is late in developing.

 

[Andora]

I'll go look at your thread!

And I forgot to answer that question about the feathering--It seemed like they all feathered out the same. I didn't notice any huge differences.

 

[Andora]

Quote:
This is a very interesting theory. I like how it explains away the rooish trait that all the birds have.