Cuckoo Maran??

[cheeptrick]

This chick was sold as a Barred Rock....but it looks like a Cuckoo Maran to me? Am I right? Feet appear pink with grey splotches on the shanks. The pads on the bottoms of their feet do appear to have a yellowish tinge. They are from Ideal.

Thanks for your help and for looking!

 

[sloallie10]

looks like a maran to me.... but im just guessing

 

[kentuckysilkies]

I'm going with Barred rock. The barring looks too uniform for a Maran.

 

[meggers32]

Hi there,

I would love for someone to clear up the major differences between Barred and Cuckoo Maran?

I, too, have a chicken that looks like a Maran, but I am not absolutely sure. Anyone?

Here is a pic of my girl. She is on the mend from being sick and this pic shows her still unable to use her legs

 

[greyfields]

She looks just like what I get when my RIR breeds my Marans.

I have some Barred Rocks who have very pale legs, which can make it very difficult to tell them apart (I have 50 marans and about 20 barred rocks). What I will say, side by side, the Marans look far darker in overall plumage than the rocks do...

... but with that said, I've only seen one true "barred rock" in my life. Almost all the barred rocks in the backyard are actually cuckoo, not barred.

 

[tfpets]

Cuckoo and Barred are feather patterns.

I guess you could have a poorly patterned Plymouth Rock and call it a Cuckoo Rock, couldnt you?

When your girls lay an egg, if it's a dark dark egg, you have a Cuckoo Marans (It's always spelled with an "s" not Maran - a mistake I used to make before I met the Marans folks here

)

Ah, then again, according the French standard, if a Marans, even though a pure bred bird, does not lay a dark enough egg, a "4" and up on the color scale, such a bird should not be considered a true Marans anyhow...

So even though a bird may have pink legs, and be Cuckoo patterned, it needs to lay an EGG to see if its an acceptable Marans at all

! (If you dont know who it's parents are?)

Do you have any idea what it's family history is, so that you can tell what lines it is descended from? Hatchery birds are a mix of breeds, and are often crossed with Barred Rocks.....it is the indiscriminate crossing with other breeds that causes a lot of confusion for the general/lay person just entering the interesting field of the Marans breed. Marans actually have a known genetic history, they were originally imported from France, and have a serious following here in the United States. A hatchery bird is sort of an unknown chance that you might be getting the real deal, with the unknown parentage, or an unknown mix in there....

Tina/tfpets

 

[cheeptrick]

Quote:
THANK Tina....this is a hatchery bird....I was told from Ideal. I've got a Marans ROO from a line/breeder in Nebraska from eggs I purchased off eggbid. She sent paperwork proving my eggs....only ONE hatched because we had a transformer fire and lost power for a whole day. I was devastated and KEPT it up till day 21...this roo was the only one to hatch....several others pipped but died. It was one of my most stressful hatches...I was crushed. BUT I have this Marans ROO and he is the perfect guy....takes very good care of his girls. I'm so proud of his temperament and free ranging sentry behavior. I love him and would love to breed him with another....we'll SEE on the eggs on this chick. I'll post photos when we start getting eggs NEXT spring....hate the egg waiting!

 

[tfpets]

Quote:
Well, congratulations on the Rooster! My Cuckoo Marans rooster is also one of the most wonderful guys Ive ever had the fortune to have! I love his manner, he is so stately, and yet gentle! Such a nice nice rooster, and yet he will absolutely take NO C*%p from the other roosters if they pull anything with ME! I just live him!

There are great options for getting Marans, some are quite expensive in todays Marans hungry market, but keep in touch and I promise, it can be affordable for decent lines....

Hatching is very stressful...When my Black Coppers were hatching I was a wreck! I paid a higher price for the eggs than I usually do for eggs, so ya know, it was important? I got 8 to hatch (We had to be evacuated due to wildfires during the incubation!)...and have lost several chicks, so I'm down to five, one rooster and four hens!

Good luck with the Marans, I love the breed, and would encourage you to join us in promoting them....

Thanks
Tina

 

[Riocotesei]

It looks like a BR to me. If the legs/feet have white and grayish black coloring to them like it looks then its a BR

 

[cheeptrick]

After seeing this little one grow.....I swear she has doubled in size SINCE Saturday...she looks more and more like Barred Rock. The barring on the feathers are different from my Marans....and WHITER and more pronounced. The legs are WHITE with grey splotches with yellowish tinge on the bottoms...the yellow seems to be coming out more with the growth of the chick.

I'm leaning towards Barred Rock now....

THANKS all....this little one is a sweety!