Cuckoo Marans - Hens or Cockerels?

[sheherazae]

So it's possible that if I have a chick and the chick has NO spot on it's head, it could still be a marans, right?

 

[LAFreewayChickens]

So it's possible that if I have a chick and the chick has NO spot on it's head, it could still be a marans, right?

I know barred better than cuckoo, but you would get females with no head spot if you breed a non-cuckoo/non-barred rooster over a cuckoo hen. So if you bred a Black Copper Marans roo and a Cuckoo Marans hen, you would get sex-linked Marans offspring, females with no spot and males with a large spot.

So yes, you can have a Marans with no spot and it can have a cuckoo mother (but would have to have a father that wasn't a cuckoo Marans). My understanding (based on barring, but I think cuckoo should be the same) is that the offspring of two cuckoo parents should always have a spot.

 

[aoxa]

I know barred better than cuckoo, but you would get females with no head spot if you breed a non-cuckoo/non-barred rooster over a cuckoo hen. So if you bred a Black Copper Marans roo and a Cuckoo Marans hen, you would get sex-linked Marans offspring, females with no spot and males with a large spot. So yes, you can have a Marans with no spot and it can have a cuckoo mother (but would have to have a father that wasn't a cuckoo Marans). My understanding (based on barring, but I think cuckoo should be the same) is that the offspring of two cuckoo parents should always have a spot.

All barred chicks have a head spot, regardless of gender. Some are VERY small, but they are there.

Example. Chick on right is the smallest head dot I've seen. I was betting on a girl, and it was.

 

[KCGFamChickens]

Hope this helps everyone.

I recently bought 4 Cuckoo Maran pullets and yes they all have head spots. I knew the hatchery didn't make a mistake simply because all 4 of them were very black in color. Cuckoo Marans are a sex-linked breed because of their pattern. At hatch, makes are much lighter in color and females are almost all black. Both male and female have spots on their heads. Male spots are usually larger, but I woundnt go by that. The down color is te easiest way to go! Here's a pic I grabbed off of the Internet just to give a good example

-Cheri

 

[MackChick]

Pullet???

 

[BantamLover21]

Pullet???

Looks like a cockerel to me, and not a Cuckoo marans.

 

[desertflock]

Hello everyone,
I recently incubated 12 eggs, 6 Silkie and 6 Cuckoo Maran. Just my luck, only one hatched. I now have one lonely Cuckoo Maran chick with only me to look after her.
Anyway, the only thing that could make this any worse would be if this one chick is a cockerel.
So, I've added a few photos can anyone say what gender this lone chick is.
Thanks

Im curious, did this chick turn out to be a male? I have a little chick that looks a lot like this one, almost all black with the white dot. Cant tell if its a barred rock, dominique or maran... At two weeks he/she is standing up like a rooster whereas the rest of my baby flock (of different breeds) has a more "feminine" decorum. Just curious...

 

[windyridgefarm]

Cuckoo Marans are one of the 2 varieties of Marans that can be sexed at hatch, boys will have a white spot on the head like this male chick does and girls do not have the spot. Hope this helps. Congrats on your hatch.

Out of curiosity. What is the other Marans that can be sexed at hatch?

 

[tyster19]

I'm looking to get a cuckoo maran rooster and I was wondering if they would be a good choice for a rooster ?

 

[otakalhasas]

Well, you will probably get tons of opinions, but mine is NO. We just put our Golden Cuckoo Marans down last week because he ROYALLY attacked me and tore up my thigh. We had a WONDERFUL Blue Copper Marans roo who was a doll, a coule of truly docile Bielefelder roos, and a super Cream Legbar roo who was also a doll. We have had feisty roos in the past, but the Golden Cuckoo was just WAY over the top which is why we put him down - he would have done major damage to a child.