cuckoo marans-how to improve egg color

[klf73]

I was wondering if anyone knows if you can breed a cuckoo to a black copper marans to improve the egg color? Both are feather legged, but I need the cuckoo for a feather legged golden cuckoo project and the egg color needs a lot of work. I was wondering if I crossed a bc roo to the cuckoo hens if the cuckoo color would be maintained or am I creating a problem?

 

[ginasmarans]

I kdon't know about that. I have cuckoos and have been improving my egg color by hatching the darkest eggs,culling hens that lay light eggs and buying eggs to hatch from reputable breeders. Mine are all laying at least a 5-all of the time, and at best I get a good solid 6 and very close to a 7. My original birds were hatchery birds and the egg color was decent,even with them. That was about 4 generations ago,so I think I've just about bred the hatchery out of them. I am beginning to concentrate on my roosters,trying to select for breeding,those closest to the standard. Oops,sorry,you got me started-more info then you asked for,lol.

 

[klf73]

I actually only want to use the feather legged cuckoos to introduce the feathered legs to some golden cuckoos I am getting. Problem is the goldens are coming from 7's (possibly some 8's) and I just got some feather legged cuckoo eggs, but most wouldn't be considered marans by egg color. The breeder of the goldens worked hard to get her egg color and I don't want to go backwards. Maybe I will have to work with the regular cuckoos first and start the other project in 2010. My bc came from such nice eggs I was hoping to maybe try that cross. I guess maybe I can try it in 2009 since I can't move on with my original plan. I just wasn't sure if anyone has crossed bc with cuckoo before and what the results were

 

[Solsken Farm]

Krista, I looked this up on a genetics page. It looks like you would get black unicolor barred. So don't think that would work. But maybe the genetics guru has a different answer.

Since working with a roo is easier to get the traits you want, why not take a golden cuckoo roo over a clean legged cuckoo pullet? And do that for a few generations. Then perhaps you will get dark egg feather legged golden cuckoo.

Of course you could continue to look for darker laying cuckoos.

The egg color is so hard to achieve. I wouldn't want to compromise that, myself.

 

[klf73]

Quote:
Jen, you confuse me so much

. Did you mean feather legged pullet to get feather legs? Since the goldens are clean legged....

 

[Solsken Farm]

Quote:
Jen, you confuse me so much

. Did you mean feather legged pullet to get feather legs? Since the goldens are clean legged....

ARRRRRRRRGH. Yes, feather legged pullet. I am such a ditz.