French Copper Marans Rooster X Cuckoo Marans Hens

[Circle D Enterprises]

I have a French Black Copper Marans Rooster that has the typical feather footing that the French variety does. I have acquired some "production" or clean legged Cuckoo Marans hens. If I were to mate them, would I: 1) End up with the barred coloring since my understanding is that a barred hen's color will be dominate; and 2) Would the feathering of the rooster carry through to the chicks? It is my understanding from other parts of this site that the French prefer feather legged, and the British prefer clean legged. From a personal standpoint I don't care one way or the other. Both are fine to me. As time allows, I plan on having coops with their own breed per coop/run. I have Rhode Island red chicks coming on, I have Speckled Sussex coming on, and I have a pen with Barred Rock and the Cuckoo Marans mixed together (until I get a separate house/run built and get them separated).

So in case you missed it, the point of the post is to figure out what will happen if a French Black Copper Marans rooster is crossed with Cuckoo Marans hens that are clean legged.

 

[The Moonshiner]

They will be sex linked.
Cockerels will have head spots as chicks and barring as they feather in.
Pullets will not have head spot or barring.
When I did that cross all chicks had feathered legs but lighter feathering then the BCM rooster.
I've always heard you could get feathered and non feathered though.

 

[Circle D Enterprises]

Thank you for your straightforward and to the point answer. The last time I tried asking a question such as this I got a lot of "expert" opinions but none that ever actually did what I was asking (it was a different cross than this post) and I never got a straight answer. So let's take it a step further. Did you try crossing the original rooster with his daughters to see if they had any more leg feathering than the daughters?

And you mention that cross results in cockerels that are barred and the pullets are not barred. What color did the pullets end up being?

 

[The Moonshiner]

I did not cross back to father.
They ended up being all black but I didn't keep them long so maybe they got some hackle color later.
At the time my BCM hens from same line as rooster had very little to no copper but then got a bit more after a couple years old.
The cross pullets were put with a blue Marans rooster I picked up. The original cuckoo I had didn't lay a very dark egg. The cross pullets were an improvement but still not really dark eggs.
I sold them and inquired some BBS pullets which ended up not laying very dark eggs either so scrapped that project and continued with BCM and BlueCM.
When I brought in the blue copper some hens didn't have feathered legs and I mixed everything.good leg feathering, not so good and none. I hatched for a few years and by last year most all have been feathered legs but none very heavy and a few with just about half dozen feathers on each leg.
I was actually breeding for just more copper and decent egg darkness.
I ended up with roosters having too much copper and hens having about what I thought BCMs should.
The one rooster I have left has a completely copper chest as well as where he should have it.

 

[Beaglegal]

They will be sex linked.
Cockerels will have head spots as chicks and barring as they feather in.
Pullets will not have head spot or barring.
When I did that cross all chicks had feathered legs but lighter feathering then the BCM rooster.
I've always heard you could get feathered and non feathered though.

I happened to have a chick in a batch of mixed chicks that, based on it’s barring leads me to believe it’s a cross between our BCM rooster and cuckoo Maran hen. It has spotting on the head and batted feather pattern... so rooster?

 

[Frazzemrat1]

I happened to have a chick in a batch of mixed chicks that, based on it’s barring leads me to believe it’s a cross between our BCM rooster and cuckoo Maran hen. It has spotting on the head and batted feather pattern... so rooster?

So these are ones you bred yourself? and your certain of the parentage? You don't have a barred rooster at all?
If so... then yes, that would be a little cockerel.

 

[Beaglegal]

yes I had a broody hen hatch several different eggs from different hens. I have one cuckoo Maran and my rooster is BCM. I have an EE rooster but he is white and buff and only recently matured, so I think odds of him being the father is slim.

Shame, he’s my favorite little chick. Not sure I need any more roosters...

 

[Rivendell Chick]

Been searching around to see what info might be out there about French Black Copper Maran X French Cuckoo Maran crosses.

I got what I thought were BCM chicks as part of a rare assortment from Hoovers, which have both breeds. They developed the telltale white outer wing feathers very early, but the remainder of their plumage was an iridescent black. Around week six they started developing the copper collars.
Entering week 8 - they are all developing some whitish dappling on the lower breast and some white feathers mixed in with their black feathered legs/feet. Pics of young cuckoo pullets have the pattern already, but my girls were solid black besides 2 wing feathers. Are they possibly crosses?

 

[The Moonshiner]

Neither variety should have any whitish dappling on breast or any where else.
Are they a cross? Maybe but what you described doesn't happen when you cross those two varieties.
Coming from Hoover's its hard to say. I've seen or heard of many of their birds not looking like they're supposed to.

 

[sybonbon]

I have a French Black Copper Marans Rooster that has the typical feather footing that the French variety does. I have acquired some "production" or clean legged Cuckoo Marans hens. If I were to mate them, would I: 1) End up with the barred coloring since my understanding is that a barred hen's color will be dominate; and 2) Would the feathering of the rooster carry through to the chicks? It is my understanding from other parts of this site that the French prefer feather legged, and the British prefer clean legged. From a personal standpoint I don't care one way or the other. Both are fine to me. As time allows, I plan on having coops with their own breed per coop/run. I have Rhode Island red chicks coming on, I have Speckled Sussex coming on, and I have a pen with Barred Rock and the Cuckoo Marans mixed together (until I get a separate house/run built and get them separated).

So in case you missed it, the point of the post is to figure out what will happen if a French Black Copper Marans rooster is crossed with Cuckoo Marans hens that are clean legged.

. See photos. This is the results. Sexed at hatch due to barring. My lady is almost all black with very slight random copper feathers around her neck. She hatched with 2 feathers on her right leg only. She started laying at 17 weeks, went broody and started up again.