genetic question re: BCM roo

[joydix]

I got some hatching eggs a bit ago and the the chicks are 8 weeks or so now. the dad was def. a BCM and the moms were either a cuckoo Maran OR a barred rock. The little cockerel looks very cuckoo and the girl is completely black. both have some shades of the teal in their feathers. The question is would there be any way to know which the mom was? idle curiosity is the only reason i ask....with either of those moms i would thing there would be some sign of white or barring.....thanks for any input....

 

[minihorse927]

That match would make sex links. You're cockerels will all be barred and the pullets will be solid colored as chicks. Any difference in leg color between the chicks? Barred rocks have yellow and marans have white (with an overlay of black typically)

 

[joydix]

the two in question are next to silkie mom. i don't know! what do you think about roos feet? and the pullet? The yellow one behind silkie is a basque which is pure basque but was in the mix. i call them the 3 BEANS....chilibean (roo) jellybean(basque) and black bean (obvious!)my "guess is chilebean is barred rock/bcm X and the other seems the Maran mix..what do YOU think? they are both huge and the basque is half their size and basques are large hens! they are bigger than their mom!

 

[donrae]

I'm not sure skin color will work. The white skin from the Marans father should be dominant, when crossing with a Rock. And if the mother was a Marans, the offspring should be white anyway.

Since the cockerel only has one copy of the barring gene, his barring will be messy anyway. So you can't depend on that (cuckoo is usually messier looking than barring).

With the pullet, you may be able to tell by egg color. If she lays a darker eggs, you can probably reasonably assume her mother was the Marans. But, she'll also get some dark egg genes from the father, so it's not a sure thing.

I don't really see any way to know for sure.......

 

[joydix]

thanks for weighing in! such an interesting subject and one of these days i will educate myself a little more as to how it works. FASCINATES me! thanks again....

 

[Kev]

Yes skin color will work. White is dominant over yellow.

In the picture it kind of looks the cockerel and maybe the pullet have yellow legs and toes? The cockerel also seems to have a yellow ring around his eye(another hint of yellow skin)

Are they the same chicks in a previous thread of yours?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1085242/sexing-my-3-wk-old-chicks

The chicks in that thread definitely have yellow skin, by the yellow coloring on comb, beak and toes. Those are not Marans, not even a purebred Marans crossed with something else... again because white skin is dominant over yellow so all Marans cross should have white skin.. even if one parent had yellow skin.

Sorry to be bearer of bad news if they really do have yellow skin- white skin is very much a defining feature of Marans.

edit to add- if she ends up laying nice dark eggs, that is precious no matter what her feather and skin color. It is not easy to find and maintain dark egg stock. I had some direct from Bev Davis around 10 yrs ago? they laid very nice eggs- much much darker than any other common brown egg breed and the glossy shine over them was a nice touch too. Alas the roosters did not handle the summertime heat(110-120F) too good so I could not continue breeding them. Oh well.

 

[joydix]

hmmm, the father was from that previous picture tho not one of those chicks. He was purchased before i took those pics. All were hatched from eggs from Papas poultry and the eggs were very very dark. i see those yellow combs! in the pics in question (top photos) pullet looks like white under her black feet and her comb is almost black actually! DEF not yellow. I am pretty sure the woman i got these eggs from only has the BCM roo and she has basques but they are not in the same flock. She breeds those so they are kept separate. I don't really care what they are as i can't have roosters and so i don't breed them or anything. altho i am thinking i MIGHT keep him in the garage at night for a few month when he starts crowing so i can get some fertile eggs from my EE's and maybe have an olive egger from my own flock...Whatever they are they have a great temperment (so far). way friendlier than other marans i have had for sure. I have one Hen i hatched a few years ago that lays a gorgeous egg but i don't really like their personalities that much. The first one i had i named Margaret Thatcher and had to Re home. She terrorized my other pullets who were younger and she does fine where she is in a large flock with lots of room to roam. anyway OFF topic! have to go look at their eyes!

 

[Kev]

That's good the eggs they came in were dark. Hope the pullet lays dark too..

The bottom line is it doesnt matter where or who they came from(or how giant their star/reputation is), if the bird has yellow skin it is disqualified from being a marans AND no way can it be a marans cross- as in one of the parents is a pure marans. A mix or a bloodline that had yellow skin ancestry in it can throw yellow skin. A lot of breeders don't exactly understand genetics also it is a bit hard for some to swallow the fact something undesirable is floating around in their stock. It would be realizing or admitting their stock is not purest of the pure, and some REALLY do not want to do that.

btw personally, I would treat black-egg stock as precious jewels, even if they have screamingly yellow legs. However a lot of people would be upset if they were called marans.

Good luck, hope you manage to do some of your own breedings, that is always fun.