Got new pics, opinions on the genetics of these Marans, please. :)

Hurley

Egg Of A Different Color
9 Years
Mar 17, 2010
2,006
314
271
Palmyra, WI
I posted previously about the roosters, but now have photos of all 8 of my Marans. They all started out gray/yellow as chicks and were to have come from blue/cuckoo lines.

Previously I was told that the roosters show gold leakage, so read up some on Silver/Gold. I'm assuming (I know, not always wise) that the same thing that's making rooster H light is the thing making hens E and F light.

What do you think these guys are specifically? The A through D are the darker of the blue hens, but even they look pretty different from each other. E and F are my gray ladies, what is making the white heads on them? Silver? Birchen? (How do you know the difference in those anyway when it's overlying blue?)

Just for those answering to know my genetic understanding: I understand sex linkage and that males are ZZ/females ZW. I understand blue genetics with blue being heterozygous, splash homozygous. I understand that Birchen is at the E locus, and I understand that Silver and Gold are sex-linked, and that Silver turns the yellow/red base color to white. I get the impression that silver is incompletely dominant in that you can see gold leakage with one silver gene and one gold gene in the males, is that true? Also, there is no other gene at the silver locus, right (other than dominant white)? It's either Silver, Gold, or Dominant White? Gold is the wild type?

Just can't live with myself until I nail down what my birds are, it's a compulsion. :p

So my guesses for these guys, feel free to slaughter me for these guesses:

A Hen - Blue - is there birchen or something underlying giving the whitish fringe in the neck/lack of black lacing on the feathers?
B Hen - Blue - same as hen A ---^
C Hen - Blue - actually looks true blue to me without something else affecting her neck feathers
D Hen - Blue - what's up with her neck and the sort of barred feathers there?
E Hen - Blue + Silver
F Hen - Blue + Silver
G Rooster - Blue Cuckoo Silver/Gold
H Rooster - Silver/Gold Blue Cuckoo...maybe homozygous cuckoo making him lighter as well? Or is he a Silver Birchen or something?
That last rooster is significantly lighter than the rest of the birds, though that photo is dark. I left it that way because it showed the gold hue on his back the best.
Also attached is a photo of the boys facing off in better lighting.

I've hatched a handful of chicks from this pen, so far a splash cuckoo, a blue cuckoo, and 3 other cuckoos that are not blue. So far I have not seen any non-cuckoos.
Side-questions, why do my boys' barring look so much more contrasty than photos of cuckoo Marans I've seen? Is that what the homozygous cuckoo individuals look like?


51390_maransids01.jpg


51390_maransids02.jpg


RoostersFlaring01.jpg




Just trying to figure out how many genes I've got here to make decisions on what to breed towards. Thanks for any and all opinions, I greatly appreciate it.
 
A-D look like blues but with probably some birchin influcence bred in within the last couple generations.

E and F are Blue Silver Cuckoos

G and F look like Split Silver/Gold Blue Cuckoos.

The chicks look like typical results that you would expect from breeding the above birds

Two Cuckoo
A Golden Cuckoo
A Splash Cuckoo
And a Blue Cuckoo.
 
Much appreciations on the info.

What do you think the difference between the H rooster and the G rooster are?

G rooster (the more contrasty darker one) - Blue Cuckoo split to gold
H rooster (the much lighter one also with gold over the back) - Blue Cuckoo Silver/Gold?

Thanks again.
 
Much appreciations on the info.

What do you think the difference between the H rooster and the G rooster are?

G rooster (the more contrasty darker one) - Blue Cuckoo split to gold
H rooster (the much lighter one also with gold over the back) - Blue Cuckoo Silver/Gold?

Thanks again.
 
I can't help you really but I used to have a flock of cuckoos that I had had for several years and hatched quite a few chicks from. About 7 years into having and hatching them I hatched a chick that looked like "H"......have no clue where or why he popped up. Some hidden gene I guess.
 
Any chance the difference is that the lighter one is a silver/gold while the darker one is split to gold? I've noticed the two silver blue hens are a shade lighter than the other 4, perhaps this is the difference in the light rooster, that he is a Silver split to gold?

I'm presuming currently that both males are homozygous cuckoo as I have yet to hatch out a non-cuckoo from them, but time will tell.
 
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Hopefully this summer I can get some breeding pens up and put the lighter guy in with the two silver blue gals, see if I can prove out his genetics. Would be cool if they produced all silver and gold cuckoo b/b/s chicks.

I've got a splash cuckoo cockerel from this pen that in known to be heterozygous for cuckoo, don't think I'd be able to tell if he were silver... Playing with trying to make some silver blues without the cuckoo. Probably hold him back and breed him to my silver blue hens when he's old enough. Should give me blue and splash kids, with the cockerels inheriting at least one silver gene for the future...if this cockerel happens to be carrying gold or silver I could get silver cockerels and potentially some gold and/or silver blue pullets.

Will post if I figure anything out in these guys.

Opinions welcome.
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