is there any big difference between barred rocks and cuckoo marans?

[nuthatched]

I'm trying to figure out how to shoehorn a colored egg layer into my order of rocks.
Everything i read seems to be written by people who don't even have chickens or recite the genetic code and lineage

What are the biggest physical differences between the two?

What I know:
Marans have pinkish legs vs the rocks yellow.

Marans seem to have longer tails (just from scrolling Google images so probably not definite)

Marans lay dark eggs (the reason I'm considering them)

The Barring is fainter on the Marans.

They also say Marans are aloof and not as friendly as rocks, does that have any credit? I like friendly chickens, but I'm not sure if "this breed is friendlier " is true across the board.

Thank you!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Sorry I don't know the answer to this, but I would like to know. At this point my GUESS is that the Marans is not as heavy-bodied a bird. I did get one once in a mixed flock but I had nothing to compare her to. She was as calm and friendly as my EEs but I don't make pets of them.

Edit: that is, I didn't have a Rock in my flock, just EEs and other light birds. She didn't stand out.

 

[DobieLover]

I'm trying to figure out how to shoehorn a colored egg layer into my order of rocks.
Everything i read seems to be written by people who don't even have chickens or recite the genetic code and lineage

What are the biggest physical differences between the two?

What I know:
Marans have pinkish legs vs the rocks yellow.

Marans seem to have longer tails (just from scrolling Google images so probably not definite)

Marans lay dark eggs (doy)

The Barring is fainter on the Marans.

They also say Marans are aloof and not as friendly as rocks, does that have any credit? I like friendly chickens, but I'm not sure if "this breed is friendlier " is true across the board.

Thank you!

Almost everything you wrote above I have found to be the case with my two PBRs and two Cuckoo Marans. Oh, and the PBRs are better layers. The tail thing, not so much so.
That is the extent of my PBR/Marans experience for what it's worth.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Does "doy" = "dark orange yolk"?

 

[nuthatched]

It means 'obviously ' sorry, I didn't want to be redundant with mentioning the dark eggs.

 

[nuthatched]

Almost everything you wrote above I have found to be the case with my two PBRs and two Cuckoo Marans. Oh, and the PBRs are better layers. The tail thing, not so much so.
That is the extent of my PBR/Marans experience for what it's worth.

So they are definitely standoffish? Hmm.

 

[DobieLover]

So they are definitely standoffish? Hmm.

Mine are. But a lot of breeds might be considered standoffish in comparison to a PBR.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Marans are said to have hard feathers, which mean narrow and short. Rocks I believe are bit more fluffy. Skin color differs as does production. Barred rocks will generally produce more eggs than cuckoo marans.

I personally prefer the blue copper marans for temperament. I had only one cuckoo and she didn't impress me as far as temperament or production. Most birds have an individual temperament, so every bird is different.

The rock is a barred bird, the marans is a cuckoo. Two different color patterns. The rock will look more even light in color generally.

 

[Relleoms]

My cuckoo Maran is not friendly (but not at all mean) and had a mini molt this fall (hatched late February 2019), but while she was laying, they were large, milk chocolate-colored eggs. Hopefully she’ll resume laying again soon. My MMM is a much better layer, her eggs are extra large, and she’s very human friendly but is a bully (she likes to pluck tail feathers ). My Amberlink lays almost as dark of an egg as the marans nearly every day and is friendly too.

 

[Hughes Wildlife Farm]

My Barred Rock "Bard" her 6mo old pic below... Is now 1yr old. She is huge now, full silky smooth feathers like satin, she is the softest of my flock (and I have many Silkies)... She lays daily light brown jumbo eggs. And she is not an attention seeker, she would rather not be touched or held.... Her only thought is "just keep scratching, just keep scratching" but she will come running, if I have treats, than she will follow me, incase I drop just one more treat for her