Let's talk Cuckoo and WHITE marans... breeding strategies...

[Chooks man]

nice chicks .well feathered,early feathering type.

Are you sure they are silver cuckoo not Golden cuckoos because both cockerels have a brownish head ,or just a flush is causing t.maybe a parasitic colour.

 

[Chooks man]

Like you said is not a sex linked but the rooster passe on to all his progeny 100% that all.

 

[kfelton0002]

nice chicks .well feathered,early feathering type.

Are you sure they are silver cuckoo not Golden cuckoos because both cockerels have a brownish head ,or just a flush is causing t.maybe a parasitic colour.

Thank you! They are feathering and growing fast. I'm glad too because we are brooding them in our spare bedroom until they are old enough for the big brooder in our insulated building. I like to hold them off until they are good and feathered, and big enough to hold their own with the older chicks before moving them out.

I noticed the brownish down feathers on their heads too. The pics of the parent stock are all silver cuckoos so I am trusting in the breeder's word they are pure silver cuckoos. They are feathering in silver and so far I don't see any golden looking feathers. I love the cuckoo color pattern so these are going to be a fun project for me. My hubby is even getting excited about this bunch and he doesn't care much for large breed fowl. He is an American Game to the core kinda guy. lol

 

[kfelton0002]

Like you said is not a sex linked but the rooster passe on to all his progeny 100% that all.

Yeah that is what I meant by the roosters improving the pullets. I know leg feathers are not a sex linked trait, but I'm hoping my best rooster (whichever I like best as they mature) will produce some nicer pullets with better feathered legs for me to use for breeding next year. I will then put the rooster back over his daughters, or use the alternate rooster if I like him to put over the pullets to improve the leg feathering in this line. The same way we line breed our Games.

 

[Chooks man]

that good you seen the parent stock. I think maybe it s parasitic colour.
Don t worry about the father in they legs your cockerels and the 2 pullets have more than enough and they will give rise to the father type.

 

[kfelton0002]

that good you seen the parent stock. I think maybe it s parasitic colour.
Don t worry about the father in they legs your cockerels and the 2 pullets have more than enough and they will give rise to the father type.

Thanks a lot for the input. I will post more pics as they grow. Im pretty fond of them already so I hope they mature out to be nice looking birds.

 

[Chooks man]

for me the cuckoos varieties, Silver ,Golden and Golden/ Golden( vary rare) are my favorite and I m trying to breed them . a lot work need to be done.

post the photos of the chicks as they grow ,so we can evaluate them and help you choose your future breeders. good luck

 

[kfelton0002]

for me the cuckoos varieties, Silver ,Golden and Golden/ Golden( vary rare) are my favorite and I m trying to breed them . a lot work need to be done.

post the photos of the chicks as they grow ,so we can evaluate them and help you choose your future breeders. good luck

I sure will! Thanks a lot! I appreciate any help and advice as I am new to Marans.

 

[Blarneyeggs]

Hi Blarney eggs Merry xmas to you first and happy new year 2016.

How is your injured cockerel? Can u tell me please how you are going to breed this white chooks. are they from the same hatch Sibling ? or unrelated ?
When your pullets start laying?
I love the white variety and I m interested to see how other breeders are working with them that all.

Cheers Chooks man

Hello Chooks Man! and a belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you!! The whites I have are from a breeder who was working primarily on size. He kept some nice sized Cuckoos and was crossing the Cuckoo with the White on all breedings at the time I bought the pen I got from him. I got eggs from his other line so I was would have some genetic variation. The birds I currently have all hatched here and seem to be incredibly slow at maturing. I hatched some Black Copper at the same time and my Black Copper have been laying for months, the White and Cuckoo are still not laying. Also, I had cockerels from the White and Cuckoo pen that were slow in showing their secondary characteristics- so it seems this line is incredibly slow at maturing.

I ended up culling my best White Cockerel because he was aggressive. Such a bummer. The injured cockerel is back in the pen, he is no longer Beta and has moved down the hierarchy considerably. The pullets are being bred, and we are getting much more light these days so I'm looking forward to seeing egg color and shape soon in these pens.

My goals this season are to work on Egg Color and Tail Set. I'm not concerned with size as I think we're okay in that department. I'm considering separating my Cuckoos and Whites, but am not looking forward to yet another pen to care for (I think we can all relate to that). What are your goals this season?

I'll have to look up my records from last year to tell you at what age (if ever!) my pullets start laying.

Also, we did get to a poultry show last month. It's the biggest local (5 hours away) show for us. There were 2,900 birds being shown 23 Marans. There were only the 2 whites there that I brought, so I didn't get much feedback there. Our Black Copper Pullets took Best of Breed and Reserve of Breed.

 

[kfelton0002]

[COLOR=0000FF]Hello Chooks Man! and a belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you!!  The whites I have are from a breeder who was working primarily on size.  He kept some nice sized Cuckoos and was crossing the Cuckoo with the White on all breedings at the time I bought the pen I got from him.  I got eggs from his other line so I was would have some genetic variation.  The birds I currently have all hatched here and seem to be incredibly slow at maturing.  I hatched some Black Copper at the same time and my Black Copper have been laying for months, the White and Cuckoo are still not laying.  Also, I had cockerels from the White and Cuckoo pen that were slow in showing their secondary characteristics- so it seems this line is incredibly slow at maturing.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=0000FF]I ended up culling my best White Cockerel because he was aggressive.  Such a bummer.  The injured cockerel is back in the pen, he is no longer Beta and has moved down the hierarchy considerably.  The pullets are being bred, and we are getting much more light these days so I'm looking forward to seeing egg color and shape soon in these pens.  [/COLOR]

[COLOR=0000FF]My goals this season are to work on Egg Color and Tail Set.  I'm not concerned with size as I think we're okay in that department.   I'm considering separating my Cuckoos and Whites, but am not looking forward to yet another pen to care for (I think we can all relate to that).  What are your goals this season?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=0000FF]I'll have to look up my records from last year to tell you at what age (if ever!) my pullets start laying.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=0000FF]Also, we did get to a poultry show last month.  It's the biggest local (5 hours away) show for us.  There were 2,900 birds being shown 23 Marans.  There were only the 2 whites there that I brought, so I didn't get much feedback there.  Our Black Copper Pullets took Best of Breed and Reserve of Breed.  [/COLOR]

I look forward to seeing some pics of your flock. I am hoping for dark egg layers with my cuckoos as well. The lady I bought my cuckoos from said they are slower to begin laying as well with some pullets taking up to 8 months to start laying! I will go nuts waiting on my first egg from these chickens! Lol