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

[VillageChicken]

Here are the whites along the top - there were 8, shipped from Germany, 3 hatched. You can compare them to the black copper eggs, the lower row of 6 dark ones, wheatens in the middle row. The BC were from their pullets and were smallish.

 

[jeremy]

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I wish I lived in Europe!

 

[PHarris985]

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I have the same incubator. How do you keep your humidity up the last three days? I read that they need to have high humidity the last three days is that true?

 

[flgardengirl]

Those are nice white eggs! I would love to find some nice white Marans that laid dark like that!

 

[kagedgoddess]

All those chicks have yellow legs. My chicks are all mixes so i cant check them but my cuckoos have white legs. Do they change?

Q2: the feather legs show up randomly? If not how do you get them? I prefer feather legs

Q3: yes or no. White is a random mutation from 2 cuckoos that carry the proper genetics?

Q4: cuckoos are sex linked?
Sorry but this is all so confusing to me!! I thought 1cuckoo roo to 1 cuckoo hen = cuckoo babies. I m quite surprised. If theres another thread that answers this stuff i ll heas there if you point me in the right direction

 

[VillageChicken]

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I have the same incubator. How do you keep your humidity up the last three days? I read that they need to have high humidity the last three days is that true?

when all the channels in the plastic tray are full, I don't have a problem hatching any kind of eggs, especially non-shipped. But if it's really dry there, put the whole incubator in a shallow tray of water, and the tiny holes around the edges will pick up the humidity from the tray.

 

[VillageChicken]

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All light colored chick legs are orange/yellow when hatched, probably because of the yolk. They clear up in a few days if they will be white. Sometimes takes more than a week.

Feathered shanks are not random. They are caused by a dominant gene. A bird can either carry two genes for feathering, one gene for feathering and one gene for clean shanks, or two genes for clean shanks. Depending on the parent's genetic configuration, you get different numbers of chicks with clean or feathered shanks. To get feathered shanks, only hatch eggs from breeders who cull or don't use any non-feathered birds. Ask them if their birds breed true consistently with feathered shanks.

White Marans are caused by a recessive white gene that is not a mutation related to cuckoo. Cuckoo marans can carry a recessive white gene, and when paired with another cuckoo who also carries one recessive white gene will produce a small percentage (around 25%) of white offspring that carry two recessive white genes. But any color chicken can carry recessive white. I have ISA browns and barred rocks who carry recessive white.

The word sex-linked refers to a genetic trait that is always passed down from father to daughter. Barring on feathers, like the cuckoo pattern is one of the sex-linked genetic traits in chickens. These sex-linked traits are often used when breeding hybrids to make the offspring sexable at hatch. Cuckoo Marans are not hybrids, they simply express some sex-linked characteristics, but almost all varieties possess one or two sex-linked traits.

 

[kagedgoddess]

Ok got it thank you. I never noticed the legs were yellow at hatch.

 

[rockyspringsfarm]

Does anyone on the thread raise the White Marans ? I don't recall anyone specifically saying they raised the Whites.

The picture posted by Village Chicken of the White eggs was beautiful......Made me so jealous :>) It would be really nice to have Whites that lay that dark a color here in the U.S.

Peggy

 

[jeremy]

I personally want to see more Golden Cuckoo Marans pictures, especially of hens and the eggs they lay.

I'm thinking of adding a third breed to my line up and the GCs have caught my eye.