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

[HenThymes]

I am happy to say my new bantam marans arrived today! On of those being a gold cuckoo cockerel. He is bigger than his blue/splash counterparts that arrived with him today but I do have plans for him. I will use him over my existing black & cuckoo bantam pullets, they lay a decent dark egg for bantams, his earlobes are starting to express some white hinting he is losing egg color capabilites so their dark eggs should hopefully make up for that aspect? I will cull heavy for size from their offspring for my next generation.

He is much smaller than my LF golds I have in the barn, he is full grown they are only 5-6 months old and twice his size.

The cuckoo group is all clean legged but the blue/splash group is nicely feathered.

 

[heritagehabitatfarms]

nice

I am happy to say my new bantam marans arrived today! On of those being a gold cuckoo cockerel. He is bigger than his blue/splash counterparts that arrived with him today but I do have plans for him. I will use him over my existing black & cuckoo bantam pullets, they lay a decent dark egg for bantams, his earlobes are starting to express some white hinting he is losing egg color capabilites so their dark eggs should hopefully make up for that aspect? I will cull heavy for size from their offspring for my next generation.

He is much smaller than my LF golds I have in the barn, he is full grown they are only 5-6 months old and twice his size.

The cuckoo group is all clean legged but the blue/splash group is nicely feathered.

 

[fowlman01]

It appears that the Cuckoo Marans will have an APA qualifying meet at Shawnee, OK in 2013. The description will be the same as the ABA color description for Cuckoo.

Walt

 

[3riverschick]

It appears that the Cuckoo Marans will have an APA qualifying meet at Shawnee, OK in 2013. The description will be the same as the ABA color description for Cuckoo.

Walt

Hi Walt,
Does the ABA Standard require feathered shanks?
Thanks,
Karen

 

[flgardengirl]

I bet there aren't that many silver cuckoos with feathered shanks around in the U.S. ......

 

[Raven1]

If this is true than I better start hanging on to mine!! Kewl!

I bet there aren't that many silver cuckoos with feathered shanks around in the U.S. ......

 

[flgardengirl]

It seems like more people have been working on getting the feathered shanks onto the golden cuckoos than on to the silver based cuckoos. Most of the silver ones and pics I have seen are clean legged. There are some really nice feather shanked silvers out there but most I've seen aren't. I am wondering if the silvers are harder to find a silver based Marans with feathered shanks to cross out to. There doesn't seem to be that many true blues and blacks out there (no coppering). Not that many (silver) birchens out there either, without gold leakage, that are also feather- shanked.
The golden cuckoos are still mostly a work in progress but easy to cross to the feathered shanked BCMs to get feathered shanks because the BCMs are more readily available.

 

[3riverschick]

There are some really nice feather shanked silvers out there but most I've seen aren't.
-----------------------------------
If I was starting out in silver cuckoo, I would go to Russ Young in Ohio and get some of his stunning Silver Cuckoo, which I *believe* are clean shanked and cross them out to one of those really nice feather shanked silvers you saw. Russ's silver cuckoos lay an extremely dark egg. 7+ to 8+ He has been breeding them for years so his cocks come from dams who are dark egg layers. So I would take a feather shanked female and cross it to one of his cocks, then take the feather-shanked females and cross back to the father . Take the feather-shanked males from this mating and cross to one of Russ's hens. Then cross feather shanked individuals from the two families. and linebreed. Keep the darkest layers in reserve for use as needed whether they are feather-shanked or not. Also hold back a superb male from the 1st breeding which you can use 3 generations later for a back-cross to one of the cocks' relatives who is no closer than a 1st cousin.
Best Regards,
Karen

 

[flgardengirl]

I have a pure black Marans roo from a very dark egg. I don't like his comb because he has a double serration but I like everything else about him. I might use him on some cuckoo projects to darken up egg color if needed. I did find some good looking silver cuckoos to purchase who are feather shanked too I already have golden cukoo projects going and starting on the lemon cuckoos now that my new breeding pens are finished.
Here is my black Marans boy. Like I said, I hate his huge comb (too many points, a double serration, but clean with no sprigs lol) His body is just huge now. He was pretty young in this pic. I have one pure black Marans hen as well with heavy feathered shanks who lays a 7-8 depending on her laying cycle.

 

[bigshawn]

Love your Black Marans, not many Black Marans Roo's out here from what I've seen would love to see more of them.........