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

[Raven1]

Their so nice I said it twice LOL

 

[OHmamma]

Hello everyone just wanted to drop in and say hello....Hello. I have been reading back over the posts and have enjoyed looking at the new projects and crosses way cool. I am not here to be critiqued that'll come in due time when my projects are finished. My only goal is to share and compare notes with anyone interested or working on similar crosses. I had decided a while back to put a Birchen cock over some cleaned leg Cuckoo hens in hopes of feathering the shanks a bit. The project is going as planned I hatched out single barred cocks and black pullets with nice, but not overly feathered shanks. According the calculator the next cross will yield four color variations, Cuckoo, Black, ER based cuckoo, and Birchen. In next cross the Cuckoo coloration and the Blacks some will be EER I guess you could say split for Birchen. I am wondering if that one copy of ER will express itself anywhere to allow me to pick out the EE based Cuckoo and EE based blacks. The ERER based Cuckoo and the ERER Birchen should be no trouble to spot. My goal is to continue with the Birchen Based Cuckoo. I also have a Golden Salmons to put over some Cuckoo's in hopes of creating a Crele. Anyone who wishes to compare notes please do I just want to keep it simple and enjoy my backyard hobby. Here are some pics of my first cross and the young GS.



GS on far left two black pullets and a single barred cock

Hi,
I have a crele project going too.

You can almost spot the EE based ones they have a softer black plumage. EER blacks have the beetle green sheen. You will still have to test mate to be sure.

 

[pickledchicken]

Quote: Thanks for the pointer i'm still a few months out but I will keep that in mind when I start the second cross. Please keep me informed on your Crele project best I can figure the GS with Barring is the best route so far. I prefer not to out cross just wanna stick Marans over marans for now. That pic a few posts back is what I'm after I love the Crele pattern on anything. Again thanks for the tips

 

[pmessner]

Roo or pullet? anyone want to venture an opinion? This chick is about a month old, could be EE or EEr and also could be BB or Bb... so I am hesitant. I think I know but want to see if I get a consensus. Let me know if you need more pictures/angles.

 

[pickledchicken]

If I had to guess I would say young cockerel.

 

[pmessner]

that's what I think, too... he does that "chest bump" thing, too... where they face each other off with their heads up high and the chests sticking out. I don't see the pullet chicks doing that. How about his younger sibs... this one is harder. There is gold and birchen in the mix here for sure.

 

[DMRippy]

Roo or pullet? anyone want to venture an opinion? This chick is about a month old, could be EE or EEr and also could be BB or Bb... so I am hesitant. I think I know but want to see if I get a consensus. Let me know if you need more pictures/angles.

Are you sure those are pure Cuckoos? The leg color looks off. Cuckoos skin is white and they don't have that dark color that say a Copper Marans would have. I don't think those siblings are pure marans either

they look to have yellow skin.

I do think she is a pullet. A comb shot would help though.

 

[pmessner]

Quote:
I am using a lemon orp outcross on this pairing... as you can see I am getting some interesting chick variants and growing them out to understand golden cuckoo better. The roo on this cross is a birchen cuckoo / lemon orp cross with birchen cuckoo coloring and the hen a pure golden cuckoo marans. Here are more head shots of our girl/boy tbd

 

[DMRippy]

I think that is a pullet still, but with the orp in the mix now IDK.... they are harder to sex at that age.

 

[pmessner]

I think that is a pullet still, but with the orp in the mix now IDK.... they are harder to sex at that age.

aaah... I was convinced he/she was a boy but I had just enough doubt to question myself... so thank you for the feed back. I will just have to grow it out and see. The diversity in feather coloring I am getting is kind of interesting. Check out this pairing... I am pretty sure the one on the left is female... and so far the only one I feel confident about sexing. She has that golden cuckoo brownish hue to her though muted... as for the leg coloring on these I'm not sure why they appear yellowish as my orps have gray white legs and my golden cuckoo marans have pinkish white... no yellow legs in the flock. I am getting ready to order some more pure golden cuckoo marans hatching eggs so I can observe the differences more carefully over the summer. I do like the gentleness of the orps... you can just pick them up. My marans are freindly and gentle but don't particularly care for handling much. Liking to be picked up is a pretty endearing quality in a chicken.