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That looks like it's a wheaten based bird with that head coloring...where did you get these?
That looks like it's a wheaten based bird with that head coloring...where did you get these?
Let's talk Cuckoo and WHITE marans... breeding strategies...
- Thread starter geebs
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Just looked back at PMs and her roo had some gold in him could be why
Just looked back at PMs and her roo had some gold in him could be why
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Ah- there you go! Did he have gold in the wing triangle? Can you tell? That would confirm Wheaten base.
Ah- there you go! Did he have gold in the wing triangle? Can you tell? That would confirm Wheaten base.
Umm I know where to look next time I need some advice on chickens, advice,pests, diet etc. Chookschick's byc page!! Wow it is amazing! Just had to say that
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Thanks! I just like to help as much as possible, and distilling info is something I'm good at.
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That looks like it's a wheaten based bird with that head coloring...where did you get these?
Wheaten based birds have white or yellow down. Not dark brown heads.
A correct golden cuckoo should not have a dark brown head, but there are very few correct golden cuckoos out there.
Your chicks have the Db gene that is in some Wade line BCM. It causes some restriction of black depending on the bird's other genes, and changes the normal golden color to a burnt orange. It is called Db because it was named after the Dark brown chickdown that signifies its presence. Db is not a big problem in golden cuckoos, since no one really knows what they are supposed to look like. Are they mostly black with gold replacing the white in the hackle and saddle? Or can they have barred golden areas on them as well? I have a barred Db carrying cockerel that has a barred buff breast and head, but the rest of him is barred black. He will have gold and the cuckoo pattern of barring, but that doesn't make him a good Golden Cuckoo. Birds with Db will generally have less black, and potentially more white feathers. If they are genetically based on the correct Extended Black E allele, then the Db won't make very much difference. On ER/Birchen or some mix of ER and Wheaten it will make a much bigger difference.
Crele is the barring pattern over the wildtype (brown leghorn or golden duckwing) color. Crele is not the same as golden cuckoo, though I am sure there are some barred wheaten Marans roosters out there in someone's Golden Cuckoo breeding pen. Wheaten and wildtype roosters are essentially the same in pattern, but chickdown and hen/pullet feathering is very different.
That looks like it's a wheaten based bird with that head coloring...where did you get these?
Wheaten based birds have white or yellow down. Not dark brown heads.
A correct golden cuckoo should not have a dark brown head, but there are very few correct golden cuckoos out there.
Your chicks have the Db gene that is in some Wade line BCM. It causes some restriction of black depending on the bird's other genes, and changes the normal golden color to a burnt orange. It is called Db because it was named after the Dark brown chickdown that signifies its presence. Db is not a big problem in golden cuckoos, since no one really knows what they are supposed to look like. Are they mostly black with gold replacing the white in the hackle and saddle? Or can they have barred golden areas on them as well? I have a barred Db carrying cockerel that has a barred buff breast and head, but the rest of him is barred black. He will have gold and the cuckoo pattern of barring, but that doesn't make him a good Golden Cuckoo. Birds with Db will generally have less black, and potentially more white feathers. If they are genetically based on the correct Extended Black E allele, then the Db won't make very much difference. On ER/Birchen or some mix of ER and Wheaten it will make a much bigger difference.
Crele is the barring pattern over the wildtype (brown leghorn or golden duckwing) color. Crele is not the same as golden cuckoo, though I am sure there are some barred wheaten Marans roosters out there in someone's Golden Cuckoo breeding pen. Wheaten and wildtype roosters are essentially the same in pattern, but chickdown and hen/pullet feathering is very different.
Ok so here is a pic of the daddy
is this a golden Cuckoo?
I am new
so just wanted some darker eggs and liked the cuckoo's ....but I have some BCM and Blue CM chicks coming from Raven1
is this a golden Cuckoo?
I am new
Here is an example of someone breeding Golden Cuckoo who has absolutely no idea of what they are breeding. They obviously have wheaten genes in there, if not pure barred wheaten with Mahogany. The hens are Wheaten pattern, with almost no black.
No, that's not a golden cuckoo. It's cuckoo with some gold leakage or straw coloring due to sunlight or diet.
No, that's not a golden cuckoo. It's cuckoo with some gold leakage or straw coloring due to sunlight or diet.
I did some further digging about the European cuckoos. There is debate and confusion there as well. This was from a forum where most of the guys are there are from UK, Mainland Europe and Australia.
There are 3 versions of cuckoo in the UK. Dark, Silver and Golden. As far as I can tell, the Golden and Silver are Barred BCM and Birchen, although it is also argued that the Golden is supposed to be Crele, but that very few Golden Salmon (wildtype) birds exist, and almost none have good type, so creating true Goldens is next to impossible.
At least I found a description from UK standards:
Golden Cuckoo female
Hackle medium bluish-grey with golden and black bands. Breast dark bluish grey with black bands, pale golden shading on upper parts. Remainder dark bluish-grey with black bands.
Silver Cuckoo female
Mainly white in neck and showing white on upper part of breast. Remainder banded throughout. Lighter ground colour than the Dark Cuckoo.
Golden Cuckoo male
Male Plumage:
Hackles bluish-grey with golden and black bands, neck paler than the saddle.
Breast bluish-grey with black bands, pale golden shading on the upper part.
Thighs and fluff light bluish-grey with medium black banding.
Back Shoulders and Wing Bows bluish-grey with rich bright golden and black bands.
Wing Bars bluish-grey with black bands, golden fringe permissable.
Wing Primaries dark blue-grey lightly banded.
Secondaries dark blue-grey lightly banded with slight golden fringe.
Tail dark blue-grey banded with black.
Coverts blue-grey banded with black.
These descriptions, if we are going by British Standards DO describe birds with birchen ER. The Dark Cuckoo is the one that doesn't have a lighter hackle, and that should be EE based like Barred Rocks. But I don't know if the U.S. cuckoo should be based on the silver or the dark British Cuckoos, the french sources don't give any useful information to determine genetics, and are rather disappointing.
There are 3 versions of cuckoo in the UK. Dark, Silver and Golden. As far as I can tell, the Golden and Silver are Barred BCM and Birchen, although it is also argued that the Golden is supposed to be Crele, but that very few Golden Salmon (wildtype) birds exist, and almost none have good type, so creating true Goldens is next to impossible.
At least I found a description from UK standards:
Golden Cuckoo female
Hackle medium bluish-grey with golden and black bands. Breast dark bluish grey with black bands, pale golden shading on upper parts. Remainder dark bluish-grey with black bands.
Silver Cuckoo female
Mainly white in neck and showing white on upper part of breast. Remainder banded throughout. Lighter ground colour than the Dark Cuckoo.
Golden Cuckoo male
Male Plumage:
Hackles bluish-grey with golden and black bands, neck paler than the saddle.
Breast bluish-grey with black bands, pale golden shading on the upper part.
Thighs and fluff light bluish-grey with medium black banding.
Back Shoulders and Wing Bows bluish-grey with rich bright golden and black bands.
Wing Bars bluish-grey with black bands, golden fringe permissable.
Wing Primaries dark blue-grey lightly banded.
Secondaries dark blue-grey lightly banded with slight golden fringe.
Tail dark blue-grey banded with black.
Coverts blue-grey banded with black.
These descriptions, if we are going by British Standards DO describe birds with birchen ER. The Dark Cuckoo is the one that doesn't have a lighter hackle, and that should be EE based like Barred Rocks. But I don't know if the U.S. cuckoo should be based on the silver or the dark British Cuckoos, the french sources don't give any useful information to determine genetics, and are rather disappointing.
The MCCUsa hasn't gotten around to honing the Cuckoo standard much either.
http://www.maransusa.org/varieties/silvercuckoostandard.html
They list Cuckoo (Silver Cuckoo), Golden Cuckoo, Splash Cuckoo, and Blue Cuckoo
How's that new baby doing VC??
http://www.maransusa.org/varieties/silvercuckoostandard.html
They list Cuckoo (Silver Cuckoo), Golden Cuckoo, Splash Cuckoo, and Blue Cuckoo
How's that new baby doing VC??
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