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

[Goose and Fig]

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I find it interesting that with our hatch the males had more leg feathering- have you noticed that too?

Thanks Raven1! These 2 are just a test hatch to make sure the male isn't carrying any genes that would throw a carnation comb- the 2 hens he is with are showing this type of comb. If the next 5 months don't show any signs of it then I will continue with my project.

I noticed that ALL of the offspring have better feathering than the parents- when it comes to my blue coppers anyway. Same thing happened in my BW olive eggers.

 

[Raven1]

You have a silver cuckoo roo also?

 

[Goose and Fig]

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1 really light silver one (thicker white bands) and one that I am not sure of. Of the 3 I am keeping- 2 have lots of yellow, and one has just bits of red, but a better tail- so far. Marans take so long to finish out, and boy they eat like pigs!

 

[Raven1]

ABSOLUTELY!!!

 

[Hens and Roos]

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so what are you using as your starting chickens?

 

[Goose and Fig]

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so what are you using as your starting chickens?

I think she used blues and cuckoos. Holly (HBuehler) got a really pretty blue cuckoo roo from her nto too long ago. I know he's not a marans, but lhere's one of my little guys:

 

[rsarns]

Is this a blue cuckoo? Hatched out with eggs I bought that were all supposed to be blue, blue/splash Marans...

 

[Goose and Fig]

That looks like a normal cuckoo. I have had a few really dark blue marans that almost look black, but most of my blue cuckoo birds tend to be on the light side. I don't know if there's any correlation there....
They might have had a cuckoo hen in with their blues.

 

[Hens and Roos]

Quote:
so what are you using as your starting chickens?

I think she used blues and cuckoos. Holly (HBuehler) got a really pretty blue cuckoo roo from her nto too long ago. I know he's not a marans, but lhere's one of my little guys:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/28521_dscn6278.jpg

that was my thought on what to use, I will have to find some nice blue girls if the test hatch babies grow up without comb problems, I did post the cockeral that I have currently probably on the Marans thread but here he is again:

rsarns- it looks cuckoo but hard to tell if it's blue or black, how old? very nice!

Here is babies we hatched out using the above boy and the hen was a regular cuckoo color.

 

[rsarns]

He is really blue, the picture doesn't show it very well. Much lighter base colorthan my cuckoo rooster and hen.