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

[Goose and Fig]

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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:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/45425_hilarious-blue_cockoo_marans_8-27-2011-crop.jpg

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.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/fo..._of_4_cuckoo_marans_chicks_9-16-2011-crop.jpg

Woo- nice legs on that guy! You can use black hens and regular cuckoo hens too and still get about 50% blue chicks.

 

[rsarns]

That picture was at 5 weeks, he is now 9 weeks. I will see if I can get a better picture of him now. He is in with 2 BCM Cockerels, a splash pullet, and a BCM pullet. In my large coop I have a 23 week old cuckoo Marans hen and roo, and a 19 week old Wheaten Marans Roo.... he is going to be a pretty one!

 

[Hens and Roos]

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It will be interesting to grow him up to see what he will look like. You'll have to post lots of pictures so we can all watch too

 

[Hens and Roos]

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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:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/45425_hilarious-blue_cockoo_marans_8-27-2011-crop.jpg

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.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/fo..._of_4_cuckoo_marans_chicks_9-16-2011-crop.jpg

Woo- nice legs on that guy! You can use black hens and regular cuckoo hens too and still get about 50% blue chicks.

Thanks! he is very mellow and well perfers not to be picked up, he will let us with little fuss- we named him "Hilarious" and he has a very interesting and distinct crow!
well those were the only 4 that we hatched out from that hen(she died on us last month- we are thinking she started interally laying

), the 1 girl is lighter than the 2nd girl and we didn't keep the 2 boys(a friend of ours took them as she just lost her male cuckoo)

It will be neat to watch them grow out.

 

[Raven1]

Sorry so long to get back to you guys. I used solid Black hens and what I thought was a Splash roo to get solid Blue Marans but boy was I surprised. My roo is an Almost White Splash Cuckoo. He made some beauties to!

 

[Hens and Roos]

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Wow! he has neat coloring, so is he clean legged or does he have a few leg feathers? Do you have pictures of the babies? Where would one go to get good Blue Marans- maybe someone more in my direction- especially if we went with eggs- I've had mixed results with shipped eggs. Of course this is all dependent on how the babies develop

 

[Raven1]

He is clean legged and so are the hens but I got a couple of chicks with very nice feathering! He also had a beautiful comb till last winter and lost all his points

he looks like he was dubbed wrong so sad. I was going to get pictures of all of them last night but had the never ending day at work, and had to feed in the dark. I will try again tonight.
Blue Copper is easy to find but Solid Blue is very hard, I am still looking. I have a nice Splash roo (suppost to not have copper) not showing copper that I am going to breed to some more Solid Black hens I did manage to get this spring so we will see if I get any next spring.
I don't know who I think I am kidding I will be hatching all winter if they start to lay

 

[Harris5]

Thought I would share a picture of my GCM pullet's egg.

 

[Hens and Roos]

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I know what you mean about never ending work! I have a Blue Copper pullet that has next to nothing for copper color and I am watching her to see if any develops as she is only 22 weeks. So are Black Marans easier to find then? It seems like Black Copper and Blue Copper are most available. Sorry to hear about his comb points, that's a bummer- that is one concern we have since most of the breeds we are raising have big single combs- in winter we watch the temps super close. So the chicks with feather legs were they from him or did you bring them in separate from someone else?

Harris5- very nice looking egg, what color is it on the egg chart?

 

[Goose and Fig]

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Nice! Where did you get your GCs from? I try to win some that come up in CA once in a while, but I never win them.