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

[HenThymes]

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How small, bantam marans small???

 

[verlaj]

Question about "double-dose:" Does that dilute the gold color as well as the gray/black cuckoo pattern? The roosters I kept are lighter in color all over than the one I showed in the photo, which has so much gold color.

 

[Hens and Roos]

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Nice!
I have learned though- if you have several roos growing out together it can almost stunt the growth of the less dominant ones. Then when you take the lead guy out of the picture- voila! I am watching it right now with a blue Orp. He appears stuck at the 5 month mark

I agree with this, that the one who is on the bottom of the order trys hard to be not seen or heard. This makes it harder to decide who stays and goes especially if you don't have enough space to seperate them out. I have a group of 3 that are pretty even in doimant standings so they hang out together for now(until I separate them into breed groups). I have also had good luck in combining them back together in one pen after we have finished incuabting eggs for the year- we'll see if this goes smoothly again-I keep those 3 boys in pens right next to each other so they can see each other all the time.

 

[Raven1]

No not bantam small just smaller than I would like sorry

I do believe the double dose will lighten every thing, but I am going on what I have seen. I don't know alot about the science of it.

 

[Goose and Fig]

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Ooooh! Does this mean I have some now too?

Also- I wonder if a double dose cuckoo roo makes for better colored female offspring?

 

[Raven1]

OH YEAH you do!!!!

 

[Goose and Fig]

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From the most recent batch, right? I have to show you this one from the first hatch. I swear its a hermaphrodite- I cannot tell roo or pullet!.

 

[Goose and Fig]

I had thought this was a boy:

It appears to have saddle feathers, but its much smaller than the siblings and not patterened like them at all. And no comb development either. I will have to catch it today. This might be another case of competing roos, but it seems like it doesn't even have the same parents as the others.

 

[featherfriendlyinIowa52]

I also cracked up over the pic with the kids staring at us! "You lookin' at me? You lookin' at me?!?!?!?" The expressions were priceless.

 

[HenThymes]

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This guy screams boy, boy, boy!