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

[OHmamma]

Hello
This is a fascinating thread,

do any of you folks have pics to illustrate the pure colors of these?

Hi Jake,
Which would you like to see pictures of?

Here is a link to the Marans site with photos of the varieties. http://marans.org/varieties.html or ............... http://maransofamericaclub.com/maranstandards.php

Ihatched this guy out two days ago. he is Blue Copper X Silver Cuckoo. He is my first Bantam Marans chick of the season.....


I wasn't trying for a golden but I think he/she might be one. To me it looks like the one in the middle left row in this pisture from the Australian site......
http://frenchmaransclubaustralia.yolasite.com/notes-on-breeding.php

 

[Jake Levi]

Hi

Thank you for those links, such beautiful birds !

I can see why so many breeders keep so many diffeent colors !

Jake

 

[DMRippy]

I am new to cuckoos and I have a question. I hatched some chicks from GCM all were normal color except one... she was all black at hatch. No spot. She now has a spot and just wanted to know if she is a Silver Cuckoo or still a GCM? I know Marans can throw odd ball babies sometimes. From what I have read you should not use them to breed, I was just hoping I could use her in my Silver Cuckoos... she has great leg feathering.

 

[OHmamma]

DM~ She could still be either from what I understand. Sometimes they do not get their golden until much later especially the pullets just like bcm. Does she have a brown hue to her head or face? I don't know how many regular or silver cuckoos you have hatched but you should be able to see some difference.

A new line of GCM can still make a standard or a silver it just depends on if they get that gold wildtype gene. GCM have to be bred out for several genertaions to breed true.

 

[DMRippy]

DM~ She could still be either from what I understand. Sometimes they do not get their golden until much later especially the pullets just like bcm. Does she have a brown hue to her head or face? I don't know how many regular or silver cuckoos you have hatched but you should be able to see some difference.

A new line of GCM can still make a standard or a silver it just depends on if they get that gold wildtype gene. GCM have to be bred out for several genertaions to breed true.

I have only hatched this one batch of GCM and some Blue Cuckoos. She was SOLID BLACK at hatch. I will give her a once over tomorrow and see if she has any brown, but I didn't see any. I would have noticed. I have some BCM that had brown on them and are mossy and I marked them right off.

I will grow her up and see what she is later.

 

[OHmamma]

Sometimes growing them out is all we can do.

A mossy bcm chick can still grow out to be a well colored hen. It just takes a while before it goes away.

 

[DMRippy]

Sometimes growing them out is all we can do.

A mossy bcm chick can still grow out to be a well colored hen. It just takes a while before it goes away.

They lay the dark eggs

I marked them just to see what changes they make. Not to cull. My first batch of chicks all the pullets were mossy..... but they all laid a nice dark egg. I just wanted to test that theory out and see if it repeats.

 

[OHmamma]

(Sorry I am off the cuckoo/white subject sort of ) I kept one hen that never "grew out of it" she is the sweetest most talkative hen I have ever seen. She lays a #8 egg consistently and actually stayed rather small. She came in very handy in my bantam project. Her son is my main roo right now. She makes very well colored roos. The chick inthe photo is from him and my bantam cuckoo (back on subject)

 

[Hens and Roos]

nice pictures!

We finished our hatch last night- ended up with 11 chicks out of 13 eggs! Boy the chicks are a noisy bunch- have them in a brooder in our lower family room by the rabbit and we could hear them upstairs!

will try and get a picture uploaded!

 

[Hens and Roos]

okay on the cuckoo chicks who has what size white spot on their head?