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

[fowlman01]

Hi Walt,
Does the ABA Standard require feathered shanks?
Thanks,
Karen

The ABA Marans have clean legs, but the color description will be the same description the ABA uses for Cuckoo birds in general. They apparently believe they can get 50+ feather legged Cuckoo Marans by the 2013 Shawnee show. They know that the APA will not qualify them if they don't have good type and color. I haven't seen any good ones out here in the west coast.

Walt

 

[HenThymes]

Walt, I don't have the ABA book, do you by chance have the standards for the bantams that you could share?? If I remember correctly they are on the "inactive" list, does this mean they can't be shown?

 

[bigshawn]

I've noticed that Black Marans come clean and feather legged, where does this come from and how hard is this to breed clean legged BM's out, can one breed this totally out??

 

[heritagehabitatfarms]

A lot of the color's of Marans have both clean legged (English SOP) and feathered legs ( French SOP)... most of the Marans where imported from England and so where clean legged... later a lot of the breeders got together and decided to breed to the French SOP as that is where the breed originated... but there is still a few breeders that breed for clean legs... feathered legs are not hard to add to a line... if u have blacks use a good silver cuckoo over them and just keep the pure black baby's (50%) u can add feathers to there legs in one cross this way...

When i got my black Marans they where hatching about 1 out of 10 chicks with feather stubs on there legs... so i kept and bred from those chicks... 3 generations later i have good feathered legs on 9 out of 10 chicks hatched...

I've noticed that Black Marans come clean and feather legged, where does this come from and how hard is this to breed clean legged BM's out, can one breed this totally out??

 

[bigshawn]

A lot of the color's of Marans have both clean legged (English SOP) and feathered legs ( French SOP)... most of the Marans where imported from England and so where clean legged... later a lot of the breeders got together and decided to breed to the French SOP as that is where the breed originated... but there is still a few breeders that breed for clean legs... feathered legs are not hard to add to a line... if u have blacks use a good silver cuckoo over them and just keep the pure black baby's (50%) u can add feathers to there legs in one cross this way...

When i got my black Marans they where hatching about 1 out of 10 chicks with feather stubs on there legs... so i kept and bred from those chicks... 3 generations later i have good feathered legs on 9 out of 10 chicks hatched...

Thank you just the answer I was looking for and that is just what I will do, wow 1 out of ten........

 

[heritagehabitatfarms]

in the last 3 years ive hatched over 250 chicks to get the 2 roosters and 4 hens that i am breeding from this spring...

Thank you just the answer I was looking for and that is just what I will do, wow 1 out of ten........

 

[bigshawn]

in the last 3 years ive hatched over 250 chicks to get the 2 roosters and 4 hens that i am breeding from this spring...

250!!!!!!!, why soooo many?, If ok to ask may I see a piture of your BMs?

 

[heritagehabitatfarms]

i have hatched as many as i can to get them closer to the standard... i started with 1 rooster and 3 hens... only one hen had feather stubs on her feet... i hatched over 150 chicks the 1st year and saved 3 pair to go on to the next year... all of them had a couple of feathers or stubs on there feet... and i had a good place to sell the culls as 6 week old chicks so i hatched a bunch and just kept the ones that had fluff on there feet... i ended up with about 15 or 16 that i raised to adulthood then i culled for good conformation down to the 3 pairs... last year i hatched about 100 and then lost a bunch of chicks in a really bad store the same week i put them outside... so i raised to adulthood about 45 or so... and culled down to the 5 birds i have now... i have just hatched the 1st couple of chicks so far this year... i would like to hatch 50 to 75 this year... i really need to work on tail angle this year... that is in my eye there worst fault right now... i am also trying to get some good silver cuckoo Marans to out-cross to to improve egg color...

i thought i had some pic's on here but don't see them now... so ill try to take some in the next week or so... i just found out i have to work my days off so this is gonna be another 80+ hour week...

250!!!!!!!, why soooo many?, If ok to ask may I see a piture of your BMs?

 

[bigshawn]

i have hatched as many as i can to get them closer to the standard... i started with 1 rooster and 3 hens... only one hen had feather stubs on her feet... i hatched over 150 chicks the 1st year and saved 3 pair to go on to the next year... all of them had a couple of feathers or stubs on there feet... and i had a good place to sell the culls as 6 week old chicks so i hatched a bunch and just kept the ones that had fluff on there feet... i ended up with about 15 or 16 that i raised to adulthood then i culled for good conformation down to the 3 pairs... last year i hatched about 100 and then lost a bunch of chicks in a really bad store the same week i put them outside... so i raised to adulthood about 45 or so... and culled down to the 5 birds i have now... i have just hatched the 1st couple of chicks so far this year... i would like to hatch 50 to 75 this year... i really need to work on tail angle this year... that is in my eye there worst fault right now... i am also trying to get some good silver cuckoo Marans to out-cross to to improve egg color...

i thought i had some pic's on here but don't see them now... so ill try to take some in the next week or so... i just found out i have to work my days off so this is gonna be another 80+ hour week...

Thank you for your reply alot of work I see........

 

[heritagehabitatfarms]

Ok a ??? how close is to close to inbreed??? i have hatched 8 white Marans chicks this year so far and have lost 3 of them on the 3rd day... they are the only ones i have had die once i took them out of the incubator... i had mixed hatches both times 7 or 8 breeds and they where the only ones that have died... they all ate and drank good and seamed fine for the 1st 2 days then went down hill and died the 3rd...

here is y i am wondering if its inbreeding... i got one white hen when i got my blacks... with no white rooster i just put her in with my blacks... hatched about 15 or 20 chicks from her that 1st year... as the rooster had no foot feathers none of the roo chicks did either (still not sure if it was truly a sex linked thing or not) the original hen had great foot feathers and so did about 75% of her daughters... i kept 2 of the best looking hens and no roo over for last years breeders... i bred them to the black roo's again so that was there half brother... i hatched about 25 chicks last year and culled down to 2 hens for this years breeders... once again i did not get a good white roo in the spring but i did get a single barred cuckoo roo that looked pretty good... so this spring i have the 2 hens in with there full brother the cuckoo and they are all out of a half brother/sister the year before... i did manege to hatch a good looking white roo late last fall and i plan on changing him out with the barred roo in a few weeks but he is a full brother as well... then after i get a few chicks out of that roo i plan on putting one of there black half brothers in and getting some from that pairing...

the only other Marans roo i have on the place is a blue roo i just got... now I'm wondering if i should be using him as he is not related in any way...

i know it is better to use father/daughter or mother/son than brother/sister but i have sold or eaten my old breeders every year... its just easier than trying to keep tract how old each hen or roo is...

so what do y'all think???