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

[Hens and Roos]

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???

From what I have read on here and in talking with other people into breeding chickens- the sibling to sibling mating is probably the one to stay away from if you can. Of course if that is all you have to work with, then start there and cull hard. Sibling to sibling will show you faster what genetic background your chickens have, could be good could be bad.

 

[flgardengirl]

Many think that new blood should be introduced after about 5 generations of line breeding and that mother to son or father to daughter is better than sibling to sibling. Keeping careful records and banding will help you pinpoint problems much easier especially after years have gone by.
One on one test mating is good too. You don't have to have just one roo and one hen. You can have several hens in with the one hen you want to test mate. Just make sure the other hens in with her, have a different egg color so you can select and set only the hen's eggs of your choice. Its hard on hens being the only one lol.

 

[OHmamma]

Thanks for the explanation of the wildtype gene. I am trying to understand more into the genetics. I tend to spend more of my time with my chickens learning behaviors and such than studying the genetics. I know there is so much to learn but I am slowly getting it. I So appreciate helpful people that have already done the research.

I wouldn't cull a chick for feathered middle toe right away they often loose it. I have a few recessive white hens that sported from WJ birds. One has beautiful black spots like you described. Her chicks are coming out spotted too, no matter if she is bred to a black copper, a white, or a cuckoo.

The standard will be for the French variety so feathered shanks is a must. I personally do not see that having 50+ showable cuckoos by 12/13 would be that hard. The breeders on the committee have all been raising them for quite a while and I know most of them are hatching heavily to come up with the right numbers. Other Marans enthusiast are also welcome to enter theirs at the show so I think it will be a good time. I have already hatched out close to 100 myself and have another 60 in the incubator now. I plan on having even more for next season. My goal is to take 20+ birds to Shawnee..

French Cuckoo are hard to come by I have been working on mine trying to keep the darker eggs and feathered shanks. I was lucky to be able to start with decent stock. I will admit I almost gave them all away last year but I just love the color. I had to keep a few I am glad I did.

I have 2 feather shanked roos over two hens with them, and 4 without them. I am still getting about 75% feathered. The four without had a father with feathered shanks too so I believe that is helping. I was honestly surprised to be getting so many that are well feathered not just a few that don't even reach the toe.

I do egg trades but I don't like to buy or sell, it can be too disappointing when money gets involved. Nothing worse than spending $50 for eggs that don't hatch....except maybe spending $250 for chicks that arrive dead.

Inbreeding, linebreeding it all must to be done.....etc... I found felch's chart very interesting.....http://www.thepoultrygarden.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=3951

Just trying to catch up.

 

[Hens and Roos]

thanks for the link, I book marked it so I can go and read and re-read

 

[Hens and Roos]

here is a picture of my cuckoo chicks- just about 1 month old- black, blue and splash

 

[OHmamma]

That one you can read, reread, and re-reread. It took me a few times to get it. I had to print it off :0)

Lovely chicks esp the blue cuckoo they are still my favorite. I just have a thing for blue. Are the splash from your cuckoo?

Check out his little bantam guy. It was hard to get rid of him...

 

[fowlman01]

Good to hear that there will be no problem getting 50+ cuckoo's. the BC's and Wheatens didn't do too well in their first qualifying meets and they had plenty of chickens there. The 50+ has to be good representations of the breed and variety. White in wings and tails could be a problem. I don't want to sound negative, but that color pattern is harder than it seems at first. I will be very happy if it goes without a hitch......and it will if the Marans folks pull together.

Walt

 

[Hens and Roos]

That one you can read, reread, and re-reread. It took me a few times to get it. I had to print it off :0)

Lovely chicks esp the blue cuckoo they are still my favorite. I just have a thing for blue. Are the splash from your cuckoo?

yes the 2 little splash chicks are from the cuckoo eggs, my girls are black cuckoo and blue cuckoo with a blue cuckoo rooster

 

[OHmamma]

Walt I am trying very hard to keep the white out of mine. I know some have focused more on other things but to me the white in the tails makes them look bad. Plummage and combs are very important to me especially in my roos. I would never show one like that personally even if it was an acceptable trait. I don't even like to see the hackels too light. I prefer mine to stay uniformly patterened. I have had the advantage of being able to hatch and grow out more in one year than most do in 3 or 4 so I know what to expect from my line.

I agree that it would be a mess if others brought roos that were poorly colored. I hope that doesn't happen.

-Nicol

 

[fowlman01]

Walt I am trying very hard to keep the white out of mine. I know some have focused more on other things but to me the white in the tails makes them look bad. Plummage and combs are very important to me especially in my roos. I would never show one like that personally even if it was an acceptable trait. I don't even like to see the hackels too light. I prefer mine to stay uniformly patterened. I have had the advantage of being able to hatch and grow out more in one year than most do in 3 or 4 so I know what to expect from my line.

I agree that it would be a mess if others brought roos that were poorly colored. I hope that doesn't happen.

-Nicol

If everyone who shows at Shawnee understands the way you do, it should be a en easy meet.

Walt