Let's talk Golden Cuckoo Marans!

[Chooks man]

I've got mine in a single large pen now, but am building a rooster only pen for the younger guys.

My blue GCM was watching me, so I snapped some shots. He's developed white tail feathers and some white fluff in places, but is still feathering into his adult plumage:
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This is him in April 2017:
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June 2017
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July 2017:
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gorgeous body type .well built .
the parasitic white in the tail and the fluff are his weakest point .plus the comb ,has many extra point .
love the straightness of his legs and the width of his chest .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

here my F2 GCM pullets of this year .the only one .pure golden s/-
love here body type ,long flat back and thick head .all marans trait .

Sire Chinatown F1
Dam Cheetah F1

now I have her s+/-B/-. and 2 young roosters s+/s+ ,B/b+
next generation will be almost 100% GCM and DF ( double barred ) cockerels.one has a nicer comb but white feathers on his tail . the second has a worst comb but great heavy type and no white.
this line will have type ,mass and good body pattern .all come from dark egg layer hens .

well pleased .I can t wait to breed from them

 

[morbius18]

gorgeous body type .well built .
the parasitic white in the tail and the fluff are his weakest point .plus the comb ,has many extra point .
love the straightness of his legs and the width of his chest .

chooks man

My roosters are really big with this line. Here is him with 2 orpington (chocolate cuckoo and jubilee) young roosters of the same age:

 

[Chooks man]

My roosters are really big with this line. Here is him with 2 orpington (chocolate cuckoo and jubilee) young roosters of the same age:
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he is big .
to get the best out of him you need to mate him to well colored BCM hens without any parasitic white and with a pure black under fluff .
the parasitic white will going cause you a lot problem in future .hard to breed that stuff out
he ll be great to recreate the white line from him . they ll have pure white fluff no smoky

chooks man

 

[morbius18]

he is big .
to get the best out of him you need to mate him to well colored BCM hens without any parasitic white and with a pure black under fluff .
the parasitic white will going cause you a lot problem in future .hard to breed that stuff out
he ll be great to recreate the white line from him . they ll have pure white fluff no smoky

chooks man

I found someone local who will take the blue gcm with the parasitic white. I'm not liking his lightness of hackle. I guess after seeing blue coppers the contrast of the reddish hackles looks better to my eye.

Here is some pics of the cockerals that I was planning on using instead of him.

Light #1:

All three of my keeper cockerals in the below shot. The dark cuckoo one closest to the camera is smaller than the other 3, so he'll be a cull.

 

[morbius18]

Light#2:

Both light cockerals:

Light #2 with my two keeper blue gcm pullets. Foreground one is nice and matches the light#1 pictured above. The other pullet to the front of him matches him pretty well.

Blue barred pullets:

Black barred pullets:

 

[morbius18]

The black cockeral is starting to color up:

 

[cree57i]

I have a question...I can see the last black cockerel is beginning to have some copper (red leakage)on his wing. I have been selecting this out as I thought it was not ok. Maybe I have been culling the wrong ones. I have significantly culled mine and am down to just a couple of keepers. I got the blue cuckoo, but those boys never did get any gold. I think I will use a hen with more copper in her nape for the next try. The one I'm using has the darkest eggs, but little copper on her. @morbius18 Your blue cuckoos are beautiful! Mine are much darker. Yours almost seem to shine.

 

[Chooks man]

I found someone local who will take the blue gcm with the parasitic white. I'm not liking his lightness of hackle. I guess after seeing blue coppers the contrast of the reddish hackles looks better to my eye.

Here is some pics of the cockerals that I was planning on using instead of him.

Light #1:
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All three of my keeper cockerals in the below shot. The dark cuckoo one closest to the camera is smaller than the other 3, so he'll be a cull.

View attachment 1138162

that good for you .

I agree with you a Blue copper has a better contrast than a golden blue cuckoo .
the blue gene dilute some of the copper from the hackle and add to that the barring genes witch lighten the hackle as well . too much of the white fluff I m finding .

I do like the dark small cuckoo cockerel ( cull ) look to me from that shot he has a wider rear and brick like body type .maybe small but good shape . or just the photo.

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

here what I see . small cockerel .front of the picture .
rectangular type ( brick like shape)
straight flat back
deep chest
thicker neck
wing well held close to the body
wide and low rear . sign of productivity laying large egg ( his pullets not him )
thick shank well apart plus they straight .
solid thigh good length free from any fluff .

his tail is from a slow feathering type ,that will give him a better plumage as adult

I love his fathers .they are free from any fluff . well tight .

Chooks man