Let's talk Golden Cuckoo Marans!

[buckabucka]

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's eggs too, and hoping you will sell them to me next spring!

I'll also cross my new cockerel with Ameraucanas and olive eggers, in hopes of getting all kinds of colors and cuckoo patterns.

 

[sonew123]

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's eggs too, and hoping you will sell them to me next spring!

I'll also cross my new cockerel with Ameraucanas and olive eggers, in hopes of getting all kinds of colors and cuckoo patterns.

Well I processed the roo;( I only wanted the girls for egg colors and they are in with my cream crested legbar roo so Ill produce olive eggers..sexable ones at that I believe

 

[chickee]

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's eggs too, and hoping you will sell them to me next spring!

I'll also cross my new cockerel with Ameraucanas and olive eggers, in hopes of getting all kinds of colors and cuckoo patterns.

Only two of my original 4 hens eggs have held the dark color over their laying cycle, so two of them will likely go. That is why I am hoping these two pullets lay dark eggs that don't fade like their mother's. Then I will have 5 dark egg laying hens to pump out eggs to send you some good ones next spring.

I got some really pretty OEs by crossing my blue wheaten Ameraucana hens to my GCM rooster. Some chicks were blue/gold cuckoo, golden cuckoo, blue copper and black copper.

Well I processed the roo;( I only wanted the girls for egg colors and they are in with my cream crested legbar roo so Ill produce olive eggers..sexable ones at that I believe

How old was the rooster and was he pretty meaty? I am thinking about sending all the cockerel chicks I hatch next year over to my brother's house to have him grow them out with his meat bird chicks and have him process them for me since I am to soft to do it myself.

 

[buckabucka]

We're bringing 6 golden cuckoo cockerels to the butcher in 9 days. They will be 22 weeks old, and this butchering place puts a sticker on the bag with the weight on it, so I can let you know how much they weigh and if they are meaty.
I can see that they certainly are meatier than the Basque of the same age. I'm also bringing an adult Basque rooster, a little over a year old, so I would think he'll be the heaviest one.

 

[sonew123]

I can tell you he was the scrawniest of all my marans roos!! It was pathetic;( the last 4 weeks i fed the marans roos like my bresse...goats milk soaked grains as much as they could eat and regular feed as well as being able to free range some BUT the last 3-4 weeks cooped to try and put on meat...what they put on was FAT!!! Layers of FAT!! I processed 45 birds 2 weeks ago and was highly saddened my my results with left over roos never again..will cull as soon as Infigure out sex if I dont need them. BUT my freedom rngers finished out the same way with them...delicious!! The marans were 18 weeks old freedom rangers were 10 weeks old and 2-3x the marans weight..2-3 lbs each and im sure most were bones;(

Freedom ranger hen!! Marans rooster on the right

 

[chickee]

We're bringing 6 golden cuckoo cockerels to the butcher in 9 days. They will be 22 weeks old, and this butchering place puts a sticker on the bag with the weight on it, so I can let you know how much they weigh and if they are meaty.
I can see that they certainly are meatier than the Basque of the same age. I'm also bringing an adult Basque rooster, a little over a year old, so I would think he'll be the heaviest one.

I will be very interested to hear what their processed weight ended up being! I am thinking about adding some black copper Marans to my flock next year from a line that the cockerels grow fast and are huge for my meat birds. The hens BCM hens from this line lay very dark eggs too.

I can tell you he was the scrawniest of all my marans roos!! It was pathetic;( the last 4 weeks i fed the marans roos like my bresse...goats milk soaked grains as much as they could eat and regular feed as well as being able to free range some BUT the last 3-4 weeks cooped to try and put on meat...what they put on was FAT!!! Layers of FAT!! I processed 45 birds 2 weeks ago and was highly saddened my my results with left over roos

never again..will cull as soon as Infigure out sex if I dont need them. BUT my freedom rngers finished out the same way with them...delicious!! The marans were 18 weeks old freedom rangers were 10 weeks old and 2-3x the marans weight..2-3 lbs each and im sure most were bones;(

Sorry to hear that! I have a 5 month old GCM rooster I am keeping for breeding and he doesn't seem very heavy/meaty. I should weigh him.

 

[sonew123]

He did NOT look like that when he was alive! None of the marans did..they were gorgeous and huge!!! Once processed id say a good 1-2 lbs were huge fat pads!!! Yellow fat pads that we pulled out;( the freedom rangers did not have them...obviously the weight gain went into brest meat with them

 

[seventreesfarm]

I was re-reading over the 'recipe' for GCMs on the french marans site last night, and wondering how to get to true-breeding goldens with what I have. My roo is GCM, and I crossed him with a blue copper and a black copper hens, since those were the only marans hens I have. I got 4 pullets from 11 eggs that hatched. Only #28 looks decent to me though. I hate those tails!

#2


#13


#19


#28



And the roo. Not that great, but he's what I have to work with. I didn't keep back any of the marans male crosses this time, just one of my potential olive-egger roos. Some of the marans x marans had crooked tail feathers, so I figured I'd do another batch in the spring and select form that if I need a GCM x BCM roo.




Olive-egger cockerel. GCM x 3rd gen blue splash olive-egger hen.

#6

 

[chickee]

I was re-reading over the 'recipe' for GCMs on the french marans site last night, and wondering how to get to true-breeding goldens with what I have. My roo is GCM, and I crossed him with a blue copper and a black copper hens, since those were the only marans hens I have. I got 4 pullets from 11 eggs that hatched. Only #28 looks decent to me though. I hate those tails!

#2


#13


#19


#28



And the roo. Not that great, but he's what I have to work with. I didn't keep back any of the marans male crosses this time, just one of my potential olive-egger roos. Some of the marans x marans had crooked tail feathers, so I figured I'd do another batch in the spring and select form that if I need a GCM x BCM roo.




Olive-egger cockerel. GCM x 3rd gen blue splash olive-egger hen.

#6

I am surprised you got as nice of color on them with the F1 breeding of the BCM x GCM. My main rooster is 3rd generation removed from my friend using a BCM rooster over her GCM hens and he is throwing babies with good GC color.

I would like to see a heavier bodied rooster (and hens) with a lower tail set.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Theegoliath]

Yes do continue, 28 looks pretty good : D