Let's talk Golden Cuckoo Marans!

[morbius18]

2 weeks and 2 months. First pic is father and sons.

I'm noticing color to start to appear on the saddles in a few spots now. One is going to have a few points on his blade, but the combs dont look too bad. The other thing I'm concerned with is the ear spots. Is it common for light barred birds to have white feathers there?

 

[morbius18]

One other thing that I noticed is they appear dark, similar to the hens who get the single barring gene. Since mine were a cross of a light father and a black copper mother, what would explain their darkness, of the barring? Is it because they inherit only 1 barring gene, thus are dark? And in order to get lighter true cuckoos, will crossing them with a barred female throw lightet males and dark females.

And in the third picture down from this latest group, I have 1 with no gold or copper anywhere, a regular cuckoo, with both parents, I didnt expect that either. Is there anyone that might have some insight on why?

I'm just learning the genetics thing, just making sure I grasp it correctly.

 

[ChuskaMtns]

One other thing that I noticed is they appear dark, similar to the hens who get the single barring gene. Since mine were a cross of a light father and a black copper mother, what would explain their darkness, of the barring? Is it because they inherit only 1 barring gene, thus are dark? And in order to get lighter true cuckoos, will crossing them with a barred female throw lightet males and dark females.

And in the third picture down from this latest group, I have 1 with no gold or copper anywhere, a regular cuckoo, with both parents, I didnt expect that either. Is there anyone that might have some insight on why?

I'm just learning the genetics thing, just making sure I grasp it correctly.

You answered your own question. Because you used a cuckoo and a bcm the chicks will carry only 1 barring gene, if you breed those back to each other the majority should be cuckoo. Because you used cuckoo & bcm it will be a few generations before you get some nice gcms. If you're going to bring new blood into the mix that aren't gcm, it may set you back. Keep breeding the best of what you have back to each other, on your next generation breed your best cockerels back to its mom and your best pullets back to its father.

 

[morbius18]

3 month old pics

This last one is my last hatches. The golden cuckoos, the buff orp golden cross, some black copper, and a blue copper marans.

 

[backyardchicks]

I just hatched my very first Golden Cuckoo Maran eggs and I am wondering if they are male or female. I thought it would be a lot easier to tell the difference. All three look similar to the one in the pictures that I posted here. This is the same baby chick in all of the photos. What do you think? Pullet or Cockerel?

 

[morbius18]

I'd say male because of the large head spot

 

[chickee]

I just hatched my very first Golden Cuckoo Maran eggs and I am wondering if they are male or female. I thought it would be a lot easier to tell the difference. All three look similar to the one in the pictures that I posted here. This is the same baby chick in all of the photos. What do you think? Pullet or Cockerel?

Cockerel.

 

[buckabucka]

I'm getting some pretty eggs from my 8 GCM pullets! A few are lighter, more like a Barnevelder egg, but still pretty, a few are dark, and then I occasionally get one with a sprayer that quit.
Sometime, I'm going to do more integrating. When I split up these pullets into flocks (to avoid overcrowding), I could not tell the difference between the GCMs and the olive eggers. I guessed wrong twice, so now I'd like to swap them and get the all GCM pullets back with the only GCM rooster....

 

[morbius18]

I'm getting some pretty eggs from my 8 GCM pullets! A few are lighter, more like a Barnevelder egg, but still pretty, a few are dark, and then I occasionally get one with a sprayer that quit.
Sometime, I'm going to do more integrating. When I split up these pullets into flocks (to avoid overcrowding), I could not tell the difference between the GCMs and the olive eggers. I guessed wrong twice, so now I'd like to swap them and get the all GCM pullets back with the only GCM rooster....

Those are some dark eggs from a GCM. Where did you get yours from?

 

[chickee]

I'm getting some pretty eggs from my 8 GCM pullets! A few are lighter, more like a Barnevelder egg, but still pretty, a few are dark, and then I occasionally get one with a sprayer that quit.
Sometime, I'm going to do more integrating. When I split up these pullets into flocks (to avoid overcrowding), I could not tell the difference between the GCMs and the olive eggers. I guessed wrong twice, so now I'd like to swap them and get the all GCM pullets back with the only GCM rooster....

They look great!

None of my hens are laying and none of the pullets I hatched this year have started laying either.

Hows your rooster doing?