Marans experts: PLEASE Culling advice needed

[Germaine_11.20]

I have about 8 Black Copper Marans Roos. They were supposed to have feathered shanks.

The Roos with the best coloring do not have feathered shanks even though they came from a breeder who said that hers were feathered.

It seems that the APA standard (in the future) will require feathered shanks. (Am I correct?)

So that leaves me to wonder, do I cull them and work with the others (way too much copper) or do I go ahead and breed the Roos with no feathered shanks and see how the chicks come out?

Another puzzle is that one of the Roos is definetely a Cuckoo pattern but has copper hackles. How did that happen?

 

[Krys109uk]

Presumably your copper black pullets, or at least some of them, have feathered shanks?

IMO, presuming no deformities or health issues, when culling it is most important to look at the overall bird. Some things are very important, like type, other things are not quite as important &, as long as you still have most or at least many of your birds with the desired feature, this can be worked on when the major things are resolved.

For instance, if one culls for non feathered legs before type then one could finish up with birds with nice feathered shanks but not looking greatly like a marans in type etc.
Getting ones birds the way one want them takes time. It seems to me that choosing ones birds is like a balancing act. What is most important? What is not quite as important? Perhaps when one has selected the birds from the very darkest eggs with the best type, of these perhaps one is better than others in some ways & worse in others, one can put him with the females which are good in the trait where the male is weaker.

 

[amazondoc]

Listen to Krys.

Feathered shanks are just one part of the bird. Yes, you want to breed away from clean legs -- but if you're comparing a very good bird with clean legs against a poor bird with feathered legs, go with the clean one.

If you'll post pics of the birds in question, we'll be able to give you better input!

 

[Germaine_11.20]

That is exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you very much!

Yes the girls (most) have feathered shanks. I just wasn't sure how dominent the non-feathered shanks were and if it was possible to actually breed that out. Eventually.

Great news!

 

[Rockpile99]

from what I've been hearing on the various marans threads...

Feathered shanks is one of the easier things to correct, so definitely keep them if they are superior in body shape and color. No you won't be able to show those but my understanding is, when you cross with a feather shanked mate you should get about a 50% split between feathered and non feathered.

Now this part I'm not so sure about but I think that feathered is dominant and the parents of your chicks could very well have both been feathered, but had just one allele for it, your non feathered chicks would have just happened to get two recessive genes for the non-feathering. Again I'm not sure about that part, because now that I think about it if feathering was dominant wouldn't there be far more chickens with feathering than without? Ok maybe someone else can help un confuse me.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

You are all great. I truly appreciate the help. I have been standing outside the coop for weeks, agonizing over who should stay and who should go. And not knowing what to do.

What you have said make great sense to me. Thank you!!!!!

 

[MonkeyZero]

Sell em instead of culling them.
Or give them to the feed store near you

 

[Randy]

Culling doesn't nessasarily mean killing them.




I seem to have the same problem with my roosters. My best colored one was clean legged and they were all supposed to come from feather legged ones.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Normally I might sell a bird but if it is a cull then I wouldn't want someone to start breeding inferior birds on my behalf.

If it isn't good enough for me than I wouldn't want to pass it on to any one else.

I would not let it go to waste. I have no problem with processing the extra birds.

 

[Krys109uk]

I would not let it go to waste. I have no problem with processing the extra birds.

Marans are great birds; nice eggs, fast maturing, good carcass. The French are very practical with their chickens.