Quote:
Genetics 101
The black copper marans should be birchen at the E locus. The copper color in the male and females is caused by a recessive sex linked gene called gold. Females will have one gold gene (hemizygous) and males will carry two gold genes (homozygous). Restrictors like dark brown and the columbian gene can effect the color produced by the gold gene. The columbian gene will change the copper color to a ginger or orange gold color- dark brown will change the copper to a burnt orange color or brownish color.
The melanotic gene, when homozygous ( two melanotic genes), will add black to the pyle zone of males and will add black to the neck and back of a female. This action will most of the time produce a self black or solid black fowl. The gold gene (copper color) in the male and female will be inhibited by the melanotic gene so no red pigments are produced.
When heterozygous (one melanotic gene and one non melanotic gene), the melanotic will add black to the male ( darker color than normal) and darken the back and hackles of a female. The melanotic gene does not act the same on every E locus but is consistent on birchen and extended black.
It is my understanding, that the problem with the marans is that some are extended black at the E locus and some also carry wheaten. So you have birds that can be any number of E locus combinations of birchen, extended black and wheaten. As stated earlier, the birds should only be birchen at the E locus. Different combinations at the E locus can mimic false genotypes. For example, A birchen/wheaten bird may look like a birchen bird that is columbian restricted.
Another problem is that some may also carry restrictors like the columbian gene. If heterozygous, the columbian gene has a greater effect upon males than females- in this case males will show more copper on their breast than the females- also in females they will show more copper than usual on their backs.
Males that have non black breasts are columbian or dark brown restricted. If they pass one of these genes on to their female offspring the birds will most likely have backs that express non black- the backs will tend to be red stippled (mossy).
The problem with the birchen gene is that it has variable expression in females- it is not unusual for the backs of females to express red/copper/buff/lemon stippling on a black background (mossy). This is the nature of the gene. This may be true in pullets but as the pullet ages the red/copper stippling can give way to a black back. This is something the marans breeders may want to watch for in their birds. It may be best to show hens and not pullets.
There is no gene that I know of that will add black to the back of a female and not add black to the hackles. Both melanotic and charcoal add black to the hackles and back.
This is the problem.
I believe to get the proper color in males and females, double pen mating may work to solve the problem. I have not personally worked with marans but have consulted with several black copper marans breeders.
For those that are breeding black copper marans, I would suggest they concentrate on breeding for SOP color in females or SOP color for males. Concentrate on one sex. The males should be the easy to breed, it is the females that will be a challenge.
I have a hypothesis, ( I have no data that would support my hypothesis), that females that are heterozygous at the E locus, extended black and birchen, are the birds that
would have black backs ( no mossy problems)with copper in their hackles.
Normally white feathers on a genetically black bird are caused by damage to a feather follicle or some kind of cellular malfunction at the follicle. The black pigment can not get to the growing feather so no color is in the feather. When the bird molts, a damaged follicle will grow in a white feather but a cellular problem may be solved and the feather comes in black.
The color of a birds shanks and bill can tell you about the E locus a bird carries Extended black = black (in non barred birds), birchen= slate or light slate, if a bird carries wheaten this gene will tend to make the legs a lighter color.
Tim
Tim,
On the first highlight about the males being easier, no, not in Marans. Pullets are much easier to obtain the proper coloring and birchen pattern. A correctly conformed and colored Black Copper Marans roo is far harder to obtain in my experience!
As for the white feathers in a black bird, these chicks are born with some white down, which leads to white feathers, generally located in the primary feathers. As these chicks grow, the color black, does indeed, flow to the rest of the feather. Usually, on mine anyway, they end up with a white wing tip or two until they go through the juvenile molt. If after the adult molt they are still showing a white feathering, they are culled from the flock. Another thing I have noticed on my roos, when they are getting ready to lose some feathers, the white will reappear in these so called "tired feathers". Not the whole feather, but a spot or two of white. Within a two week or so time frame, these feathers are then molted. I have observed this happen now on 2 roos in my flock. Has anyone else seen this or even watched that this can occur? On my roos, it will happen on sickle feathers and on foot feathers, and nowhere else. I'd like to hear what anyone else has observed in this regard.
