Marans - SOP discussion thread

[warbirds]

Using the words gold & silver are just confusing the "Birchen" issue.

The term Birchen, without saying silver, means black with silver. One doesn't have to say, Silver Birchen, because its understood that it has silver.
The gold that appears is what the Marans call " Black Copper". It is "birchen" but with the gold replacing the silver. I'm not familiar with all breeds, but I'm pretty sure no one says "gold birchen". Others use "brown red" which to me is really confusing because the brown is really black....

So, a rooster can have 2 color genes. When the variety is Birchen, and gold appears, or cream colored feathers along with or without silver, it means that the bird has both gold & silver, and is not pure for "birchen" (meaning just silver & black). If just the gold appears in Marans then it is a black copper. We don't call it gold birchen.

Clear as mud! LOL

Yeah, clear as mud!!!
I ask because I know of at least 5 marans breeders within a few hundred miles of me that are concentrating on producing just the "gold birchen".
Looks like it would be best on my part to pass on adding any of those to my marans flock and stick to the silver I have.
Thanks!

 

[geebs]

Personally I would view "golden birchen" as a mutt (personal opinion)...

I have no desire for any of my birds to have yellow on them.... don't like it... now christmas red or blue... I am IN!!!!!

I think that is what I have been culling out for the last 4 plus years.. ha ha... I could have supplied your breeder nieghbors with a boatload of em....

 

[Arielle]

WOW---I'm back to reading this thread after months of ignoring it. It was a thread that was not going anywhere so I gave up. Thank you to ALL who have contributed to making it well worth reading and discussing everything so a newbie like myself can understand. Thank you. THank you. Now back to catching up . . . .

 

[chuckeychickens]

I'm confused about which thread to post in for advice on my Birchen roo. I posted in the other Marans thread but no one responded so I'm going to post here too.
To those who are reading both threads, sorry for the spam.

After learning about the gold-gold and gold-silver faults in my other Birchen roos, I have now identified two who are just silver. One is still quite young so I'm not
going to bring him up here. But this guy is nearing breeding age and I'm wondering if he has any defects that would make him an undesirable breeder.

Earlier, someone mentioned "Squirrel Tail" and someone else thought he might have some problems with his comb. Please advise. Thanks in advance.

 

[marquisella]

I'll jump in, knowing I may mis-speak, but at first glance the only things I see are, yes he has a squirrel tail, and too many points on his comb. But the color looks good.
You have to pick your battles. What is it you are trying to do? Get good color, he appears to be birchen I don't see any gold. What do your hens look like? Do they have high tails? If they do, then you know you will get high tails from breeding them. If they have the correct tail, then you might get both, and can continue from there. High tail set, in my experience, is not that difficult to fix, but you need at least 1 hen with a good tail to hopefully get lower tails in their chicks.

Points on combs are a minor thing. Its not worth many points in a show. They say the hen has more influence on the comb than the rooster, I don't know for sure.
Sue

I'm confused about which thread to post in for advice on my Birchen roo. I posted in the other Marans thread but no one responded so I'm going to post here too.
To those who are reading both threads, sorry for the spam.

After learning about the gold-gold and gold-silver faults in my other Birchen roos, I have now identified two who are just silver. One is still quite young so I'm not
going to bring him up here. But this guy is nearing breeding age and I'm wondering if he has any defects that would make him an undesirable breeder.

Earlier, someone mentioned "Squirrel Tail" and someone else thought he might have some problems with his comb. Please advise. Thanks in advance.

 

[chuckeychickens]

Thanks, Sue. I appreciate your advice. I will look for a hen with a good tail and give it a try. I just want to be able to sell eggs and chicks knowing that I'm not
perpetuating faults and capitalizing on them. I doubt I will show any of these birds.

 

[chuckeychickens]

Okay - This poor guy thinks I'm stalking him. Here are close ups of the comb. Are "sprigs" the veiny-looking things that stick out vertically?





And here's a pic of him with his "Squirrel Tail" in all its glory, together with a hen that I could mate him with. Does she have a long enough back and appropriate tail?



Thanks again for all the good advice.

 

[culler]

Cluckey Chicken, I see you still have not got the correct opinion on your male. You should never breed a chicken with the SPRIG ant this one even looks like it could be related to the Carnation Comb. I would never breed a chicken with the Squirrel tail as bad as this one unless you are a very young person and have a lot of years to waste trying to get them correct.

Marans with DQs like this male you should never sell eggs or chicks to the public. Not trying to pick on you just giving it like I see it.

 

[Terri O]

This might help you one that one.

http://frenchmaransclubaustralia.yolasite.com/notes-on-breeding.php

I believe their eye color settles down around 6 months but I could be wrong.

Fantastic reference--thank you! Terri O

 

[Debbi]

Chuckey,

Look at the back end of his comb in the third pic. See that bump sticking off the side? That's a side sprig, and is a DQ (disqualifying fault) in ALL breeds. Not a good thing to pass on to future breeders. Also like the others have said, he has an extremely short back and Squirrel tail. Getting a better roo to use will save you much time, and wasted effort and money! Too bad too, he has lovely coloring; that always seems to be the way...