Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[stoopid]

Morning, guys.
I hate to jump in and mess this up even worse, but here goes....
I am a member of MCCA. I hate their website, although I am getting "used to it"
I am sorry to say I don't have these comb problems YET, as I just started this year with the Marans, and have only just started hatching chicks. So far, my only issue is the rudimentary toes.
I have noticed talk of the combs recently in their site, but am confused to heck about who is who.....
Hello, my name is Roberta, here I am stoopid, but there it's robertasmarans.
I know here it is kind of cool to be in cognito, but is there a way of putting who is who someplace, without blowing everyones cover?
I figured out some of you, but I need help....
Does anyone understand what I mean?

 

[Debbi]

Quote:
Well, I am Debbi here, and qinghaus I think, on the yahoo group.

Oh, don't be sorry you don't have these combs..yet! Rudimentary toes are small peanuts compared to this problem. While I would not intentionally breed for rudimentary toes, I would not hesitate to use an otherwise really nice bird with them.

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
Kim, if the Gnarles young are from the same matings that have produced the tainted fowl I would cull and eliminate the problem.

No they are not from the same matings. They are some of Gnarles first kids from my original hens. If Gnarles is a carrier and possibly only carries one copy of the gene and was bred to my original hens that are clean....then there is a possibility that they (they being some of Gnarles' oldest daughters I have here..gosh some are 2 years old already) carry one copy of the gene right? But when they are bred back to Gnarles (who obviously produces carnations with the right hen) no stupid combs are produced...does this mean they are clean?
Surely if I have been breeding them for 2 years and nothing, then they are clean, right?

Gosh it's so easy to over think this whole thing isn't it?

I do the math and everytime I keep coming up with the same answer.....the common factors here are the birds from Florida and Gnarles.

Kim, I believe that if you have bred him back to his daughters and nothing showed up , you should be able to go forward slowly. You can either continue breeding him or you can test mate to out of breed and see. I would not be afraid to use these if Father and daughter had been used with no faults. This is where the tests would be so much help in determing what is supposed to happen. We can talk about what we think all day but if we do not have any research data doesn't mean Squat.

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
Good thinking! I wasn't even thinking about putting different breed hens in with him....my mind was stuck on the roosters and the only other rooster I have of a different breed right now since I had to put down my Wellie rooster last week is a Barnevelder. I have lots of Delaware pullets and hens I am not going to be using for breeding I can put in with him.

Kim, I hate to say this, but those little nubs on Gnarles' comb are indicators to me, that he does carry ONE gene for the carnation.

I will try to get some pics today of the Clyde son that has a fairly nice comb, but I KNOW is a carrier, (mom had the one gene), and you can see the same type of nubs and atypical points on his comb too.

If you want to make sure, do like Don said and breed him out of his breed. However, you won't get any carnations. You may get some odd points on the offspring, but no carnations. Same with your original girls. If you breed him back to the Florida girls, you will get more carnations and weirdo points, as they seem to be carriers. I can't say as all of them are carriers, but some of them sure are, as proven by JR.

If bred back to the Florida girls surely we will get carnations....however, if bred to the Delawares or what ever other single combed breed I have and a carnation popped up it would for sure prove that only one copy of the gene is needed to produce the carnation. Unless and this is a BIG unless (Ohhhhh and Lord help me if this is the case

) the other single combed breed used had one copy as well...............OMGosh, I would do a full speed run off the end of the plank.

 

[flgardengirl]

That is an older pic I just reposted it due to people asking about sprigs.
Marans here get large combs in general especially in the summer I believe it helps them deal with the heat. I don't think it has anything to do with being a penne. I have hens (not just Marans) who the back of their combs will flop over in the summer or when they are very heavy in thier laying cycle but will pretty much stand back up straight in the cooler months or if they are not laying.

This girl did have an extra large comb for a female in the front and the rear so that's probably why the whole thing flopped. If she did have any
penne blood it must have come from the father's side because the mother had a very petite comb way too small to flop at all and no sprigs.
I don't really care as far as possiblity of penne on these because the parents are gone now and she (pictured pullet) was never in my breeding program.

On another note, I think most of my black coppers are much better typed than my blue coppers in general so that's why I am breeding my black cprs to blue cprs.

 

[Debbi]

I just believe, as does Don, that the flopped comb is a potential indicator. I have the same type of heat and humidity here, but I also have pullets and hens laying that do not have a flopped comb. The real point I was trying to make is that with the flop, it hides the other faults, like sprigs. And because it is stated in the SOP that a laying hen should not be penalized for a floppy comb, people tend to just overlook it. Check all birds' combs!

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
pinkchick here

and

mrs.redoit there (at both Marans Chick Club USA and Marans Chicken Club USA) though I rarely ever post there



and yes Debbi you are right it is qinghaus

 

[Debbi]

Quote:
Kim, I hate to say this, but those little nubs on Gnarles' comb are indicators to me, that he does carry ONE gene for the carnation.

I will try to get some pics today of the Clyde son that has a fairly nice comb, but I KNOW is a carrier, (mom had the one gene), and you can see the same type of nubs and atypical points on his comb too.

If you want to make sure, do like Don said and breed him out of his breed. However, you won't get any carnations. You may get some odd points on the offspring, but no carnations. Same with your original girls. If you breed him back to the Florida girls, you will get more carnations and weirdo points, as they seem to be carriers. I can't say as all of them are carriers, but some of them sure are, as proven by JR.

If bred back to the Florida girls surely we will get carnations....however, if bred to the Delawares or what ever other single combed breed I have and a carnation popped up it would for sure prove that only one copy of the gene is needed to produce the carnation. Unless and this is a BIG unless (Ohhhhh and Lord help me if this is the case

) the other single combed breed used had one copy as well...............OMGosh, I would do a full speed run off the end of the plank.

Yes, it sure would prove it. Unless the Dellies had Pene blood??

If that's the case, just shoot me now!

I would almost bet the farm, you will not get any carnations from that pairing though. Like I said, if I had another single combed breed here, I would definitely try it; it would pretty much prove my theory that it takes two genes to express the carnation.

 

[pinkchick]

Raven~


Thank you and I have a quick question and while we are all on the subject of faults and stuff, do you notice split wing on any of those Birchen chicks? I have 2 that I believe are split.

 

[flgardengirl]

You are probably generally right but in my case, the hidden sprig was on the male with a straight up comb LOL! I agree check those combs by running your nails gently from base to top even under those feathers at the base. Of course some could have a gene for it that you can't see at all.

I really don't know why people would start putting the Penne in with the Marans grrr. I thought Marans had a darker egg, so what was the point?