Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[Debbi]

I'm new to Marans, but fell in love with them last fall when I saw a flock of them at a breeders place, so I got some chicks this spring. They were straight run and I only ended up with 3 girls. One of them is quite beautiful even though she didn't turn out black. I'm going to keep her anyway, because she is such a sweetie pie. The other two are all black with a white spot on the tip of their wings. I wonder if the white will disappear as they get older. The white on their faces has been slowly disappearing as time goes by. There has been no copper showing up on the two black ones yet. I think they will end up being completely black.....except those white spots on their wing tips. Can anyone tell me about how the colors change as they grow? They are eight weeks old now.

Here are some pics.

They are still very young, so a lot can change in the next 6 or more months! The white on the wings should go away as they get older, or with their first molt. The copper may or may not come in, and sometimes it doesn't come in until their adult molt at about a year old. Even though they may not express the copper, keep in mind that they are still genetically Black Coppers, and not a true or pure Black. That first bird has something going on there, looks like barring?? If it were just the straight patches of copper on her body, I would call it "mossy", but she looks barred to me. Pinkchick had this sort of thing come up in her flock, she would be able to help you more than me.

 

[coolcanoechic]

Wow, Thanks for that info. Is barring some sort of recessive trait? Or is this bird a mutt that accidentally got mixed into the batch? I have no plans to breed and want to keep her anyway. I think she's quite pretty. Also, does the eye color change with time? These guys have dark eyes and the brown one has green eyes.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Ok Barb!!! The long awaited pic of the first broody hatched chick...albeit a Silkie! I will be putting some of my Marans eggs under these wee girls, they are awesome mothers and aunties!! Even the roo is so proud he could just bust! He keeps the chick between his legs when it gets cold out in the run. Hot here today, and I now have 4 of them hatched! These mamas are so strict with what you do with these babies! I have had my face launched at twice now when I bent over to have a closer look! The moms also attack the fence when a dog or cat walks by. Goooood girls!

The ground in the pen is being visited by Mr. Gopher, hey, saves me from taking the tiller in there!

Worth the wait, Debbi!!!! Thank you for sharing ....

 

[coolcanoechic]

Wow, Thanks for that info. Is barring some sort of recessive trait? Or is this bird a mutt that accidentally got mixed into the batch? I have no plans to breed and want to keep her anyway. I think she's quite pretty. Also, does the eye color change with time? These guys have dark eyes and the brown one has green eyes.

Here are a couple more shots of the brown one. She was the runt of the batch, but has quickly caught up with the others.

 

[coolcanoechic]

Here are a couple more shots of the brown one. She was the runt of the batch, but has quickly caught up with the others.

Aha! I just spoke to the breeder and he said she is an oops chick. He said he believes that his Cuckoo Marans roo is the daddy, and that will explain the barring.

 

[DMRippy]

Quote: NO, No, no that is not a CUCKOO. That is Autosomal barring. I had some chicks with that. It will go away very soon. They only had it for a few weeks. I don't know exactly what that is all about. I didn't keep them as they were roo. May not keep any pullets that had that either.

Cuckoo barring would have WHITE in it.

 

[coolcanoechic]

Hmmm. I told him the bird was brown. He said he had one like that too. I just emailed a picture to him. I'm beginning to wonder how much he really knows about his birds.

 

[DMRippy]

Hmmm. I told him the bird was brown. He said he had one like that too. I just emailed a picture to him. I'm beginning to wonder how much he really knows about his birds.

He may have never seen it before

 

[coolcanoechic]

It sure looks pretty. Too bad it's going to fade away. Thanks so much for your help with this one. I was not exactly sure if it was really a Marans or not.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

NO, No, no that is not a CUCKOO. That is Autosomal barring. I had some chicks with that. It will go away very soon. They only had it for a few weeks. I don't know exactly what that is all about. I didn't keep them as they were roo. May not keep any pullets that had that either.

Cuckoo barring would have WHITE in it.

What is the difference between "cuckoo" and "autosomal barring"? I was under the impression that cuckoo and barring were the same dominant gene. Just expressed differently on different birds depending on what is underneath and their sex .... ????