Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[DMRippy]

Quote:

I DON'T Think this could be sun bleaching, much too dark. My Blue Cuckoos had gold leakage that molted out too..... but I don't trust them since they were throwing chicks with gold, but my roo had a little gold leakage too so it may have been the combo, but I don't trust the girls anymore.

Quote:

It is VERY Common for Cuckoos to have gold leakage VERY VERY COMMON. Regardless how it got there you could easily breed AGAINST IT. Pick roos WITHOUT the gold. Keep selectively breeding and it will be gone. If you have good egg color and type and leg feathers, the gold leakage might be easy to breed against. My original birds had gold leakage and I kept a few chicks that DON'T show it. It is something I will have to keep an eye out for in case it rears its head again.

http://maransofamericaclub.com/cuckoomarans.php

Breeding French Silver Cuckoos for a long time...from a long line.

Straw highlights occur in the MATURE cocks only...this is not GOLD LEAKAGE




The Cock above is now 2 years of age & has the "Straw" coloration emerging on behind his ear & sadde tips
Another Cock at 2 years:



The "Straw" only shows up in FRENCH Silver Cuckoo Marans...and only then at age 12 mo or more.

Straw only developes when the Silver Cuckoo Maran Male is at or after 12 mo of age.

I have had so many discussions with people freaked about gold leakage.....these Silver Cuckoos have no gold genes...but they do have the straw genetically given them by French Standards.
And only that at age 12 mo or later.

Sun bleaching is just that, a lightening of the color that is there.... It would not add a new color. It BLEACHES what is there. The bleaching would be more even and uniform in color..... that is in patches. You have also said you breed them to the French Standard with the "STRAW"......

I know there are Gold genes and Silver genes...... I have not heard of the straw gene......

My vote is GOLD LEAKAGE. SORRY.

I know after that many years of work it hurts to hear that. It would have been nice to have a Standard to go by, but unfortunately the US standards are different than the French.... I think the BCM and Wheatens are different. The French part of the Marans is the Feathered legs, The English standard is clean legs. We adopted that from the French Version. I have not read EVERY Breed with cuckoo or barring, but my guess is the SOP is not going to allow one new variety with the exception of gold being allowed.

Bev Davis touched on this a few days ago, but not enough it would help here.

BTW there is a Cuckoo Thread Some of us are over there too but there are a few breeders on that thread that don't frequent this thread. Might want to ask over there too.

I know, believe me I KNOW, what you are going through. So heart breaking to think you have a good thing going and to hear something that just crushes you...... I have had it happen enough without cause sometimes, that I hope people would be able to talk constructively and not destructively.

FRIENDS??????

 

[BarnGoddess01]

My vote is GOLD LEAKAGE. SORRY.

That is absolutely what it looks like to my eye as well. Wrong genetic base. Starve the bird of corn, deprive it of sunlight, that gold is still going to show, especially in the males, as they age.

 

[DMRippy]

After all this good talk about breeding for a certain leg color..... I think I have some young roo culling to do. One of these days, when I retire from building on houses, I can set down and really STUDY what to look for. I have seen little roos running around with leg color I don't like and they go to the roo guy to eat. Going to add leg color to my list of DQ's and faults.... not that it is, but that is my working list.

Vicki or Don is the leg color for both BLUE and BLACK Coppers?

 

[math ace]

A white bird based on silver rather than gold won't turn yellow from sun OR corn.

What are delawares? Are they white based on silver or white based on gold?

 

[gilavina]

After all this good talk about breeding for a certain leg color..... I think I have some young roo culling to do. One of these days, when I retire from building on houses, I can set down and really STUDY what to look for. I have seen little roos running around with leg color I don't like and they go to the roo guy to eat. Going to add leg color to my list of DQ's and faults.... not that it is, but that is my working list.

Vicki or Don is the leg color for both BLUE and BLACK Coppers?

I breed for the same color on both.

 

[gilavina]

Ok, random question...has anyone else found that after either a black or blue copper hen over 2 years old molts, that they get copper in the neck collar when they feather back in? I've got two hens this has happened with.

 

[DMRippy]

Quote: That is what I thought THANKS!

 

[DMRippy]

Ok, random question...has anyone else found that after either a black or blue copper hen over 2 years old molts, that they get copper in the neck collar when they feather back in? I've got two hens this has happened with.

I have noticed one of my original hens has the darkest copper and I don't remember seeing before..... They were BLACK as SIN when I got them. I think she may be helping get the copper in my young pullets. I may single mate her and see what I get.

 

[gilavina]

these marans are tough to nail down eh?

 

[DMRippy]

these marans are tough to nail down eh?

Yeah.....