Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[cluckcluckluke]

What is a WLH?

I have not studied egg colors much. Don't know if it is dominate or not. I would think you might get brown eggs but not dark eggs. It would depend on how dark the Wheatens eggs are but with just one copy I would not think it would be as dark.

I have some chicks I just hatched from WL covered by a Marans, it was just for fun. I have no idea what they will lay... probably never will I can't grow out too many odd chicks.

A WLH is a White Leghorn.
So it wouldn't really affect the egg colour, thanks.

Hello Everyone!

I just thought I would share a couple pictures of my Marans girls, while I impatiently wait for them to grow up and lay me some eggs! Lol, I have a while to go.

I have been drooling over the egg pictures on here while I lurk, envious!

Millie Marans


& Charlotte

Your FWM look so much like mine, How old is she?

Every time I have had a hen resulting from my Wheaten Roo, her eggs have darkened from her mother. One lay's brown with dark brown spots.

Sorry, that's all I've got.

So hens have a darker egg gene than the roosters?

 

[Runawaylobster]

So, No one can help me?

If you read articles out there they state that the brown egg color is controlled by at least 13 genes so it's a difficult question to answer definitively. I have also read on Bev Davis website that the male Marans has more influence on the dark egg color than the hen? If I did the cross you describe I would expect a lighter brown color egg in the offspring than the mom's egg. I do know that the white color is recessive. I hope this helps...

 

[Redeemed]

I am very sorry but I do not know enough to even try. I am such a newbie unless I know a little something I do not know enough to fill a small thimble.

 

[pinkchick]

I haven't any idea on what you're breeding for with her or if she's a "just for fun" or what have you, so please don't think I was passing judgment.....I've actually not seen one that solid looking in color, and it's kind of neat how it blends into her feather color.  I like the look, personally!

It reminds me in a way of the Tomaru Longcrower I used to have.  I was drawn to them because they are so....black!  Combs, and even wattles (at least mine were), eye color black, they were so darn dark in the face, it made (IMO) for a very striking bird.  The females, during lay, watles would turn bright red.  SO pretty against the black!

No worries! I didn't take it that way at all. She is a for fun bird, I was going to use these solid birds over my Birchens, but with the light egg color the Birchens were producing and one pullet had side sprigs....I decided that I probably shouldn't keep them. So now I have 2 solid splash and the little blue with the dark face. I also think it is striking against the blue and almost blends...too bad the mulberry colored face isn't what is desired for the Marans....I really kinda like the looks of it. .

She and the Splash pullet are the friendliest little things around. Yesterday they were in the garden with me all day, when I took a break they followed me to the front porch, a place where chickens are not suppose to be according to DH , but DH was sitting there as well and he actually said they were cute how they followed me and to go ahead and let them stay as long as they wanted too. He even tried to pet one. THAT NEVER HAPPENS!!!! He must have had a fever!

Take a look at this photo of her face.

 

[pinkchick]

Vicki and Unkadan~

6 out of 8 goose eggs hatched. YAY!!!!!!! All are doing great! The higher humidity helped tons, though I had my first experience with one gosling that was drowning. I helped that one out immediately when I saw it trying to breathe through tiny bubbles it was producing everytime it took a breath. I officially don't want to see that again! It's doing very well this morning after a bath and a good blow dry. The others did great! No sticking at all! Humidity held great after I monkied with the vents.
Can't wait to finish collecting Marans eggs for the rest of this week and pop them in!



Vicki~ Didn't get photos of young chicks yesterday. Will do ASAP!

Congrats on your eggs, hope they get to you safely and you have a good hatch.



Ray~ Your welcome!

 

[pinkchick]

If you read articles out there they state that the brown egg color is controlled by at least 13 genes so it's a difficult question to answer definitively.    I have also read on Bev Davis website that the male Marans has more influence on the dark egg color than the hen?    If I did the cross you describe I would expect a lighter brown color egg in the offspring than the mom's egg.   I do know that the white color is recessive.   I hope this helps...

Your are right, the offspring should lay a brown egg but it should be lighter than the mothers.


Borrowed from another one of my favorite sites.
http://sellers.kippenjungle.nl/page2.html#t8


"Genetics of eggshell color:

Brown eggshell color is a complex trait and as many as 13 genes have been proposed to account for the range in eggshell color. The white eggshell color is due to an absence of blue and brown, and perhaps some modifying factors (genes), since there are different shades of white. The blue eggshell gene, O, expresses if it is present which is why it is considered to be dominant. The gene symbol for the recessive, wild-type gene is o or o+. My understanding at present is that the locations of the brown eggshell genes are not known and it is not known how many brown modifying genes there are or where they are in relationship to the genes of known locations. Brown may itself be just an array of white modifiers. There is a recessive sex-linked gene, pr, that inhibits the expression of brown eggshell genes and can be used to help remove the brown tint from white eggs, for example.

The brown pigment, ooporphyrin, is deposited primarily on the outside of the eggshell and is a chemical compound resulting from hemoglobin metabolism. In fact, much of the brown pigment can be buffed off with a common kitchen (plastic) scrubbing sponge and warm soapy water. The blue eggshell pigment, oocyanin, is a byproduct of bile formation and is present throughout the eggshell.

The eggshell color genes interact in the following way. The effect of the blue gene is dominant over white. The effect of the brown gene is dominant over white. When blue and brown genes are both present, both genes contribute to the eggshell color making the eggs appear green. In this case, the inside surface of the eggshell will be significantly less green and more blue than the outside surface, which is where most of the brown pigment is.

Since the blue and brown eggshell color genes should be at different locations, we need at least two pairs of genes to describe the genotypes of the blue, white, green and brown layers. For the purposes of this discussion, I use the fictitious symbol, Br, to indicate a brown eggshell color gene. I represent the complementary recessive gene that takes the place of Br when it is absent as "br" (lack of brown gene). We can represent the genotype of a blue eggshell layer as (O, O) with (br, br). Blue and white genes, (O, o) with (br, br) also yields a blue egg, but perhaps a lighter blue. The pair of eggshell color genes, (O, O) with (Br, Br), are the genes for producing a green egg, (o, o) with (Br, Br) produces a brown egg and (o, o) with (br, br) yields a white egg. Females having one blue gene and one or more brown genes will lay eggs having a greenish color. My personal experience with eggshell color makes me believe that this genetics picture of eggshell color is oversimplified (there are certainly more than one gene for brown eggshell color. In order to account for the wide range of shades of brown eggs we see in our Sil-Go-Link line, there must be a relatively large number of eggshell color modifying genes that are not yet known. Most people accept a rule of thumb to the effect that a daughter will lay eggs that are a color between that of the parent lines.

To explore the genetics of eggshell color, let’s cross a green egg layer (faux-Araucana or Easter Egg Chicken) with a white egg layer (Leghorn). Here as before, I will use the fictitous symbol "Br" to represent brown eggshell genes. The genes of the green egg layer are (O, O) with (Br, Br) assuming the locations of the blue and brown genes are not the same. The Leghorn is (o, o) with (br, br) for eggshell color (white). In this example, the daughters will all have one gene for blue eggshell color and one gene for brown. They will all be green egg layers! My personal experience with eggshell color genetics leads me to believe it is more complex than this. There certainly must be a number of brown eggshell genes and once you have them, it is difficult to breed them out completely."

 

[kristip]

can someone remind me... in BCM's... is more copper as they feather out at three weeks a roo indication? Will the pullets have copper at all or is that instant roo... One has a huge red comb, other has smaller, but still there comb that is black. The red comb has tons of copper, the other has some... I need to get pictures up!! Your thoughts,....?????

 

[Wynette]

can someone remind me... in BCM's... is more copper as they feather out at three weeks a roo indication? Will the pullets have copper at all or is that instant roo... One has a huge red comb, other has smaller, but still there comb that is black. The red comb has tons of copper, the other has some... I need to get pictures up!! Your thoughts,....?????

Yes, it's an indicator of a male; however, in my experience, when you see copper at such a young age, they'll end up maturing to have way too much copper as juvies/adults.

Pink - I'm with you, I think the mulberry comb/face is really pretty. That female is really, really pretty!

 

[gilavina]

Haha

No worries! I didn't take it that way at all. She is a for fun bird, I was going to use these solid birds over my Birchens, but with the light egg color the Birchens were producing and one pullet had side sprigs....I decided that I probably shouldn't keep them. So now I have 2 solid splash and the little blue with the dark face. I also think it is striking against the blue and almost blends...too bad the mulberry colored face isn't what is desired for the Marans....I really kinda like the looks of it. .

She and the Splash pullet are the friendliest little things around. Yesterday they were in the garden with me all day, when I took a break they followed me to the front porch, a place where chickens are not suppose to be according to DH , but DH was sitting there as well and he actually said they were cute how they followed me and to go ahead and let them stay as long as they wanted too. He even tried to pet one. THAT NEVER HAPPENS!!!! He must have had a fever!

Take a look at this photo of her face.

I seem to remember getting chastised for liking the mulberry faces in my Birchens by several, funny how things change haha

 

[gilavina]

Congrats Kim! Can't wait to see the chicklie babies and the goslings.
I should get one box at the end of the week and the other at the beginning of the next. So will be cranking up the incubator again!