Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[BCMaraniac]

I have posted these photos on the Birchen Marans thread because I thought they were from a blue birchen marans cross, but I am not sure, so I thought I would go ahead and post them here as well. Someone posted that splash birchen marans are very similar in appearance to splash copper marans. Any thoughts about which this might be or is there really a difference? I apologize in advance for the photo quality, as they were taken with my phone.

 

[ottbjumper06]

We could send you a couple tons of snow if that would help

Or from here. I bet ours is much better quality ;-).

 

[carriebain]

Lol you guys are funny! Maybe we can get samples?

 

[ottbjumper06]

Lol you guys are funny! Maybe we can get samples?

Definitely! Our snow is tried and true tested by us Iowans. Guaranteed to make you hate life for 8 months straight.

 

[Anna6]

We could send you a couple tons of snow if that would help

Yes please. Dump it in the mountains then we will have water.

 

[Ripster]

"I have posted these photos on the Birchen Marans thread because I thought they were from a blue birchen marans cross, but I am not sure, so I thought I would go ahead and post them here as well. Someone posted that splash birchen marans are very similar in appearance to splash copper marans. Any thoughts about which this might be or is there really a difference? I apologize in advance for the photo quality, as they were taken with my phone."


Splash Marans can be a bit tricky and you have to be careful with them. It's important to know where your Splash birds came from. For example with Splash from Blue Copper you'll sometimes see the copper (gold gene) showing up in the hackles, saddles, and sometimes other areas. So if these birds are crossed with splash from other varieties you will breeding in the gold gene and not realize it. If you're not seeing any copper feathers then my guess is they are Splash Birchens from a Blue Birchen mating or regular Blue Marans mating.

 

[BCMaraniac]

@Ripster Thanks for your reply. Here is a photo of the parents:

 

[Ripster]

The male looks to be Blue Birchen, aka Silver Blue. It's a bit hard to say about the female but she does look Birchen like, although there's something about her body plumage color that looks a bit odd...hard to tell with her so far in the background. Could just be an uneven shade of blue going on there...but again hard to tell for sure.

 

[BCMaraniac]

The male looks to be Blue Birchen, aka Silver Blue. It's a bit hard to say about the female but she does look Birchen like, although there's something about her body plumage color that looks a bit odd...hard to tell with her so far in the background. Could just be an uneven shade of blue going on there...but again hard to tell for sure.

I don't think my camera helped. I don't see any copper flecking anywhere on the splash birds, so perhaps they are splash Birchens. I have two blue pullets from the same cross, and they have a gorgeous silver on their hackles. Does that help determine that the parents are Blue Birchens?

 

[DMRippy]

Splash copper don't always show copper either. I don't know that I have ever seen a splash copper pullet show any copper.

This guy didn't show much if any copper.





This guy showed a lot more copper. Wish I had been able to get chicks from him. Would have been nice to see what he would have produced.






Her roo has some cream/gold leaking and I think he has been crossed from a Copper. If she just has splash to work with she may never see the copper or the silver for that matter.