Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[OneMountainAcres]

Just curious as I'm still new to this and learning every day. I had one of my 4 1/2 week old BCM cockerels out of the brooder today to get a little fresh air and space since he won't come out on his own. He walked through the sunlight and I noticed his feathers (the ones he does have anyway) were beautiful iridescent purple, Blue, green. Is it normal for this to show through so early or does this mean that I'm going to have a stunningly handsome boy?

 

[ladycat]

Wheatens and Black Coppers fresh out of the incubator. Two Wheatens have spots. Is that normal?

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

Just curious as I'm still new to this and learning every day. I had one of my 4 1/2 week old BCM cockerels out of the brooder today to get a little fresh air and space since he won't come out on his own. He walked through the sunlight and I noticed his feathers (the ones he does have anyway) were beautiful iridescent purple, Blue, green. Is it normal for this to show through so early or does this mean that I'm going to have a stunningly handsome boy?

The purple/blue is not so great. The beetle green is good. He may be overmelanized from what I understand.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

The purple/blue is not so great.  The beetle green is good.  He may be overmelanized from what I understand.

What does that mean?

 

[3riverschick]

What does that mean?

He is only 4 1/2 weeks and in his baby feathers. Not to worry, he has a lot of growing to do yet.
Purple, it can show up as a sheen or as barring depending on the breed. It can be genetic or environmental. It means the feathers are not reflecting the right color. A more thorough explanation on the Net.
Green, the proper reflection to see of black feathers for most all breeds. There are exceptions but not this breed.
Over melanization: Melanotic (Ml) is an allele which causes black on a red feather pattern. It can make the feathers look "scorched" Putting black areas where the feather should be the proper color in the red spectrum. Where your color variety is supposed to have accepted areas of red...Overmelanization would mean there were areas which are black instead. Let me see if I can find pics for you. See the difference just in the hackle color itself caused by the over melanization?:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/383387/marans-thread-breed-discussion-pictures-are-welcome/40670
Nicely colored Black Copper Marans post #40677 of 48214
Over Melanized Black Copper Marans post #40679 of 48214
( ignore the conversation about the white tail feathers, they aren't
pertinent to our narrow search for over melanization.)
Best Regards,
Karen
================

Allele - A Genetics Definition
http://biology.about.com/od/geneticsglossary/g/alleles.htm

Explanation of the Melanotic allele from a trusted website. http://www.edelras.nl/chickengenetics/mutations1.html
Eumelanin is the color "black". Pheomelanin is "red". The article reads easier of you just substitute those words for the scientific terms when reading it.
So basically, Melanotic is an allele which extends black into normally red areas ( like the copper on a BCM's hackle). Over Melanized BCM can have no copper hackle at all. The copper being completely overcome by the Melanotic gene and being black instead. Notice is it difficult to see on the chick down. So most would not know if it was affecting the feathers improperly until the feather's started to grow out. maybe someone wiser than I can tell you if seeing it in the juvenile feathering is of any concern or if one just waits until the adult feathering to make any conclusions on how Melanotic is affecting their bird's plumage.:

Melanotic allele: Ml (1971): First described by Moore and Smyth (1971), after extracting it from a randombreeding recessive white population previously described by Jeffrey (1947). Ml is incompletely dominant autosomal mutation that extends eumelanin into the normally red areas of pyle-zoned fowl, while having little effect on the chick down colour. Heterozygotes on wild-type (e+) or brown (eb) backgrounds are distinctly darker, particularly in the hackle and head; however, Ml/ml+ has little effect on eWh/eWh females. Homozygotes approach self blackness, but the salmon pigment of the wildtype and wheaten females remain evident. •• Ml found in the Quail pattern (Campo and Oronzco, 1986) •• The Melanotic gene by itself does not make a wild-type bird black. Ml (Melanotic) is sex influenced, autosomal incompletely dominant gene. This means that heterozygote hens with only one dose of the black enhancer (Ml/ml+) show very little pheomelanin (gold or silver) on ER (birchen) base (ie acts like a dominant gene). Whereas, heterozygote roosters with only one dose of Ml (Ml/ml+) show more gold on the hackles, wing bows, etc, when ER (i.e, acts like an incompletely dominant gene). Ml homozygous (Ml/Ml) & on its own doesn't cover all pheomelanin areas on e+ & ER male birds (although covers a lot), & doesn't cover salmon areas of e+ (eg, as in Brassy Backs) & eWh hens. Therefore, other eumelanin enhancers are needed to change the gold/silver areas to black (eumelanin). Ml isn't expressed in day-old chick down, unless in combination with other mutations, eg eWh Co Ml produces a heavily melanised chick down - research by Campo & Oronzco - Melanised Prat. Campo & Oronzco (1986) (and Campo, 1991) also noted that two doses of Ml is needed to produce the dark chick down, & quail pattern in adult eWh Co birds. Unsuccessful efforts to determine the genetic basis for certain “recessive black” lines (Punnett, 1957, Smyth, 1976) suggest the existence of more than one eumelanin intensifying mutation.

Best Regards,
Karen and the Light Sussex
in western PA, USA

 

[marquisella]

Quote: Isnt this a blue wheaten?

 

[ladycat]

Isnt this a blue wheaten?

I think he's a blue-tailed buff, his breast is red, not blue. He's solid red except the feathers that would be black in BTB are blue.

Here's a picture of his breast.

 

[redfancy78]

My favorite baby, still not sure if roo or hen though

 

[marquisella]

Quote: It looked like he had the copper wing tip..

 

[ladycat]

It looked like he had the copper wing tip..

No telling what he is, I got some obvious mix breeds from that order. I have him with some "leftover" Marans hens and an Easter Egger so I can get a few colorful hens to add to the laying flock (I'll be eating the cockerals).