Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[thrustbucket]

I am hoping someone can help me identify this bird. I bought 4 FBCM week old chicks two months ago. One, for sure, has turned out to be a Rooster. Two others look pretty close to the same, almost totally black at this age. One, however, is a slightly different color and has these puffy looking cheeks. She has always had a reddish and larger comb since she was tiny, but I don't think it's a rooster. It looks so much different than the other three I am wondering if it really is a FBCM.

Any help?

Second from the left. It also has a much longer more pronounced tail than the other three, including the obvious rooster.

Looking at the Camera next to the rooster. Look at those puffy cheek feathers!

Top view to see the long tail.

 

[ruth]

Thrustbucket - the blue one with the muff is not a FBCM. It has Ameraucana or EE in it. It looks like my olive eggers do - which are a blue EE and BCM cross. I would keep it. It may lay dark olive eggs (if it's a she.) Kind of hard to tell in the pics, but it looks like a "he" to me. Ask the breeder you got them from - maybe there was some hanky panky in the hen house going on.

Edited to say: Welcome to BYC. You'll love it here.

 

[onthespot]

I'm going out on a limb, and saying that it is a roo, EE roo. See those two dark brown shoulder feathers coming in on the top part of the wing? Typical of male plumage pattern. Well, that plus the sickle feathers and the pink comb, lol.

 

[thrustbucket]

Interesting!

This chicken has ALWAYS had a red comb. But it's never grown at all proportional to it's growth. Compared to the FBCM Roo which has a massive comb. The FBCM has been crowing for a couple weeks now but I have yet to see this weird blue chicken crow.

Very odd. Maybe I'll try to get some better pics. I appreciate your help!

 

[Debbi]

I agree with Ruth..and it's blue too!

 

[ruth]

Quote:
He (or she) will have a different type of comb. BCMs have a single comb. EEs normally have pea combs.

Does it have any feathers on its legs? That would be a sign it has a BCM parent and if it does, I would put that bird in my Olive Egger breeding pen in a heartbeat. It will be a beauty whether boy or girl. I'm trying to breed for blue birds with muffs and feathered legs, that lay dark olive eggs. If it also has dark copper hackles, all the better.

 

[Stellar]

Is there such a thing of a Black Maran? I have an all black Maran hen with feathered shanks...OR is this a flaw of a black copper? I would like to know. She hasn't started laying yet so I can move her to the pen just for table eggs....Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[blackdotte]

I think you have a great pen of cross bred chickens. Not a BCM amongst them I'm afraid.

 

[NewHen]

Quote:
I hatched blue and black Marans from hatching eggs from "peachick." Very pretty so far.

 

[Lotsapaints]

Quote:

I have both hatchery and "breeder" type Cuckoo's my hatchery ones lay darker eggs than my Rocks or Dellies but only 2 have eggs dark enough to "be" true Marans I hope my breeder ones lay eggs as dark as the ones I hatched

..my Hatchery ones are very good layers and they started laying at 20 weeks I have 5 and I'm getting 5 eggs a day unless it gets blazing hot then I'll get 4