Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[HenThymes]

Thank you Pink, very helpful.

They will be 14 days old Wednesday and I have an idea on the cuckoo's who is who by the amount of feathering out that is going on as well as I believe the cockerels tend to be a light color than the pullets from what I have read? Crossing my fingers that out of 8 cuckoo's I think there are only two cockerels.

(could I be that lucky) I have two that did not hatch out cuckoo and am assuming they are BCM's just from what I have seen here on BYC. They both have full wings so I am going to go take a look at them. I also believe I am starting to see a bit of copper coloring coming in around the head area. Haven't really studied combs and wattles yet, been too busy eewwing and ahhhing as they are just so darn cute!

 

[pinkchick]

Hens~ Do you have photos of the little darlings to share?
Cockerels should be lighter than the females if they are homozygous for barring, meaning that they have 2 copies of the barring gene. Some cockerels can be heterozygous for barring and only get one copy of the barring gene and color out to look like a barred/cuckoo female, but if both parents were barred then all offspring should be barred, even if the male used was hetero for barring, but if one bird was cuckoo and one was not... the female being cuckoo and the male not, then only the male offspring will be barred, but they will be heterozygous for barring and female offspring will be solid. If a barred male either hetero. or homozygous was used then again all offspring will be barred and the boys being hetero. for barring. Female cuckoo/barred birds can only pass the barring gene on to their male offspring.

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
Are these 2 that are not cuckoo from the same hatch/parents as they cuckoos? Do you know what they parent birds were?

 

[oesdog]

I have a cuckoo Maran chick here on BYC I was told SHE was a girl and the VET also said She was a girl. - SHE acts like a girl Squats etc ( No eggs ) However a few days ago I went out to feed the girls and I was looking at her and she has What looks like Male tail feathers??????????? I have an adult cuckoo Maran and a cuckoo Maran Rooster. The Chick doesn;t look like either???? SHE/HE also heckles feathers up now toward the Roo she hangs out with - But she still squats and I have seen her mounted by other Roos???????????

Anyhow what do you guys think Male or female??????????

This is her with Blue the Rooster she hangs out with.

This is her about 3 weeks ago

This is Gerty my adult Maran on her roost she is deffinately a girl (lays eggs !!!!)

This is Duck the Rooster chick at the front and you can clearly see he is male by the comb.

This is Omlet as a wee chick.

Ment to say she was Hatched 7th June - so should be mature by now??????
Oesdog

 

[geebs]

Hentymes: My experience has shown that some lines have a better success rate at discerning males from females... This is largely due to the breeder... Bev Davis birds are more readily sexed, however I have found that the mixed line birds can be tricky as can Jesse Bryant. I have no experience with the cottage line so that would have to come from someone else... When you breed short feathered early maturing males to long feathered quick maturing females after a few generations it becomes more obvious.... I have have had hen feathered roos and also rooster feathered hens that were IMPOSSIBLE to discern until they crowed or laid an egg around 8 months... The late maturing marans are very difficult to discern... If I hadn't been saving all birds from one of the lines I would have culled what I thought to be males and missed out on a hen of a lifetime. I bred her to a early maturing male with short feathers for better offspring. She is two this year and as a hen... She still looks very masculine. My best advice would be: Cull as late as you possibly can...Especially when you are at the early stage of the breeding game... You don't know what you have until it is fully mature.... to my line.. that is a year or more.

I have had cuckoos too that it is impossible.. from the Braden Line... Both the golden and the standard cuckoo...

Good morning EVERBODY!!!!!!!!!! Hope everyone got exactly what they wanted for X=mas.... I know I did... I got eggs!!!

I got 2 of these just yesterday... The girls are starting to kick in!!!!

 

[pinkchick]

Hi oesdog! The bird you are asking about.....do it have a single comb? Can't really tell by the photos, sorry. Do you have any more photos of this bird that are closer up from a full on side view that shows the saddle area and tail?

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
geebs~
Great point I forgot to mention the different line thing...IMO this makes a huge difference too. I work with Davis line birds and they show a better success rate of determining gender at an earlier age. But the last point you brought up is the most important one of all.....wait as long as possible to cull if you can.

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:

BEAUTIFUL!

I got a very nice egg on Christmas afternoon that was very chalky on one side and very very dark in the areas that were not chalky but of course whoever laid it, had to lay it in a plop of poop in the mud. When I brought it in and washed it off to see the real color the darn thing turned completely chalky once it dried. Argh!

 

[geebs]

Thanks Pink! Once you haul birds down to the auction thinking you hatched "only males" and then you find the next round on the same eggs is the same way... and you decide.... (I AM KEEPING EVERY ROO) then you get your hens!!! I am just sickened about how many hens I must have thrown out... I am certainly happy with the ones I have... My daughter and I bet on them all the time... I always see roos.. She sees hens... Dang if I haven't gone in debt to that kid.. (I did win the last round).... It matured out at 6 1/2 month... It crowed therefore it got ate....

Pink...Braggin rights.... My best hen (the one that looks like your bestie black) that was barely laying a good 4 is bringing in the goods... 6 and 7's regularly.... Geebs is STOKED...Glad I didn't risk disease showing her before I hatched her babies.... I expect a cross back on the male might yeild a little more color in the hackle...I am going to go two ways on this.... I will test mate her to Willhe and then mate that back to Charlie... Gotta keep the black in the feathers... I will test mate to Charlie to see if her offspring still hold the black in the feathers...My rooster has lost melanizers over time...I am wondering if it is follicle damage.... (that is why I am "test" mating him) He has been in a few really proper scrappings.

Moral of the story.... I hope your Bestie is like mine... lays the best color on after the first dozen...Gotta love that.. My line is like that... they lay light and then they pour on the dark until the heat hits and then it is back to lighter again.

 

[oesdog]

Quote:
Ok is this any better????
These are about 3/4 maybe more weeks ago???
I don;t have any of Her/Him now?

She/He was really ill in this one - has a curved breast bone and the wing was hanging but I have managed to right that as much as possible and she/he now runs about ok and well is just a bit screwed up? The legs go a bit wonkey at times!!!!!

Think this is a better side view. Hope this helps. - If she is a He - well its been a very expensive roast! Cause between Vet bills and Bator bills ahhhhhhh it will mean 4 out of the 6 babies I had will have been Roooooooos !!!!! Was really hoping she would lay me an egg???? NO crowing either though and the others are all either crowing or laying. This one is way behind.

Thanks for the help

Oesdog