Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[lildinkem]

Quote:
Hello Bev Thank you for joining this thread, you are greatly admired. Also, thank you for my BCM's I love them. Now...

If I should by chance hatch out a wheaten chick (and I have from another breeder) is it considered a Wheaten, a BCM or just a cull?

Hi

No one has hatched a wheaten chick from my line so far or any other color apart from solid black females. This is because the birds carry a melanotic gene, even though the bird is black, it is still a black copper and will throw black copper chicks when bred to the correct male.

I have never seen a wheaten chick from a black copper as far as I know but am told they look alright. They may carry some genes that you don't want and you will have to breed them out.

Bev

Most all of my babies came from near solid Black birds. And they ALL have a feathered leg. And some of their offspring prolly has too much red. I use my Black girls only cause their tails are great and their size is good too. No reason to let them go.

 

[Wynette]

Quote:
Borrowed from the CHHB....again, as you can tell one of my favorite reference guides.

Feather Mite- Feather mites live on and eat plumage, ruining feathers by chewing stripes across them or by damaging the feather base.
(The handbook says that these mites are not common in N. America

)
The Quill Mite- The Quill mite inhibits a feather quill, resulting in partial or total loss of the feather. Evidence of its presence is the the powdery residue it leaves in the quill stump. Since these mites hide inside feathers, the only known way to control them is to dispose of affected birds and thoroughly clean their housing. Quill mites occur in the eastern states, but are quite rare.

Okay, now I'm itching. Yes, it's the quill mite I was thinking of. Disgusting little creatures. I had an issue with the feathered shanks of a VERY nice Marans cock I had, and it was suggested that he possibly had these mites. Luckily, it ended up being a fungal infection (equally as icky, but treatable).

 

[TurkeyMountainChickens]

Quote:
Borrowed from the CHHB....again, as you can tell one of my favorite reference guides.

Feather Mite- Feather mites live on and eat plumage, ruining feathers by chewing stripes across them or by damaging the feather base.
(The handbook says that these mites are not common in N. America

)
The Quill Mite- The Quill mite inhibits a feather quill, resulting in partial or total loss of the feather. Evidence of its presence is the the powdery residue it leaves in the quill stump. Since these mites hide inside feathers, the only known way to control them is to dispose of affected birds and thoroughly clean their housing. Quill mites occur in the eastern states, but are quite rare.

Total

Parasites on birds are totally gross. I've been really lucky in not having any out breaks thus far. Prevention is my mantra!

 

[geebs]

Well put turkeymountain BLUCK

I need a hot shower now to wash off all the 'heebie jeebies'.

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
Hello Bev Thank you for joining this thread, you are greatly admired. Also, thank you for my BCM's I love them. Now...

If I should by chance hatch out a wheaten chick (and I have from another breeder) is it considered a Wheaten, a BCM or just a cull?

Hi

No one has hatched a wheaten chick from my line so far or any other color apart from solid black females. This is because the birds carry a melanotic gene, even though the bird is black, it is still a black copper and will throw black copper chicks when bred to the correct male.

I have never seen a wheaten chick from a black copper as far as I know but am told they look alright. They may carry some genes that you don't want and you will have to breed them out.

Bev

Add me to the list of no Wheatens hatched here from your line of birds Bev.

I have seen Wheatens thrown from Black Coppers, to me, they (the hens) do not resemble a true "Wheaten" they are much darker and more red in color vs. the nice creamy colors of true Wheatens.

 

[geebs]

No wheaties in my pen from my wade birds... In litterally hundreds of eggs hatched... Still no wheaton.... I guess it isn't uncommon in the Wade line though.... Just thankful it never cropped up.

 

[Wynette]

I've got two pure W. Jeane birds - directly from his original line, before he disbursed them. And no one has ever (unless they've not told me) hatched a wheaten from those girls, nor have I. I wonder if could have been introduced later? I think I was told that the accidental introduction actually happened in France, before the first eggs were hatched here in the states...so I'm not sure. Of course, no wheatens in my Davis birds, either.

WAIT a minute - I take that back...I DID hatch two wheatens from a batch of eggs I got from a breeder in California - the offspring would have been 1/4 Jeane, 1/4 Presely, and 1/2 Davis. I forgot about that hatch! I didn't keep any of them....

 

[pinkchick]

Question for Bev - regarding the wheaten/white recessive gene in the Jeane line - if you had TWO wheatens from this line of Black Coppers and bred them together, would you not get black coppers? (if they were expresed as wheaten, that would mean they are black copper recessive...is this correct? Thus, when bred together, that's what you'd get?) NOT that I have any, and not that I'd breed them togethe - just trying to understand the recessive gene/dominant gene a little better.

I have wanted to know the answer to that for.... like EVER!!!!!! My best friend has asked me the exact question for a year. Thanks for posting that Wynette!​

 

[BevDavis]

Quote:
Hi

No, you wouldn't get black coppers. When you breed two birds together that are both carrying the recessive wheaten gene you get wheaten chicks. The problem that you might find is that the wheaten chicks might have some genes that black coppers need in their makeup that wheatens don't. The same applies to both White and salmon/duckwing chicks.

Some time ago there was a line of Marans called the Leurquin line and we believe they had been bred with a Penedesenca because we got sprigs at the end of the comb on both sides. The egg color was a bit different as well.

Bev

 

[lildinkem]

Ever try Boric Acid powder to treat mites? Try it! My mom raised top show Persian cats in the 80's. It is so gentle she used it on or near their eyes. Should work well on our Foul mites.