Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[poularde]

How do you like Georgia?

 

[ruth]

Quote:
I'm still not understanding if you're culling those with wheaten influence because you're concerned they may carry the recessive gene and it'll show up in future generations or if you're culling for white feathers/brown fluff because these traits are undesirable in and of themselves regardless of where it's coming from...

Thanks for your patience!

When I see a BC with these faults there is no reason to guess if they are mixed with Wheaten as it is a fact that they are for sure. My question is if you see all these faults in your BC why would anyone that is breeding to sell eggs , chicks or adults breed these birds ? Now if you only want dark eggs and nothing else breed away. When we sell these BC with the faults I have described I believe we have a responsibility to inform the buyer that they will produce like quality Marans. Don

But Don, I'm not understanding either. If you've "hatched out and grew up over 1000 BC chicks in past three years and have yet to hatch a Wheaten from the BC" how can you say they have Wheaten influence and that it'll show up in future generations if it didn't show up in over 1000 chicks.

I'm more in agreement with the person that posted the fact that lots of breeds have white fluff and aren't Wheaten mixed or influenced nor will they ever hatch a Wheaten. Could it be that maybe, just maybe, white fluff at base of tail or light undercoat or a white feather here or there are just normal "faults" that pop up - after all, there's no perfect and few nearly perfect.

 

[n.smithurmond]

Quote:
I absolutely love it for 9 months out of the year. During the hottest, most humid 3 months I vow to move nearly every day.

Have you always been a Washingtonian? I still have a lot of friends and family in your area.

 

[sewandgrow]

n.smithurmond :

This IS fun!

The endless possibilities are what make genetics so darned interesting!!

What direction I go in with my breeding program at this point won't be determined solely by what others are culling for anyway since I only have what I have and if I waited for perfect birds to start I'd never get started! That said, I'd like to start with the best of what's available to me to save myself a lot of trouble in the long run. I'm sure as I move forward and learn my breeding goals will evolve and I'll have a better idea of what to select for and which genetics to add or avoid. In the meantime, I'm going to bulldog you folks to try and learn from your experience!

My thoughts exactly..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Besides I am waaaaaaaaay too old to sit & wait 'til I have the"perfect" birds to start with. Especially knowing that there is NO SUCH THING.!!!!​

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
When I see a BC with these faults there is no reason to guess if they are mixed with Wheaten as it is a fact that they are for sure. My question is if you see all these faults in your BC why would anyone that is breeding to sell eggs , chicks or adults breed these birds ? Now if you only want dark eggs and nothing else breed away. When we sell these BC with the faults I have described I believe we have a responsibility to inform the buyer that they will produce like quality Marans. Don

But Don, I'm not understanding either. If you've "hatched out and grew up over 1000 BC chicks in past three years and have yet to hatch a Wheaten from the BC" how can you say they have Wheaten influence and that it'll show up in future generations if it didn't show up in over 1000 chicks.

I'm more in agreement with the person that posted the fact that lots of breeds have white fluff and aren't Wheaten mixed or influenced nor will they ever hatch a Wheaten. Could it be that maybe, just maybe, white fluff at base of tail or light undercoat or a white feather here or there are just normal "faults" that pop up - after all, there's no perfect and few nearly perfect.

Hi Ruth, I am off this subject until I take a break, Where do you think the white legs and the brown breast come from in the BC ? When we discuss things like this we have to be able to look on both sides of the fence with an open mind. If we know these are genetic faults regardless of the breed why not cull them out ? Don

 

[flgardengirl]

Quote:
Never mind I found my answer. Forgot about the chicken calculator lol.

 

[poularde]

I have always lived in Washington. Any of your family living here have chickens?

Ruth I think you bring up a good point. I still have very little experience, but I have noticed with Orpingtons I like the English birds more than the American standard. Being an English breed why would we change the English standard.

I Imagine I would prefer the French standard to the American. The birds do come from France. Again I am still learning and I still know very little about Marans. Had to add... This is just a question. The white under fluff is a fault so can we just breed to get away from this like we would a bad comb or is this just to difficult? I hope that makes sense.

 

[n.smithurmond]

My aunt used to keep a small flock for eggs and meat on her farm, but I think they disbursed them a couple years back. No, mostly my family thinks my husband and I are a little "different" for keeping the chickens and goats. My mom did have a few hens and a goose years ago for eggs, but she can't keep them in her neighborhood here and more than appreciates fresh eggs!

 

[geebs]

maybe red jungle fowl perhaps??? hmmm There are many crosses that make up the marans... perhaps one of them is responsible.. The red jungle fowl also has the white... and the sickle feather etc..

 

[poularde]