Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

[ChicksterJo]

Don, thank you very much. I would not mind having an all blue pullet. Thanks for the advice; one day I will have a bigger Marans flock.

 

[enggass]

Fresh topic/question here... I have an almost 10 week old Splash Copper roo. His eyes have begun changing color and right now look almost grey or pearl, maybe a tint of green? - not cloudy, but the iris itself. Is this normal before beginning to turn the orangey color they end up being?

 

[gilavina]

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Yeah...it sounds rather similar to what I have experienced in my cockerels when their eyes start changing

 

[sabella]

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My blue copper roo had gray eyes at that age and now they're the proper color.

 

[Cadeau]

Don (or anyone else ) - twice, in the last day, you've mentioned specific color to specific color (e.g. the blue pullet above to a splash roo) for "better color"

What is the preferred color of Blue? or is it breeder preference?

Should the blue be a uniform color? and not "leaky" like was mentioned yesterday?

Same with splash - should they be uniformly dove grey with no "leaky" feathers?

 

[ChicksterJo]

I would like to second Cadeau's questions and also ask, how would one try to keep the darker lacing on the blues?

 

[Mountain Mel]

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I'll check mine in the morning and let you know...

 

[Hens and Roos]

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I know that breeding the blue back to a black can help with the lacing.

 

[Wynette]

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I know that breeding the blue back to a black can help with the lacing.

This is how I keep the nice lacing in my Blue Jerseys. I dunno if the same holds true for Marans, but it makes sense.

 

[snowbird]

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The genetic formulas are great for telling you what color will produce what color you would like . They can not tell you what degree of color you will get and here experience comes into play. The standard is not approved for the Blue Copper but when it is it should be a medium Blue for body color.

My experience with the Blue is that if you have a Blue female like you have , breed her to a Splash male and you will get some really nice medium Blue off spring. If you breed to a BC or another Dark Blue you will get a bunch of too dark off spring.

Nothing is ever left up to breeder discretion, it is not spelled out in the Breed Standard it reverts back to the SOP. This is why it is so important to spell out the descriptions in the Standard.