Proud to display my 10 Ray Valentine Marans. 6 are BC's and all have feathered shanks. I bought 20 birds total, 15 BC's ( all but two had feathered shanks ) 5 Black Silver Birchen Marans, 19 made it alive, trade to Seabrightmom 7 BC's for 7 of her gorgeous Blue Ameraucanas ( can see on my BYC page ). Leaving me with 12 total. Lost one Black Silver and BC. I have 9 pullets and one cockerel all happy in their jungle jim homey made cage. And the one cockerel is a BC. SWEET!!
YES I invaded my 3rd bedroom. And I am still married. LOL
I have 4 Kevin Jeanne C-1 BC's, all feathered shanks, 2 cockerels. One heavily feathered shanks
I have a young Cockoo Marans that appears to have a sort of "Angel Wing" like in ducks.... It has about 5 feathers around the shoulder area that are seriously growing wrong... they turn straight up! What can I do about this?
graceful bantams, I have had the same thing, I researched it and it seems that a small number of Marans carry the frizzle gene but most also carry inhibitor genes and the frizzle will just sort of go away as the bird gets older, but it still carries the gene. You can sort of still see it later on in the flight and tail feathers because the look only BARELY crinkly and irregular as adults. You wouldn't notice it if you hadn't been looking really closely for it. I mean REALLY closely.
Everythingjane, let that rooster grow out a few more months. Mine went through some pretty horrendous, gawky, fleabitten looking stages before they started getting really handsome around nine months to a year old.
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I had to add that IRONING and Steaming them won't help - the bugger is going frizzle
I still can't figure out if 3 of my 4 cuckoo marans are pullets or roos. You'd think it would be obvious by now! Maybe it is and I just don't realize it. What do you think? The one on the left is identical to the other 2 marans, and the one on the right is for sure a rooster. He is starting to crow and he is becoming protective of the hens, etc. The one on the left and its two twins have big combs, but not as big as the rooster and they don't have deep voices like the rooster. They are a little less than 3 months old now, I think. They are all the same light silver coloring. The three identical ones all have a few tail feathers sticking up and a lot of drooping feathers, which makes them seem more rooster-like to me.
I don't know if the other three are pullets, or if the rooster is just maturing much faster than the other three. In all the pictures I've looked at online, no one has pullets with combs that huge and red from a young age...do they?