Marans Thread for Posting Pics of Your Eggs, Chicks and Chickens

[drom]

Quote:
They are tiny little cinnamon spots

Here's a post I left a few pages back and Amazondoc also posted a very good photo of a bird displaying the "mossy" markings-it's in post #4113

The "mossiness" that the breeders have been talking about a lot lately refers to tiny brown spots/markings on the BCMs in places like the wings and back, in the case of a hen, where they shouldn't be for a brown red bird with the correct genotype. People are saying a couple things:

A) that the mossiness can be due to a Wheaten gene in your BCM stock
B) or can be due to a lack of a melanizing gene for black

However; everyone is also saying that these birds are laying some of the darkest, red eggs. Many people are culling them from their BCM stock because of the feather color faults.

 

[Bravo]

Quote:
Well if anyone has pullets they are going to cull because of this I would be interested in providing them a "pet" home.

They can join my suburban backyard flock where roosters are strictly prohibited!

 

[drom]

Quote:
Well if anyone has pullets they are going to cull because of this I would be interested in providing them a "pet" home.

They can join my suburban backyard flock where roosters are strictly prohibited!

Bravo, that is a stunning looking animal in your picture

. Are you in So Cal or Nor Cal?

 

[Zoopathy]

Quote:
Well if anyone has pullets they are going to cull because of this I would be interested in providing them a "pet" home.

They can join my suburban backyard flock where roosters are strictly prohibited!

Me, too! Me, too!

 

[Bravo]

Quote:
Thanks! He's my 4-legged child and an incredible dog.

I'm in the SF Bay Area. What about you?

 

[drom]

Born and raised in the Bay Area. Just a few years ago I moved up to the foothills half way between Sac and Lake Tahoe. I needed some space for my horses. But I still do quite a bit of work down in the Bay Area.

So, I think what most people who are culling off colored stock are actually doing is moving them from their breeder pens to the layer pens, however; I do think there will be lots of opportunity to get nice layers that are off colored from breeders this year, perhaps when people start hatching out chicks. Keep checking in and I'm sure you will find some.
You too Zoopathy!!

 

[AHappychick]

I probably should have waited to see what mine ended up laying I culled all of them from my flock and planned on doing the same with the funky one that I hatched this year, maybe I will wait and see what it lays. Now is this mossiness the same as saying one hatched with sport colors?

 

[amazondoc]

Quote:
No. And most of the time, people shouldn't be talking about "sports" either -- usually, those "sports" are really just hidden recessive traits being expressed.

There's various theories on why some Marans are mossy -- whether it's a lack of melanizers, or a sign that the birds may be carrying wheaten, or whatever. But it isn't any kind of "sport" -- it's just an undesirable trait that we need to breed away from!

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Quote:
No. And most of the time, people shouldn't be talking about "sports" either -- usually, those "sports" are really just hidden recessive traits being expressed.

There's various theories on why some Marans are mossy -- whether it's a lack of melanizers, or a sign that the birds may be carrying wheaten, or whatever. But it isn't any kind of "sport" -- it's just an undesirable trait that we need to breed away from!

So would you recommend culling them or having them in the laying flock only? (the brown chicks)

Also, what of the siblings? Would it be likely that they also will pass the gene along?

 

[pinkchick]

New Year Babies!!!