Newbie Alert! BPR vs Cuckoo Maran Differences?

[OzarkPetunia]

We've raised 3 day old chicks to the point where they're starting to lay with LOTS of help from a local organic farmer and this forum! We started with 8 chicks from Tractor Supply that are supposedly from "a hatchery in Arizona" that were in the "mixed dual purpose" bin, and 12 from our friend who purchased hundreds from a more local hatchery. The Tractor Supply girls are 4 reds (who were the first to start laying), and there are 4 barred black ones that I can't for the life of me tell apart from the 2 that I got from our friend that are supposed to be Cuckoo Marans. IS there a way to tell these girls apart? They haven't all developed their combs yet. I don't NEED to tell them apart, but I'd like to.

We lost one to a predator, but the rest of the flock is: 3 Silver Laced Wyandottes, 4 Columbian Wyandottes, 2 Ameracauna (or Easter Eggers???), and a Cuckoo Maran roo.

Thanks for any thoughts you can share!

 

[cpegram]

cuckoo marans have pink legs

Barred Rock have yellow

 

[nes]

Cuckoos will also have darker eggs.

 

[debid]

Skin color is the easiest -- look for white legs vs. yellow legs. The barred Rocks should also have much crisper barring while the Marans will have a messier look to the colors. FWIW, hatchery stock doesn't always follow the rules so it might not be possible to know for certain.

 

[OzarkPetunia]

Yep, the barring is random enough that there aren't 4 birds I can clearly identify as "YOU are the TSC girls!" and I've been studying their legs for weeks and I can't quite tell because they're all a little different. *sigh* Maybe as they get more mature...?

Thanks for all the input!!!