What is this furry legged chick?

[Arztwolf]

I got this chick from a bin marked "Cuckoo Marans" in a small mom and pop feedstore that gets their chicks from Ideal. Looking at pictures of other peoples CM chicks, non had the feathering on the legs. So what is she?



Closest to the camera with furry legs.

 

[Spangled]

I just checked their web site and their yellow-paper pricelist, and Ideal does sell feather-legged Cuckooo Marans. So you're set, unless you're showing the chick because she's got feathers on the middle toe. Feathers on the middle toe are not any sort of problem, though, unless you're showing or breeding.

You've got a great little farm store if they're willing to stock Cuckoo Marans! Our mom and pop farm stores just give us the regular Rocks, EEs, Orps, Reds, Sexlinks, Sussex, Turkens, Leghorns, etc., ... never anything out of the ordinary. So yay for you!

Edited to add: Cuckoo Marans are usually non-feathered, but some folks have put feathers on their legs in the last 5-7 years or so.

 

[Arztwolf]

I just checked their web site and their yellow-paper pricelist, and Ideal does sell feather-legged Cuckooo Marans. So you're set, unless you're showing the chick because she's got feathers on the middle toe. Feathers on the middle toe are not any sort of problem, though, unless you're showing or breeding.

You've got a great little farm store if they're willing to stock Cuckoo Marans! Our mom and pop farm stores just give us the regular Rocks, EEs, Orps, Reds, Sexlinks, Sussex, Turkens, Leghorns, etc., ... never anything out of the ordinary. So yay for you!

Edited to add: Cuckoo Marans are usually non-feathered, but some folks have put feathers on their legs in the last 5-7 years or so.

I was worried I'd accidentally gotten a bantam (they also had a bin of st run assorted bantams). No plans to show (though I would like to try that someday), her and the other 6 will join my little flock of pest control specialists and egg layers. Why are feathers on the middle toe a problem?

This farm store as a wide assortment of animals. All year long they have rabbits, ferrets, Guinea pigs, parakeets, finches, doves and parrots. Occasionally they'll sell baby Pot Bellied Pigs or baby Pygmy/Nigerian Dwarf goats. Out where they keep the feed bags they have a shelf of cages containing adult chickens (mostly roos, but I did get two red Turken hens from them once).

Here's their "Chicks Coming This Week" selection. They've added the "feather legged" to the CM description.
http://www.nbfeed.com/news-updates/baby-chicks-arrive-february-12th-2015-01-6246

 

[Spangled]

Why are feathers on the middle toe a problem?

It has something to do with the fact that Langshans are part of the breeding history of the Marans, but Brahmas aren't. If the middle toe has feathers, then Brahmas were used somewhere in their breeding which indicates impure breeding. Genetically speaking ... ::eyeroll:: ... pti-1^L is Langshan toe/shank feathering and pti-1^B is Brahma toe/shank feathering or something like that--there are better sources of this info than I. Marans aren't supposed to have feathers on the middle toe. The American Poultry Association and the French counterpart say so. But it's really difficult to eradicate out of a flock and many of the French Black Copper Marans (which are predominantly responsible for the feathering of legs/toes of Marans in North America) that were imported ... what? ... about 10 years ago? They had a lot of feathering on their middle toes. But then they also had side sprigs (out of the comb, like extra comb points that came out of the side of the comb) and carnation combs (a blob of points at the back of their combs), too, along with troublesome white feathers on the toes of the French Black Coppers and too many Black Coppers had persistent white primary wing feathers. To get them perfect, breeders have to hatch hundreds each year and then breed only from perfect chickens. That gets to be a bit impractical for almost everyone except the really driven folks. So while I don't have any Marans with feathers on the middle toes because I managed to breed them out mostly, I think, I still have a hen with white feathers on her toes. I wasn't about to hatch out hundreds of chicks, raise them up to 6 months and then breed from 5 of them. What would I do with all those chickens that I didn't need? A hatchery is probably not going to do that either since feathers on the middle toe are inconsequential in the grand scheme of things ... which is a healthy chicken that lays hopefully dark brown eggs. I certainly wouldn't fault Ideal for it since it's really common and economically unfeasible to eradicate. They would just stop carrying them and then breeders would have one less source of cheap feather-legged Cuckoos to breed from. You see, a breeder can order 100 of the little feather-legged Cuckoo Marans, hope for a couple without the middle toe feathering and then start breeding from that pair or trio. In fact, who's to say that isn't what happened at your feed store ... a breeder ordered 50, picked out the three? without feathers on the middle toes, gave the rest to the feed store to sell to customers who just want dark brown eggs. For a driven breeder, that's a very handy way to do things. So Ideal selling this breed can be very helpful. Eventually there are breeders out there that will clean up the breed; it's still in its early stages here in North America and good breeding is a patience game. At least that's my under-educated, simplistic opinion, today. If you have a differing opinion or better opinion, I'm all ears.

Yeah, your little Marans chicky is a lovely little thing and should lay some pretty eggs for you.

Also, if anyone knows which breed of Marans was used to put feathers on the Cuckoos, feel free to chime in. Or did the feather-legged Cuckoos come from a completely different strain of Cuckoo Marans that was previously here in North America? I haven't kept up on Marans breeding since the FBCM were accepted into the APA. It doesn't really matter to me, but the original poster or those reading along may want to know. Although, it is probably buried deeply in one of the Marans pages in the breeding forums here at BYC.

Edited to use proper form on the pti stuff.

 

[BantamLover21]

Marans can have feathered legs, so I'm thinking that your chick is indeed a Cuckoo Marans. Another possibility is a Barred Cochin.

 

[Arztwolf]

Marans can have feathered legs, so I'm thinking that your chick is indeed a Cuckoo Marans. Another possibility is a Barred Cochin.

She (hoping its a she) does sort of look like a Barred Cochin.

I found this picture of a Barred Chochin.


This is her.


This is a Cockoo Maran


Argh, why can't they have a little tag around their leg with their breed on it?! Her bin was right next to the "Assorted Bantams" one.

 

[donrae]

I'm thinking Marans. She appears to have white/pink skin, cochins have yellow.

If she were a bantam, you'd tell by the noticeable size difference from other large fowl chicks.

 

[Spangled]

Quote:
As, donrae mentioned, the size of the little chick will give you a clue.

Also, look at how the feather on your little chick and the Cuckoo Marans photo are similar. The lighter/less feathering is the way it's supposed to be on a Marans.

The Cochin pictured has more feathers, which is probably because they have Pti-1^B and Pti-2. That Pti-2 gives them thicker, more abundant feathers.

So there's still a fair to middlin' chance that your chicky is a Marans. I would guess it is. Even just looking at the shape of your chick when compared to the shape of the Cochin chick you have pictured gives us a clue.

The comb is straight, right? (just making sure)

 

[Wyandottes7]

I'm also thinking that she's a Marans.

 

[Arztwolf]

As, donrae mentioned, the size of the little chick will give you a clue.

Also, look at how the feather on your little chick and the Cuckoo Marans photo are similar. The lighter/less feathering is the way it's supposed to be on a Marans.

The Cochin pictured has more feathers, which is probably because they have Pti-1^B and Pti-2. That Pti-2 gives them thicker, more abundant feathers.

So there's still a fair to middlin' chance that your chicky is a Marans. I would guess it is. Even just looking at the shape of your chick when compared to the shape of the Cochin chick you have pictured gives us a clue.

The comb is straight, right? (just making sure)

I think you're right, two years ago I ended up with a "wrong chick in wrong bin" pullet, so I just wanted to make sure.
It is straight.