What will I get if I mix a DC Roo with a Cuckoo Maran hen?

[Kezzie]

I would like to start a meat project in the spring and am just beginning to learn about genetics but still know practically nothing. I'd like to do a DC cross. Originally, I wanted to cross with my Red Cap but she is so tiny compared to the others in my flock, it doesn't seem like the right way to go.

I will try to cross my biggest DC roo with my biggest Maran hen to see if I can get great tasting meat (Maran) and lots of it (DC) earlier than just with a DC (Maran).

What are the offspring likely to look like? Will some be Cuckoo and some pure black? Will they be odd combos of both? Will the feather length and type be either one or the other- or a mix of both?

Will the eggs of the offspring be dark brown like a Maran's? Is the dark brown the dominant gene?

I'm sorry if my questions are too basic and stupid. I'll be doing a lot of learning as I go and I promise I'll get this eventually...

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

I am not sure what you mean by DC?

 

[Kezzie]

Quote:
Sorry- Dark Cornish...

 

[Kezzie]

Any thoughts?

 

[Mahonri]

Here is a fun place:
Breed Calculator

 

[Kezzie]

Quote:
That site looks very cool. I have no idea what it's trying to tell me, but it looks cool!

 

[blackdotte]

The cross will produce Barred/Cuckoo cockerels & Black pullets. They will have white skin & shanks. They will be hardfeather like the DC, & if the Marans is feather legged they will have some feathering. They will have a Pea comb like the DC. Eggs will lose the dark red-brown colour. Body type will be more like the DC, legs will be thick but not as short as the DC.
Is the dark brown the dominant gene?

If you are talking about the eggs, brown shell is polygenic. The genetics of the second pigment coating of the Marans is not documented.
David

 

[Kezzie]

Quote:
Thank you SO much. That was exactly what I was looking for. So they'll be sex-linked? Is that only the case when the hen is the cuckoo or would it work in the opposite cross too?

Sorry to ask so many questions but I'm just learning....

 

[blackdotte]

No,Cuckoo male X DC hen will give all Cuckoo chicks,
David