Wheaten and Blue wheaten Marans Discussion Thread

[Coyote Night]

too bad you didn't live close to Washington State!

Diane

Sorry, Not offering shipping either. If they don't sell I'll probably just keep them and sell hatching eggs. They are a great breed but was thinking about thinning down my breeds a bit more. Thanks anyway though.

 

[WHmarans]

Hello, I'm new to this list and sort of new to breeding chickens as well. I have a trio of wheaten marans that are in my opinion ok but could use improvement of course I think they're adorable and enjoyable anyway. I'm selling the original trio and keeping a new group of pullets and roosters this year. I was wondering... Could a person fairly quickly make nice wheatens by putting a good wheaten rooster with some nice black copper hens? Would it take two generations? I'm just wondering because black coppers are easier to find here.

 

[rexy]

Hello, I'm new to this list and sort of new to breeding chickens as well. I have a trio of wheaten marans that are in my opinion ok but could use improvement of course I think they're adorable and enjoyable anyway. I'm selling the original trio and keeping a new group of pullets and roosters this year. I was wondering... Could a person fairly quickly make nice wheatens by putting a good wheaten rooster with some nice black copper hens? Would it take two generations? I'm just wondering because black coppers are easier to find here.

Hi, I will answer because this thread is so quiet at the moment. But I am no expert, unlike many on here and the other marans threads. It will take many generations for any uniformity in your stock, and even then there will bad things popping up all the time. It takes a dedicated and knowledgeable breeder to successfully do this. I think it would be an absolutely last resort. In Australia we have the opposite, wheatens are relatively easy to come by, but the black coppers are more of a rarity.

 

[Bangarang64]

Good answer Rexy.

I am sometimes tempted to do it so I can put more diversity into the bloodline. The thing is, it would cause so many problems, for me and anyone buying my chicks. I just would leave this up to a breeder much more experienced than myself.

 

[WHmarans]

Good answer Rexy.    

I am sometimes tempted to do it so I can put more diversity into the bloodline.  The thing is, it would cause so many problems, for me and anyone buying my chicks.  I just would leave this up to a breeder much more experienced than myself.

What kind of problems would it risk?

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
Good answer, if we make this cross you will get cull BC chicks if we use a BC over wheaten females. I have not tried the wheaten male over the BC female.

 

[rexy]

What kind of problems would it risk?

Oh wow, that's a big question, and once again, I have never done this, and there are many, many people who are much, much more knowledgeable than me. But, genetically, these two varieties are totally different. This will mean that your colours will be all over the place. Even if you get a nice coloured bird, the underlying genetics will mean that their progeny will still not be a pure Wheaten, and their colour will not be consistent for many genrations, and will take some knowledgeable culling and bird selection. The colour on the roosters will suffer the most. Of course, they are your birds, and will still be nice birds, even if their colour is not SOP. They could still lay lovely dark eggs. Not everyone has to be a perfectionist with their birds.

 

[WHmarans]

Oh wow, that's a big question, and once again, I have never done this, and there are many, many people who are much, much more knowledgeable than me. But, genetically, these two varieties are totally different. This will mean that your colours will be all over the place. Even if you get a nice coloured bird, the underlying genetics will mean that their progeny will still not be a pure Wheaten, and their colour will not be consistent for many genrations, and will take some knowledgeable culling and bird selection. The colour on the roosters will suffer the most. Of course, they are your birds, and will still be nice birds, even if their colour is not SOP. They could still lay lovely dark eggs. Not everyone has to be a perfectionist with their birds.

Interesting. I thought wheaten was basically a modifying gene color to black copper color and that though there would be obviously black copper culls in the group.... The wheaten ones would be as wheaten as any other wheaten hens.

 

[upthecreek]

Quote:

Very Very Interesting !!!!

 

[WHmarans]

Very Very Interesting !!!!

Well I've never tried it! That's just what I thought to be the case. Hoping someone who's tried it or something like it can clarify a little more. Snowbird?