Wheaten and Blue wheaten Marans Discussion Thread

[Larryb52402]

Not breeding any chickens right now, but a lurker here and always talk to some breeders and chicken people locally.
The one thing I have heard repeatedly about Marans, that when you are working on development of various lines and varieties, you have to work hard to retain and hold on to that dark egg color. One old breeder says you can refine color and type with breeding but you can not develop deep color if it is not there to begin with.
Is the egg color in most Wheatons pretty good and dark? Or is that a little hit and miss?

 

[nivtup]

Back to the fluff at the base of the tail.

I did examine my birds tails relatively close this weekend.

Of the roos, 1 shows no outward fluff, he is probably around 7 months of age.

2 show fluff, one worse than the other. Both are older, 1-1/2 to 2 years.

All roos show white at the lower portion of the tail feathers, I did not investigate further. This is not only at the junction between tail and saddle, but throughout main tail feathers. I assume this is "undercolor" that shows through at the transition. Take a look at the base of all of the tail feathers, you might be surprised.

There is no visible white in any of the tails of these birds, nor in the wings. Just in the under fluff sections. Someone help me with the technical definition on this part of the feather.

I did not look further, although I am now interested in doing so, I have to assume this undercolor is an issue in more places.

From earlier in this thread ""Undercolor: Light slate. Very light in hackle and saddle"

How much of this is due to improper "undercolor" and how much of this is due to improper feather width at the junction?

 

[nivtup]

A further note:

Nearly all of our wheatens have weaknesses in the tail. Roos and hens. Although we do have better pullets coming up. In my earlier post I did comment that this is a target area for this coming season.

Is this weak tail a contributing factor?

 

[Cowgirlgrace]

Quote:
Well, I'll step in and answer this one since there haven't been any takers. I don't own any Wheatons Marans (I do have Black Coppers)but from pictures of eggs I have seen the color varies but is very good in the birds where the breeder is working to retain the egg color. Most of the the folks that are heavily analyzing tail fluff etc are doing so because they are show people whos primary focus is on the SOP and do not care about egg color(go figure). There are many who focus on egg color but also try to keep their birds as close to the SOP (or proposed) as possible. The Marans egg color is what makes them such a special breed. I am looking at this breed (Wheaton Marans)to possibly own someday and I personally would seek out the breeders whos focus is on egg color first then the SOP. Without the egg color they are just another chicken.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
I only hatch from my very darkest eggs. I don't show and honestly even tho I want my birds to be as close as what the standard will call for, the egg color is what is important to me.

 

[jeremy]

Egg color to me should be paramount, if you don't have excellent egg color, IMO, you shouldn't be working on anything else but bettering the color. I honestly wouldn't settle for anything less than a 6 if you're referencing the egg chart.

Again, that's just my opinion.

Like Katy said, otherwise they're just like any other chicken.

 

[blackdotte]

The French Standard states that a hen must produce at least one egg that is graded as a 4 or better to be a Marans. This does not mean that every egg the hen lays in it's life has to meet this Standard, but it is what we would prefer.
The Sec of the French Marns Club advised that the vast majority of the Marans in France lay an egg in the 4-6 range. Very few are in the 8-9 range.
I often see on this and other US forums that people claim never to have an egg below a 7. Makes me think they are using a different colour card or wearing rose-tinted glasses.
For example we would grade Katy's egg as 4 & 5s.
David

 

[Katy]

Quote:
I know what you mean about the claims for 8s and 9s.......I'm sure there are a few hens out there that lay them once in a while, but I think they're few and far between. It's hard to get a decent picture of egg color.....either the flash washes them out or the lack of light makes them look darker than they are. The eggs I posted pictures of were several months into their laying cycle so they had lightened up a bit by that time. When I sell hatching eggs I always post a picture of current eggs.

 

[halo]

I guess what I dont understand about the white fluff, especially in a breed/color that isnt yet in the SOP, is why is it a fault if its a part of the breed? Isnt the SOP supposed to describe what the perfect bird looks like? Not what a supposed not-yet-achieved bird looks like, but what the breed is supposed to look like, and has looked like for generations? Every other breed in the SOP has photos of birds that meet the standard; the standard has been written to describe the breed and what it looks like, not the other way around. Why would a standard be written for a bird that basically doesnt exist? Why would the white fluff be a fault, or even worse, a DQ, if thats a characteristic of the birds, and always has been?

 

[Medicine Man]

I'm going to start a non-profit rescue founndation - Save the Cotton-Tufted Wheatens. Everybody can send your birds to the SCTW where they will live out their natural lives in safety. But the SCTW should have some hens too so the cotton-tufters are not lonely.