Wheaten and Blue wheaten Marans Discussion Thread

[berkeleysprings]

hi debbi btb is closest to wheaten and more likely in the mix but from what i read buff color is very complex and it is virtually impossible to cross it with another color so thats why i guessed brown red


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[VillageChicken]

My 2 cents - Yes that roo looks blacktail buff. Both of those off color wheatens look like the kind of wheaten you get when you use a wheaten sport from Black Coppers. The Db, Mahogany and extra melanizers are usually from Black Coppers originally. The Db is what restricts the black on the rooster's breast and makes that burnt orange color in the rest of him. Db can hide a bit in hens, but is dominant. Depending on how large the flock is, I think they have at least one hen that is heterozygous for Db, which is a fairly common problem in wheatens. That is why you see the BTB sports.

If your breeder is reputable, I'd send him a shot of that roo and see if you can be compensated at all. Just because the Wheatens in that flock are "pure" and it is closed doesn't mean they select properly and know what genes to weed out. Obviously they have issues in their flock, if 2 of 11 have clear issues, then they must not hatch very many of their own, or they would know who's throwing what and be able to eliminate the funky genes.

I agree with Randy - I wouldn't use the rooster, he'll only hide more of his bad genes in the offspring that result.

 

[berkeleysprings]

i would cull the roo and keep the hen for eggs or sell her , or just for kicks you could breed the hen and roo a few generations an d see what you get (btb or br). yes almost anything can hide but wheaten is most recessive of all colors but things still hide . that is the very first time iv seen a rooster of that color and only seen hens and since wheaten roos and hens look totaly different looking theres something funny going on if the roo is showing that color
but u have nothing to worry about because u have some nice looking pullets . but i was wondering on the leg color of hen in last picture , the dark one on far right ,,, are the legs more yellow than white / pink ? mabe its just the picture and the only reason i look hard now is because im truying to clear up a few with recessive yellow legs that look perfectly normal ... as it so happens my oldest hen died sunday , and i think she was hideing yellow socks whith white pants thats how village chicken explaned it to me he is a great guy and helps out many
now she died i cant even test breed her

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[cukooformarans]

Hmmm ... I haven't noticed yellow legs but now I will look! It's storming right now, maybe this evening after work. Thanks so much for all of the input!

Randy, I'm sorry about your hen!

 

[berkeleysprings]

lol lol i should of waited till u posted ,,, i cant fallow a act like yours ,,, your the pro and the headliner lol im the one that dus the sound check befor the real show lol


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[VillageChicken]

Randy, you've hatched way more wheatens than I have, you've got the concrete hatching experience, I've just done a lot of reading and seen lots of pictures. I've got a rooster with a brownish bum that I'm hoping doesn't have Db. Blacktailed Buff tend to be a bit darker than your typical Buff Orpington. You're right Buff is a tricky color with lots of genes in there. Usually true buff has a diluting gene that sort of washes out the burnt orange to a nice buff color. BTB's don't have the diluting gene, just the Db gene. But you're exactly right about Wheatens being the most recessive Marans. Db is dominant, it just hides in hens because they already have so little black to restrict, and the affect on the cape can be very subtle. Brown Red has a different chick down pattern - the chipmunk stripes are a sure sign, that's why I'd rule out the Brown Red/partridge.

I'd still let the breeder know what happened, and see if they'll send more eggs. Maybe they'll just charge for shipping. It can't hurt to ask. Maybe next time you'll get 10 roosters instead, and have your pick of the best of the bunch.

 

[berkeleysprings]

thanks for all the info VC ... one thinh iv noticed the past 4 years is how much the roosters black feathers get brown spots as they molt . they get realy brown ,my guess is that as the feather dies it turns brown so mabe your rooster with spotted brown bum might be molting hear is a picture a few months back and if u look hard you can see some brown spotting in chest and thigh

and today its so bad you wouldnt recognize him but after the molt (4 months later ) he will be back to normal looking

just thought id post somepics for people to see and what to look for

 

[Budda's Birds]

Hi everybody a couple of my pullets from Cree farms have started to lay and the eggs are only about a 4 on the egg chart. I was wondering if anybody has any experience with egg color in this line and how good it is. Because these girls where hatched out of 6-7 colored eggs on the color chart. Is it possible they will they will start to lay darker eggs? Or the heat is effecting the color? They started to lay in the hottest temperatures we've had this summer. Or should I expect the color to remain the same? I'm hoping my nicest pullet who isn't laying yet will have darker egg color then her sisters.

 

[Lotsapaints]

I've had birds start out light 4 or 5 and they now lay 7/8's and yes the heat seems to lighten the eggs some I think you need to wait a month for egg color and my birds lay much darker eggs when it's cool and I have grass for them to be on.....

 

[berkeleysprings]

were are u located ?normaly egg color is as good as it gets in the first 3 or 6 weeks of laying and than drops off tlll next molt
my thoughts on diet plays a part in shell thickness mostly not color but i have no exeriance with cree farm .... but give the younger pullets time to level out , dont be discouraged , it might be the stress from the heat but talk to other people in your area about egg color and see if there doing better