Wrath's Marans

[BlueTheBrahma]

This is news to me and I don't recall seeing this anywhere. If you come across the quote, please share. It seems to me as common sense would dictate for instance hatching eggs from a #8 hen x a roo coming from say a #4 would put you generally in the offsprings #6 egg range theoretically speaking. So it seems using a darker egg roo would be off utmost importance to darken future generations.
I do realize it's not as simple as that, just an example. I do remember him also saying that pairing 8/9 roo x 8/9 hen doesn't necessarily mean you'll get 9's all day long. Making test mates with multiple males that much more important

I’ll have a search in the thread for when I asked him.

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

“marans dark egg genes are not well studied , so we don t know if they are sex linked or not .
in my experience they are autossomal .they can be pass down from both parent .
the problem we have with dark egg gene are some time they do not appear in the next generation ( they go dormant ) but they reappear in the next generation if we don t outcross the line .

for me I always select the hens who lay dark eggs for as long as they live like my Dark Angel and breed from her /them .I keep both of her/they progeny cockerels and pullets .to cross them to other lines to enhance the egg colour .
peoples always prefer to give credit to a roosters because thy sire a lot progeny but that doesn t mean they pass down more dark egg genes to they progeny better then hens .I prefer hens , with hens I can see the progress of dark egg genes through they life .the rooster does not lay eggs .
if you want to breed marans who can lay dark eggs than incubate only dark eggs ,in few generation you wil have more and more dark egg layer .
one thing dillute the dark eggs genes is outcrossing the lines soo many times .. bad practice.
chooks man”

@wrathsfarm this was Chooks man correcting me once after I said some of the dark egg genes were sec linked, which I suppose is different from what you actually said which was the male was simply more important.

If someone is starting with half siblings all bred from a dark egg male, I’d also predict that egg colour may get darker over generations as those original dark egg genes are shuffled around back to full concentration if that makes sense.

 

[wrathsfarm]

“marans dark egg genes are not well studied , so we don t know if they are sex linked or not .
in my experience they are autossomal .they can be pass down from both parent .
the problem we have with dark egg gene are some time they do not appear in the next generation ( they go dormant ) but they reappear in the next generation if we don t outcross the line .

for me I always select the hens who lay dark eggs for as long as they live like my Dark Angel and breed from her /them .I keep both of her/they progeny cockerels and pullets .to cross them to other lines to enhance the egg colour .
peoples always prefer to give credit to a roosters because thy sire a lot progeny but that doesn t mean they pass down more dark egg genes to they progeny better then hens .I prefer hens , with hens I can see the progress of dark egg genes through they life .the rooster does not lay eggs .
if you want to breed marans who can lay dark eggs than incubate only dark eggs ,in few generation you wil have more and more dark egg layer .
one thing dillute the dark eggs genes is outcrossing the lines soo many times .. bad practice.
chooks man”

@wrathsfarm this was Chooks man correcting me once after I said some of the dark egg genes were sec linked, which I suppose is different from what you actually said which was the male was simply more important.

If someone is starting with half siblings all bred from a dark egg male, I’d also predict that egg colour may get darker over generations as those original dark egg genes are shuffled around back to full concentration if that makes sense.

I remember this...
The tip off was when he said "they sometime do not appear in next generation (they go dormant).

I'm going to test this theory this year. I've kept Ronnie who is from Raven, but lays a lighter egg. I plan to backcross her to Kong and see what her progeny lays and then cross her to one of the boys I keep.

 

[wrathsfarm]

It's been a rough couple weeks here filled with a lot of time consumed in getting the runs weather proofed for this cold snap we got and building another bachelor coop for the boys.
Saturday December 6th started out with heart break as we lost our buddy of nearly 5 years... King. Its still not close to being back to normal here not seeing him everyday or hearing is mighty crow. With that same day also, a little ray of sunshine peaked out when W/W's eggs she was brooding decided to hatch a day early with 2 BCMs of Coppers and a Blue BCOE from Christy.

 

[WingItRanch]

It's been a rough couple weeks here filled with a lot of time consumed in getting the runs weather proofed for this cold snap we got and building another bachelor coop for the boys.
Saturday December 6th started out with heart break as we lost our buddy of nearly 5 years... King. Its still not close to being back to normal here not seeing him everyday or hearing is mighty crow. With that same day also, a little ray of sunshine peaked out when W/W's eggs she was brooding decided to hatch a day early with 2 BCMs of Coppers and a Blue BCOE from Christy.
View attachment 4266860
View attachment 4266833View attachment 4266831View attachment 4266832View attachment 4266827View attachment 4266829

I'm so sorry you lost King.

 

[Tstraub]

Sorry for your loss. I have enjoyed reading about King and Kong over the last couple years.

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

I remember this...
The tip off was when he said "they sometime do not appear in next generation (they go dormant).

I'm going to test this theory this year. I've kept Ronnie who is from Raven, but lays a lighter egg. I plan to backcross her to Kong and see what her progeny lays and then cross her to one of the boys I keep.

I think your own research would be very interesting to follow, even if it turns out that it only applies to your flock.

I trust Chooksman largely because of the sheer number of birds he had and his dedication to marans, but soon enough between us we may find little differences in our own observations than he reported, as our lines are very removed from each others’.

 

[Mwhit]

It's been a rough couple weeks here filled with a lot of time consumed in getting the runs weather proofed for this cold snap we got and building another bachelor coop for the boys.
Saturday December 6th started out with heart break as we lost our buddy of nearly 5 years... King. Its still not close to being back to normal here not seeing him everyday or hearing is mighty crow. With that same day also, a little ray of sunshine peaked out when W/W's eggs she was brooding decided to hatch a day early with 2 BCMs of Coppers and a Blue BCOE from Christy.
View attachment 4266860
View attachment 4266833View attachment 4266831View attachment 4266832View attachment 4266827View attachment 4266829

That’s tough. Sorry to hear that. I hope you get a new King out of your next hatch!

 

[wrathsfarm]

I think your own research would be very interesting to follow, even if it turns out that it only applies to your flock.

I trust Chooksman largely because of the sheer number of birds he had and his dedication to marans, but soon enough between us we may find little differences in our own observations than he reported, as our lines are very removed from each others’.

Odds are it won't prove or disprove anything as the law of averages shows it should darken with each crossing. Now if we see her daughters drop #9's, that would be dreamy.

 

[wrathsfarm]

December littles....