these are 2 hatch mates which were replacement eggs. Both from nice dark eggs 1 is very different than the other which is normal. I have read that you can get a Wheaten Marans especially if they come from Jean Wade blood lines since he imported from France and it is in the blood lines there. This is not a Wheaten based on chick pics I have seen of them. Mine even has lightly white feathered legs as shown in pic
here is pic of both of them. The normal looking one is on the right
Do any of you experienced breeders have any comment on this occurance??
I don't really know...but in other breeds it is very common for black pigmented birds to have different amounts of white as chicks. Some appear almost spotted while their hatchmates may be much more uniformly dark. It doesn't reflect their adult plumage.
This message was edited Feb 24, 2010 9:59 PM
oh that is good to hear. Thank you Cat
forgot to say they are 2 weeks old today
Donna your right, a wheaten at this age would be blond. The black feathered shank is a french standard maran. The white feathered is a concern, and I would bet your going to see some small amount of white feathers in this bird when it matures. If so that is not a bird you want to use to further your flock, so just enjoy the eggs, but, keep it away from any quality maran that you want to use to further your flock. At maturity even one white feather is a disqualifier, Many have plucked them out to hide the fault but it just repeats itself in the future breeding. The Wade line has a long standing history of this problem inspite of the good reports you might hear. Just check any reputable Marans club you want to and see for yourself. It's not that the bird is no good, it's just not one your going to want to breed or breed with. Hay.
That is interesting, Hay. In Australorps and especially Black Jersey Giants the chicks almost always have a good deal of white, but molt it out with the juvenile molt at 4 months.
Thank you all for the info.
Does it look like a roo to you. It was the last hatcher but is bigger than the first one. The thingy on top of its head is much more pronounced. I will find it a home if it is a Roo
Thanks
Donna
It does look like a roo to me....but occasionally they surprise you.
Hey, Hay--every breeder's worst nightmare...
This is a picture from Feathersite of a what was a normal Black Marans pullet...until she molted.
This message was edited Feb 25, 2010 1:20 AM
wow I think she is pretty lol
Oh my! How did that happen? (But I agree, I think she's pretty too.)
I could not help but laugh cause she looks just like Murphy, but I'll bet the owner was not so tickled.
Catscan & Donna I have a beautiful black copper maran rooster, I was so excited about him and suddenly at five months old I found two white feathers on him and those white feathers disqualify him as a roo that can be used to fertilize future eggs therefore he is only good for the soup pot...I'll take a pic of him tomorrow and show you what I mean. Hay
Maybe he will molt them out...and the perfect coloured roo with less perfect conformation that you keep, will molt and go all spotty!
No soup pots for Marans....ZZ did a nice braise......
Catsy it is always possible for a bird to moult out a color but when that color us highly unusual it is usually a sign of the future, and sometimes we forget that our standard here is not the same as elsewhere, a maran with feathered shanks is automatically disqualified in the states, and a non feathered shank is an automatic disqualification in France. In France a marans with white shanks is generally not even allowed to live. I belong to the MOAC and the info I have received from the French who guide what does and what does not qualify for us has been an interesting learning process. Hay.
Thanks for the info Hay
