Cuckoo Marans or Blue Cuckoo Marans?

[Dreammaker]

Hi! Brand new baby chicks arrived and I'm wondering if this lady is a Cuckoo Marans or Blue Cuckoo Marans (which was my back-up). She seems grayer than I thought a Cuckoo Marans chick would be.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Blue cuckoo

 

[Dreammaker]

Blue cuckoo

Sweet! That's even better!

 

[Dreammaker]

While we're on it, does anyone here think there's a chance I got a cockerel? I'm now reading Cuckoo Marans (if that's what "she" is) are autosexing. Not sure if this is the case with Blue Cuckoo Marans too, but I'm seeing a soft, diffuse spot on the head. This has me nervous it's a boy! Its legs are thicker than my other two (different breeds). Hmmm...

 

[Winderdear]

While we're on it, does anyone here think there's a chance I got a cockerel? I'm now reading Cuckoo Marans (if that's what "she" is) are autosexing. Not sure if this is the case with Blue Cuckoo Marans too, but I'm seeing a soft, diffuse spot on the head. This has me nervous it's a boy! Its legs are thicker than my other two (different breeds). Hmmm...

As far as I’m aware, breeds that can be autosexing have to be bred specifically for this trait. When I ordered a Blue Cuckoo Marans from a hatchery, they told me that their Blue Cuckoo Marans are vent sexed rather than sexed by chick down. They mentioned sometimes the head spots of barred breeds are helpful in determining gender, but not as reliable as vent sexing for them. Unless your hatchery/breeder specifically considers their lines to be autosexing, you’ll likely not be able to tell their gender at this age.

In my case, my chick turned out to be a pullet, and I think her head spot was a lot like the one on your chick.

Here are some pictures for you to compare with as yours grows up:






My pullet didn’t start showing her pink comb and wattles until about 10-11 weeks old. I believe Marans boys usually show them much earlier than that, so that’s what I would watch for. Good luck! Mine is an absolute joy, very intelligent and sweet, and a good consistent layer.

 

[Dreammaker]

Oh boy... This is embarrassing but I double-checked my order and lo and behold, I ordered a Silver Cuckoo Marans. At this point, I don't know what this little baby is except a Marans of some kind, which I'm super excited about. I have an Olive Egger/BCM mix and she is the BEST! So smart, hardy, and consistent.

 

[mydaisy]

While we're on it, does anyone here think there's a chance I got a cockerel? I'm now reading Cuckoo Marans (if that's what "she" is) are autosexing. Not sure if this is the case with Blue Cuckoo Marans too, but I'm seeing a soft, diffuse spot on the head. This has me nervous it's a boy! Its legs are thicker than my other two (different breeds). Hmmm...

From what I understand, a blue cuckoo marans female will not have the bars, but a male will. (that sounds weird to me since "cuckoo" is a pattern) I have two of them from Ideal Poultry and both of my girls are big girls lol, so don't worry about the size. And they are solid blue.

 

[Winderdear]

From what I understand, a blue cuckoo marans female will not have the bars, but a male will. (that sounds weird to me since "cuckoo" is a pattern) I have two of them from Ideal Poultry and both of my girls are big girls lol, so don't worry about the size. And they are solid blue.

Females can still have some barring/cuckoo pattern, it’s just hard to see. Here’s a picture of my Blue Cuckoo Marans, you can see she has barred leg feathers and some speckles on various other areas. I have seen a few on the forums that don’t seem cuckoo at all though, so solid blue also seems possible.

 

[Winderdear]

Oh boy... This is embarrassing but I double-checked my order and lo and behold, I ordered a Silver Cuckoo Marans. At this point, I don't know what this little baby is except a Marans of some kind, which I'm super excited about. I have an Olive Egger/BCM mix and she is the BEST! So smart, hardy, and consistent.

Silver Cuckoo Marans are just your standard Cuckoo Marans, the black with white speckling. I believe yours is blue.

 

[mydaisy]

Females can still have some barring/cuckoo pattern, it’s just hard to see. Here’s a picture of my Blue Cuckoo Marans, you can see she has barred leg feathers and some speckles on various other areas. I have seen a few on the forums that don’t seem cuckoo at all though, so solid blue also seems possible.

View attachment 3818072

Females can still have some barring/cuckoo pattern, it’s just hard to see. Here’s a picture of my Blue Cuckoo Marans, you can see she has barred leg feathers and some speckles on various other areas. I have seen a few on the forums that don’t seem cuckoo at all though, so solid blue also seems possible.

View attachment 3818072

ah, yes I can see what you mean there. I guess mine has light barring, but it always just looked like lacing to me. Here is one of them last year, the lighting is not good but it’s the best I have right now.