Marans feathering rate

[PippinChicken]

I've heard people say that in a lot of breeds, the cockerels tend to feather out slower than the pullets. Have people noticed this with their Marans chicks? How do they compare to other breeds in terms of rate of feathering? I'm wondering because I currently have some two week old Marans, Ameraucanas, and Olive Eggers (mix of the same Marans and Ameraucana stock). The Marans have been much slower to feather than everyone else, and even now just barely have little tails coming in. This is my first time with Marans so I was curious if they just tend to feather slower than other breeds, if it's totally random and meaningless, or if I may have had terrible luck and hatched all cockerels

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

Marans are a little slower developing, that's all. No, feather growth doesn't have anything to do with the gender. That can be determined by comb growth and color, and male feathering at an older age. Please post pics of your chicks combs at 8 weeks.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

No difference noticed in my Marans feathering rate specifically...

My males tend to grow much faster than the females though. And can often be identified as male by 4 weeks old... sometimes 3!

Note, mine ARE not slower developing than any of my other breeds and their fast growth rate is excellent. But I am breeding my own stock and selecting for qualities I like.

I would cull out those that feather slow so they don't get included into my parent stock. It isn't a desirable trait... to me. If you got them from a breeder... you can always male contact and ask about their stock characteristics.

The classic trifecta... Marans, AMs, and the mutt of the two FIRST GENERATION OE... I almost went there too! Good birds.

 

[Gray Farms]

In some breeds the males do feather much slower than the females. Like in Brahmas and English Orpingtons. I'm not sure if Marans are/aren't, its been to many years since I raised them myself. You could check on the Marans threads and talk to some breeders there.

 

[drumstick diva]

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