What is a Blue Cuckoo Marans?

[Winderdear]

I was wondering how the Blue Cuckoo Marans was “made”. Was it a cross between a Cuckoo Marans and a blue chicken breed like an Andalusion, the cross now being stable so the birds will breed true? Or does it perhaps (not sure if this is even possible) come from a blue sport that originated from normal Cuckoo Marans? Or is it something altogether different? My understanding of genetics is shallow at best and comes mostly from researching plant breeding rather than animals, so do forgive my ignorance!

I have a Blue and a normal (AKA Silver) Cuckoo Marans, and the Blue is svelt with a very shapely tail where the tips curl down ever so slightly. The Silver is a puff ball and her tail fans out almost like a turkey at times, the feathers are more wispy and frayed at the tips. It made me curious to know if there is another breed in the Blue’s ancestry. I figured this was the best place to ask

Btw, I purchased my girls from Meyer Hatchery, and their site states regarding their Blue Cuckoos:

Due to our breeding program, Blue Cuckoo Marans chicks will be "blue" and not have splash or black feathering. The shade of blue will vary.

I thought that might be pertinent information.




Blue ^




Silver ^

 

[NatJ]

I was wondering how the Blue Cuckoo Marans was “made”. Was it a cross between a Cuckoo Marans and a blue chicken breed like an Andalusion, the cross now being stable so the birds will breed true? Or does it perhaps (not sure if this is even possible) come from a blue sport that originated from normal Cuckoo Marans? Or is it something altogether different? My understanding of genetics is shallow at best and comes mostly from researching plant breeding rather than animals, so do forgive my ignorance!

Genetically, it "should" be the same as a normal Cuckoo Marans, but with the blue gene added. So yes the blue gene could have come from something like an Andalusian, or it could have come from another Marans variety (maybe Blue Copper Marans).

I do not know specifically how it was made, just the genetic explanation for how it COULD have been made.

I have a Blue and a normal (AKA Silver) Cuckoo Marans, and the Blue is svelt with a very shapely tail where the tips curl down ever so slightly. The Silver is a puff ball and her tail fans out almost like a turkey at times, the feathers are more wispy and frayed at the tips. It made me curious to know if there is another breed in the Blue’s ancestry. I figured this was the best place to ask

The difference could be from a different breed in the ancestry, or it could be that they have selected the two different breeding flocks for different shapes, or maybe they ignored the shape and it just happened to drift different directions in the different varieties.

Or maybe they have both shapes in each variety, and you just happened to get ones that are different than each other. Since you only have one of each variety, that may be the most likely explanation of all.

Btw, I purchased my girls from Meyer Hatchery, and their site states regarding their Blue Cuckoos:

Due to our breeding program, Blue Cuckoo Marans chicks will be "blue" and not have splash or black feathering. The shade of blue will vary.

I thought that might be pertinent information.

To get just blue chickens, they are crossing a splash parent with a black parent (in this case, it would probably be splash cuckoo with the normal kind of cuckoo that has white bars on black, and that means all chicks are blue cuckoo.)

 

[Winderdear]

Genetically, it "should" be the same as a normal Cuckoo Marans, but with the blue gene added. So yes the blue gene could have come from something like an Andalusian, or it could have come from another Marans variety (maybe Blue Copper Marans).

I do not know specifically how it was made, just the genetic explanation for how it COULD have been made.


The difference could be from a different breed in the ancestry, or it could be that they have selected the two different breeding flocks for different shapes, or maybe they ignored the shape and it just happened to drift different directions in the different varieties.

Or maybe they have both shapes in each variety, and you just happened to get ones that are different than each other. Since you only have one of each variety, that may be the most likely explanation of all.


To get just blue chickens, they are crossing a splash parent with a black parent (in this case, it would probably be splash cuckoo with the normal kind of cuckoo that has white bars on black, and that means all chicks are blue cuckoo.)

Thank you so much for your very detailed reply! I always thought my girls should look much more alike if they came from the same breed and hatchery, but I see now there could be multiple reasons why they differ.

I had seen a BBS chart posted on this forum of what pairings result in which types of coloring, but foolishly assumed that wasn’t applicable with Cuckoo Marans. I had no idea a splash Cuckoo Marans was even a thing!

I really appreciate you answering all my questions, you’re awesome!

 

[sybonbon]

I have two Blue Cuckoo Marans from Meyers and a Blue Andalusian. The two Cuckoos are different in color, size and comb. One looks almost identical to the Blue Andalusian except for the Andalusians large comb. I can post photos if you are interested.

 

[Winderdear]

I have two Blue Cuckoo Marans from Meyers and a Blue Andalusian. The two Cuckoos are different in color, size and comb. One looks almost identical to the Blue Andalusian except for the Andalusians large comb. I can post photos if you are interested.

Absolutely, I would love to see them!

 

[sybonbon]

Absolutely, I would love to see them!

 

[NatJ]

I had seen a BBS chart posted on this forum of what pairings result in which types of coloring, but foolishly assumed that wasn’t applicable with Cuckoo Marans. I had no idea a splash Cuckoo Marans was even a thing!

The blue gene affects the black feathers on a chicken. So a black/blue/splash chart applies to cuckoo marans, and any other chicken variety that has some amount of black. It comes up regularly with some of the laced chickens: a Black Laced Red chicken (black edges on red feathers) becomes a Blue Laced Red chicken or a Splash Laced Red chicken. The red stays consistent, while the lacing follows the black/blue/splash chart.

Yes, anyone who breeds two Blue Cuckoo Marans should get some amount of Splash Cuckoo Marans chicks. But considering that the white barring will not show up very clearly against the splash background color, I would not expect them to be as popular as the black and blue versions.

 

[Winderdear]

@sybonbon Thank you so much for sharing pictures of your girls, they’re gorgeous. I hope mine resembles either of yours when she matures!

The first (your Andalusian?) and third photo do look like very similar birds besides the comb size, maybe Meyer’s Blue Cuckoos do have some Blue Andalusian in them. Does your other Blue Cuckoo Marans have feathered feet like mine? Hard to see in the photos, but I thought maybe she did. Neither of your girls seem to have a prominent cuckoo pattern, did they look as speckled as my blue girl when they were younger? Do you find that they lay anything close to a chocolate egg? That’s a ridiculous amount of questions, haha…

 

[Winderdear]

The blue gene affects the black feathers on a chicken. So a black/blue/splash chart applies to cuckoo marans, and any other chicken variety that has some amount of black. It comes up regularly with some of the laced chickens: a Black Laced Red chicken (black edges on red feathers) becomes a Blue Laced Red chicken or a Splash Laced Red chicken. The red stays consistent, while the lacing follows the black/blue/splash chart.

Yes, anyone who breeds two Blue Cuckoo Marans should get some amount of Splash Cuckoo Marans chicks. But considering that the white barring will not show up very clearly against the splash background color, I would not expect them to be as popular as the black and blue versions.

That makes sense! You wouldn’t be able to tell them apart from Splash Copper Marans most likely. I guess if Meyer’s does breed them, they probably only use them for their breeding stock to hatch Blue Cuckoo Marans. Thanks again for all the helpful info!

 

[sybonbon]

@sybonbon Thank you so much for sharing pictures of your girls, they’re gorgeous. I hope mine resembles either of yours when she matures!

The first (your Andalusian?) and third photo do look like very similar birds besides the comb size, maybe Meyer’s Blue Cuckoos do have some Blue Andalusian in them. Does your other Blue Cuckoo Marans have feathered feet like mine? Hard to see in the photos, but I thought maybe she did. Neither of your girls seem to have a prominent cuckoo pattern, did they look as speckled as my blue girl when they were younger? Do you find that they lay anything close to a chocolate egg? That’s a ridiculous amount of questions, haha…

I love answering questions. My dark blue lady has many feathers on her feet. The lighter one has 1 on each foot. They never had a Cuckoo pattern but if they are out in the sun, and it shines just right, you can see it like a shadow in their feathers. As for chocolate eggs, not even close. One is light brown with alot of speckles and the other has such a heavy bloom it appears light unless wet. The Marans are my noisiest birds by far. They sing before an egg, during an egg, after an egg and for all 7 others in the flock. Lol My BA is quiet and sweet.