Well, I am a bit sad this morning as a feel I was duped by the breeder I bought from. I realize that breeders make mistakes with chicken sexing, but not only do I now think this bird was mis-sexed, I am sure that the breeder was wrong about the bird's age. After checking tons of comparison pics of Cuckoo Marans, her/his feathering indicates that she is closer to 4 weeks old (instead of 8). I also posted her/his pic on BackyardChickens.com & the consenus seems to be that it is a rooster.What frustrates me is I was suspicious from the start...oh well, I am a newbie & just learning. (Fall down once, stand up twice)I am not ready to say 100% that "Cinderella" is actually "Cinderfella"... but when & if I do, I would love to give him to a really nice home. I would rather one of the PHX Permies have him for FREE rather than go through Craigslist. I have been feeding her/him 100% certified organic feed.So if you are interested in potentially adopting this cutie let me know. I don't want my 4 year old little girl to get too attached to her/him (actually it's me that's attached). This bird is going to be stunning with black & white barred plummage, when its done feathering out. I will probably know more in a week or so.Also, if you have an opinion on the bird's sex..feel free to chime in.
Barred Rocks and Cuckoo Marans look basically identical, the exception is that generally barred rocks have more orange legs and marans have more of a pink/gray color, which your bird has. The maran will likely lay eggs the color of a barred rocks though. The ones that lay the dark impressive eggs are the ones you get from breeders selecting for this trait and they are usually identified as copper black cuckoo marans. I still wouldn't be so quick to guess that it's a rooster. I would love to see your Jersey Giants if you get some. I bet they lay some ginormous eggs. :)
I actually sent a feather sample in to an avian DNA center for sexing. It will take about 10 days to find out. It was 15.00 but I thought it would be worth it .
I am really exicted about the Jerseys...we will see what happens.
I am definetly learning about chicks thru trial by fire.....everyday I learn something new. I am goign to try and attend your next class.
Beth...that's a bummer....how can they tell it's a he? and it does look like a barred rock - which we've got two...I saw somewhere that you mentioned Vanessa and i think I mentioned her somewhere. Vanessa is AWESOME! She's been helpful to us and she's become a friend.
Beth Kramer > Michael and Lylah LednerApril 28, 2009 at 6:38am
I guees the way his comb looks & his feathering sequence. His comb is getting redder. Thankfully he is going to a nice home soon. He is soooooo CUTE. His feathers are beautiful & he has the funnest personality.
Hi Beth, I'll be happy to take your Cinderfella if indeed he is a he. He will be for my next-door neighbor who needs a rooster, and I can verify that it's a good home. He has them under shelter at night, and during the day, they totally free range over about a quarter acre of grass. I take care of his chickens for him when he and his family are out-of-town. We are in the NW valley.
Roosters tend to have longer "saddle feathers" over their back. I know that's not very helpful. I'll check out the pictures and voice an opinion if I have one.
Rachel or Myron, if either of you read this, do you have an opinion about how the clerk tested the bird to see if it was a roo or hen? I've never heard of that manner of sexing before!
Yes, I'd also like to know from someone else if what the Pratt's clerk said & did was accurate. It looked WEIRD and cruel, but she assured me it didn't hurt and that it worked. I've never read about this technique.
Regarding the Pratt's thing: NO! What the Pratt's clerk did was not accurate. People have all kinds of bizarre methods of sexing chickens and as it turns out, they're right half the time. There are still people that recommend the "hang a ring on a string above the chick" method (if it goes in a circle, it's a girl-- a line, it's a boy). All of these methods will have you paranoid that you have a brooder full of roosters. Vent sexing and sometimes feather sexing are the best methods of doing this. Hatcheries would not pay people $100+ an hour to vent sex birds if they could just grab them by the beak. Pratt's leaves me more dismayed every time I go there. Once I was there and the ducklings had no water, I told them about it and the guy (kid) said that they make such a mess and go through it that he only fills it a couple times a day (the rest of the time they go without). NOT acceptable, ducklings need access to water at all times or they can choke. I now shop at the stock shop which is staffed by wonderful, helpful and knowledgeable people.
About your cuckoo maran: I'm not prepared to make a sexing judgement, I'm guessing the people who have guessed so far are basing it on the comb? I will say that the chick in the pictures is around 4-5 weeks. Out of curiosity, did this come from C and C hatchery? I would be interested in knowing how whomever the breeder was went about sexing the birds. I hope your husband gets better ASAP.
Yes, the chicks are from C & C Hatchery & I will never buy from him again. Although, the chicks are all beautiful, I feel like I was duped & I have this suspicion that he doesn't really sex them... he is self taught & my understanding is that it is quite an artform.
I really was looking forward to your class tomorrow. My hubby is still in the hospital & we still don't know whats wrong.... thanks for the concern though.
It's too bad that the more reputable hatcheries require such a huge order of chicks. I did find out this week that one of my husbands' friends from Iowa raises champion Jersey Giants, so I might get a couple of those & also many people on this site have recommended Vanessa.
That's sad about the ducklings at Pratt's, some people just don't have any common sense. Someone that indifferent to the health of the animals shouldn't be working at a pet store.
Hope to meet you someday...btw did I say yet how much I adore your artwork...its so amazing!
The C & C people also told another Phx permie that he needed to buy ducks in pairs. This is a common way to try and get rid of extra males. (If you have more than one male duck, it's best to have one male to AT LEAST 2 females ). Keep us posted on your male to female chick ratio. In the future if you want more chicks, you can always check on here for splitting an order, there are usually a few people that want them and some that didn't realize that they wanted/NEEDED more chicks until you asked ;) . (Assuming you don't want the varieties they sell at feed stores).
Thanks so much about the art, I'm actually having an opening downtown next week if you're up to going out then (The time/address info is all on www.rachelbess,com). I'll be crossing my fingers for your husband.
Bless you...it's a relief to know I have some options. I am going to wait another week and see if she/he starts to get red on the comb etc. She does also have little leg spur buds, but I did read somewhere that females have buds too.
Would your neighbor prefer her/him to grow for awhile or would they like a "youngin" :)
Replies
I actually sent a feather sample in to an avian DNA center for sexing. It will take about 10 days to find out. It was 15.00 but I thought it would be worth it .
I am really exicted about the Jerseys...we will see what happens.
I am definetly learning about chicks thru trial by fire.....everyday I learn something new. I am goign to try and attend your next class.
Thanks
Beth
Roosters tend to have longer "saddle feathers" over their back. I know that's not very helpful. I'll check out the pictures and voice an opinion if I have one.
Rachel or Myron, if either of you read this, do you have an opinion about how the clerk tested the bird to see if it was a roo or hen? I've never heard of that manner of sexing before!
About your cuckoo maran: I'm not prepared to make a sexing judgement, I'm guessing the people who have guessed so far are basing it on the comb? I will say that the chick in the pictures is around 4-5 weeks. Out of curiosity, did this come from C and C hatchery? I would be interested in knowing how whomever the breeder was went about sexing the birds. I hope your husband gets better ASAP.
I really was looking forward to your class tomorrow. My hubby is still in the hospital & we still don't know whats wrong.... thanks for the concern though.
It's too bad that the more reputable hatcheries require such a huge order of chicks. I did find out this week that one of my husbands' friends from Iowa raises champion Jersey Giants, so I might get a couple of those & also many people on this site have recommended Vanessa.
That's sad about the ducklings at Pratt's, some people just don't have any common sense. Someone that indifferent to the health of the animals shouldn't be working at a pet store.
Hope to meet you someday...btw did I say yet how much I adore your artwork...its so amazing!
Thanks so much about the art, I'm actually having an opening downtown next week if you're up to going out then (The time/address info is all on www.rachelbess,com). I'll be crossing my fingers for your husband.
Would your neighbor prefer her/him to grow for awhile or would they like a "youngin" :)
I think I can finally sleep again....
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