UPDATE: I was totally wrong about this chick. Although the guide says that Cuckoo Marans have white bellies and a white spot on their heads, that description doesn’t apply to this belly and this head. Blue Andalusians can be a soft whitish grey (as are two of the three that I got), but they can also be slate grey, and as chicks have white bellies. This chick is a Blue Andalusian. The Cuckoo Marans, within the first two weeks, developed softly mottled brownish feathering, much like their adult plumage will be. I never did see the white bellies and heads.
When you get a box of 26 chicks, it’s hard to know who’s who. Newly hatched, many breeds look almost identical, and the colors of their downy coats bear no resemblance to what they’ll wear when mature. I have two Cuckoo Marans, which, two weeks ago were hard to distinguish from the Dominiques (both were dark with white spots on their heads.) However, lately, the white bellies of the Marans have become more distinctive.
It’s an awkward stage,
Blue Andalusian chick
but darned cute.
She looks adorable and a bit feisty. “So what are you looking at?”
I tried to identify them, but it was impossible. Especially for a novice like me. They are so cute. Siouxsie is in the box with Topaz again. I find that comical. :)
So cute, some are getting their combs. I would love to just sit in their box and let them climb all over me.
Bad hair days!
That Maran in the second picture reminds me of Agatha.
Too cute :)
I love the one on the right in the first photo, peering over the others.
That one I’m keeping! She’s an Ameracauna.
I got my first 4 chicks last year. My Cuckoo Maran looked like yours, she turned into a beauty, great attitude and dark brown eggs. Her “sister” an Ameracauna is so sweet, just gotta love her green eggs! They all get along well with my Buff Orpington “twins.” They all turned out to be super layers and very entertaining.
Oh, so cute. When I got my first batch of four day old chicks, one was a Cuckoo Marans. But she turned out to be a he. I was devastated. I had named her/him and was totally in love by the time four months passed and it was painfully obvious he was a roo. Keep the photos coming.
Can we already see the little “sideburns” on the Ameracauna? Looks like it to me. I have one Ameracauna. She is gentle, a great forager and I love her beautiful blue-green eggs.
Yup, the Ameracaunas came with “chipmunk cheeks.” They’re obviously the calmest and gentlest of the lot.
I’m going to remember “chipmunk cheeks”. Perfect name for those little tufts of feathers. =)
You MUST keep a Marans, they lay the dark dark chocolate colored eggs, correct?
They do lay chocolate-colored (alas, not flavored) eggs. Jasper, my Welsummer, lays gorgeous dark brown eggs with even darker speckles, so I’ll be curious to see how different the Maran eggs are.