International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Red Banks]

Looking back in my book, line #1 had the vulture hocks in my cockerels.
Over feathered feet, bad eye color, white underfluff expressed in the cockerels too. And high tails.

But they had nice mass and type and egg color.

I only have 1 left from my line #1.
A hen named Judith. She lays a nice big, round, dark egg. And she eats it 50% of the time! The only egg eater I have. I plan to cull her.

I was able to hatch a couple of her eggs that somehow I grabbed from her.
I hatched out 2.
1 pullet and 1 cockerel.

Here is the cockerel.
He looks like her line with the over feathered feet and bad eye color but he has a lot of nice qualities I think. Only time will tell. His sire is Seamus who has nice type, color, minimal leg feathering and low tail.
Other chicks from this hatch had their leg feathering improved with Seamus as their sire. I wish he did too.

View attachment 3083792

I will post pics of these chics, they look like caricatures of BCM. Charlie Chaplin BCMs. He looks pretty good.

 

[Punkybrewster]

Today I am going to begin penning my hens to see who is laying which egg.

I have around 18 hens and need to cull the light layers to make room for my grow out pullets.

This will take a while as I have maybe 3 pens that I can put them in separately and leave for a few days at a time to lay.

I sure wish there was an easier way to do this. That's why I've been putting it off. I sometimes catch them on the nest but its not easy to judge a hen when they lay light one day and dark another.

 

[Punkybrewster]

...AND
I started from page #1 of this thread again. Now, going back and reading, I am picking up and understanding things differently. The information here is priceless. True, honest, deep information.

Boy I miss @Chooks man

 

[Punkybrewster]

Thank you @Red Banks for even starting this thread!

 

[Red Banks]

...AND
I started from page #1 of this thread again. Now, going back and reading, I am picking up and understanding things differently. The information here is priceless. True, honest, deep information.

Boy I miss @Chooks man

The good thing about the old posts is that Chooks man answered all the questions we could think of over and over and it is all there. I didn't remember his post about vulture hocks but then I did a search and found out what he had to say about them. He can still help us, we just have to search the old posts. I guess it is time I started rereading them too!

 

[Thomas Bright]

I try to do this once a year. I hope this thread never disappears!!

 

[Bantambird]

Just had to present this guy John again. He's turned out so well, he will be so hard to replace. I might not be able to for a while.

 

[Punkybrewster]

View attachment 3089069View attachment 3089070
Just had to present this guy John again. He's turned out so well, he will be so hard to replace. I might not be able to for a while.

WOW.
I have no words...
I only know Black Coppers well but this is real quality.

 

[Thomas Bright]

View attachment 3089069View attachment 3089070
Just had to present this guy John again. He's turned out so well, he will be so hard to replace. I might not be able to for a while.

Did you lose this bird??

 

[Punkybrewster]

I sure hope not.