Black Copper Marans

[john in wa]

long story short. I bought BCM eggs hatched them raised them and now hatched some of the eggs i got from them. only one little problem i am getting some yellow chicks. I guess they will be wheaton marans. so i am guessing my parent stock are not pure black copper marans. so do i need to cull these birds and start over? I have no other roo's only my black copper marans roo's.

thanks

I am adding a photo of one of the chicks. it has a blue tint to its back.

 

[blackdotte]

Due to the fact many people do not know the difference between Wheaten & Brown-Red (a.k.a Black Coppers) males, many of the latter carry a recessive Wheaten gene. To get,as you did, Wheaten chicks it shows both parents are carrying the Wheaten gene not just the father.
David

 

[Lensters]

I bought well over 100 Marans eggs from EBay, EggBid, BYC and from breeders. Only around 8 were #4 or #5 in egg color and over half had genes that they shouldn't (including all the birds from the dark eggs). The Marans Breeders Club started a basic tutorial on what show birds should look on their mailing list. Most of the members are still miles away from understanding genetics, except Dick and David who won't sell their stock as they don't breed true. I'll wait for those two, to sort out the genetics before I make another attempt at Marans. I have yet to figure out what I'm going to do with these "Marans" birds I have.

 

[onthespot]

you can usee those wheaten babies to cross on the parent stock to find out who carries the wheaten gene and only remove those birds from the gene pool. Then all you would have to do is get another roo that is not split to wheaten. I would also ask for your money back frmo whoever you bought eggs from. I don't care if it is a year later. You were not sold "copper black marans" eggs. you were sold cross bred marans eggs. All is not lost, and with some work you can get back to all copper black without too much time and money lost. Just some effort and culling. Sorry about your disappointing hatch. Also, are you sure they are not splash? Do you have blue based birds, especially the rooster?

 

[drom]

Quote:
If you buy lots of birds from lots of sellers on various different web sites, unfortunately that can happen. You need to research the standard, join the Marans forums, lurk, ask lots of questions. I bought a few chicks from one seller, after I had looked at pictures of what she was selling to other people. I am happy with what I got. They aren't perfect, but I got what I wanted. It is a relatively new breed here so you have to be dedicated and you have to be thorough. They are not as easy as buying RIRs or Barred Rocks. That is precisely why some people like working with them. They don't want to wait for someone else to do the work. They want to learn and work on the breed and contribute to it's development. I hadn't kept poultry before, so I have had a huge learning curve and this breed has been the perfect opportunity for me to learn more.

Oh, just to add; what happened to you has happened to others. I am not suggesting you were careless. I'm just saying this breed is relatively new here and not as easy as other breeds so you have to have a clear understanding of the challenges before you buy your stock and get started so you are not disappointed.

 

[Eagle2026]

At this point I wouldn't "RAISE" the cross bread birds, and if you have more than one roo I would try different separation varieties in your flock.
It may take you all year. Try to help keep this breed true and do not let those offspring breed. Black copper roos are getting easier to get. If you can pick one up in the next couple of months maybe try to incorporate him into you different pens. One way or the other you should be getting a few pure birds?
Are you in WA. State?
I have some chicks that are a few months old and might be able to help you out with a roo in fact. I live in Snohomish Wa.
Pure Wade Jeane lines. Fully feathered shanks....................

 

[amazondoc]

Guys --

IMHO it is wrong to automatically smear BCs with a "cross bred" label simply because some of them are carrying the wheaten gene. Even the French acknowledge that they still have wheaten floating around in their BC flocks. And btw, the Wade Jeane line is one of the biggest culprits known, in terms of carrying wheaten.

I would definitely not throw out a flock just because it's carrying wheaten. I WOULD, however, attempt to breed the trait out. If you like, you can keep the wheaten chicks and start working on two separate varieties (wheaten and BC). Then, as has already been suggested, you might use those wheaten offspring in test matings -- or, you can try to trap nest or otherwise associate eggs with specific hens, and see what they produce.

Good luck, this is a widespread problem in the breed. It'll take a long time to get rid of it!

 

[drom]

Quote:
Totally agree with Onthespot and Amazondoc. I wouldn't toss them out, particularly if they lay nice eggs. If the eggs and the confirmation are nice, I would work with them and try to weed out the gene. However, if the eggs ended up being light, that would be a different story for me. I might start over and get different stock.

 

[Eagle2026]

Figure out what roo is throwing it... or hen laying it and destroy it as soon as possible.
Don't try to be some mad scientist and figure it. Just Eat the darn thing so it don't go to waste.
Good luck.

If I had this problem in my flock, I would know what ( I ) would be done!!!

Or you could just keep a bunch of polluted birds around your property. NO..... better yet sell them off or give them away and somebody else can be held accountable for making the bloodlines worse than they already are.

Mike

I hope I never get any of that offsping.... tell you what

 

[amazondoc]

Quote:
If you've got Wade Jeane birds, you may find a little yellow surprise in your own hatcher one of these days.