Blue Copper and Splash Copper Marans Discussion

[chicken pickin]

You will get many more responses to your sick chicken if you post in the emergencies forum. I wish you luck with your pullet.

 

[snowbird]

Hello I have an 18 week old marans hen and she seems to be acting weird. She has always been a loner and stays away from the others. Lately she has been getting worse. It seems like she can't support herself anymore. She is very wobbly. Is she sick? Or could it be a birth defect?

First thing to look up would be Mareks disease. Even if she survives she will always be a carrier.

 

[dutchbunny83]

Gender questions--

1. This is a girl, right??? She is 16 1/2 weeks old, so should be laying soon, but I've never seen coloring like this on a girl just roosters. The photo doesn't really do it justice it's like a super bright blue irredescent color. (By the way she was just plain black until about a month ago then all the sudden got the bright blue and the copper finally came in on her neck around 12 weeks I was starting to think she'd never get it!)




And then I have these 2 that are 6 weeks old. Hatched 10, picked out my favorite 2 "girls" and sold the other 8 straight run (looked like 5 boys & 3 girls) off cheap ($10 for all of them) just so I didn't get stuck with roosters. Now I am starting to wonder if the one black one is really a boy. Though I thought the one above was a rooster for a long time. Sorry the pics aren't the best, they didn't want to hold still. The black one is starting to get little pink combs, which are the same size as other pullets I have around the same age, but the other Marans doesn't have them yet at all. Thoughts???

 

[chicken pickin]

The 16 week old pullet is indeed a pullet The color looks fine though I think in Marans they aren't supposed to show much of the beetle color(blue/green sheen) but she is a girl

The Blue is a Pullet

The young Black looks like a pullet also I wouldn't be too alarmed about the tiny wattles and pinkness. My Marans Roos always are fast to mature so with mine I can usually tell the difference by 4 weeks old.

 

[dutchbunny83]

Thanks!

I don't breed or show or anything so too much of the beetle doesn't bother me because she's pretty haha. Just wanted to make sure it is a SHE! Hoping the others are girls too, thanks for the help!!!

 

[DMRippy]

The 16 week old pullet is indeed a pullet The color looks fine though I think in Marans they aren't supposed to show much of the beetle color(blue/green sheen) but she is a girl

The Blue is a Pullet

The young Black looks like a pullet also I wouldn't be too alarmed about the tiny wattles and pinkness. My Marans Roos always are fast to mature so with mine I can usually tell the difference by 4 weeks old.

Is that true about the green?????? I know the purple is not a good thing but I thought the beetle green sheen was a.good thing in black birds......am I wrong? are they supposed to be flat black?

 

[gilavina]

Is that true about the green?????? I know the purple is not a good thing but I thought the beetle green sheen was a.good thing in black birds......am I wrong? are they supposed to be flat black?

Beetle green is a good thing in black poultry varieties in general, only one or two breeds desire the purple sheen. I've never heard of Marans with a flat black being more desirable. Granted, I've seen way more flat black than with the green sheen, but I've also seen quite often those with flat black do have a tendency for the brown tint in the underfluff. All I know is that I'm going for the beetle green sheen all the way. Maybe I should say, as I've been working on my stock, the green sheen has accompanied the other improvements I've made. Don, I'd love to hear your feedback on this.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Green sheen can and does show on girls, and it can show on dark blue plumage, not just on black. The standard will tell you whether flat black f sheen is preferred for a particular breed. I know of none where purple sheen is not a fault.

 

[dutchbunny83]

Thanks for all the feedback!
I don't breed (can't keep roosters) or show or anything.
I just like pretty birds and pretty eggs.
While I don't know if she's standard, I sure am loving that sheen color. I'm just happy it is in fact a girl!!!!
When she was a baby she looked like other plain black one, that around 3 months all the sudden she got all this color & her copper neck feathers.

 

[chicken pickin]

Is that true about the green?????? I know the purple is not a good thing but I thought the beetle green sheen was a.good thing in black birds......am I wrong? are they supposed to be flat black?

Maybe it was purple/blue that is not desirable, I read something previously that the purple and blue sheen can carry whatever it is that can over melanize a Marans. I maybe wrong.