International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Minky]

Well, I can finally tell who is laying what out of my 3 hens. My one eyed hen, Cyclucks, has made it easy for me. She finds it difficult to navigate the nest box area, so she lays in the sandy dirt underneath...now that's what I call a team player!!.



Also Ive been scrutinizing the eggs closely and her eggs are the darkest of my hens, and not quite as oval. They have a slight taper just enough so you can tell which is the round end.... and they have a reddish tint and less speckles than Ebony (lightest and most speckled) and Izzy's are roundest and have a very subtle hint of a whitish haze on one end.

Chooks man- do you find that splash marans hens lay a lighter colour than BCM?
I really like splash, and so I am trying to figure out if I should aim to get a blue rooster this year in hopes to make some splashes. (I have one blue hen). But I like the dark egg. Somewhere I think I read or was told that splash marans eggs are never as dark as BCM. True or not?

Anyone have any luck with the Marans Club responding? I have been trying to get a colour chart sent to me. Who knew it would be so difficult?

 

[Minky]

I often hear people saying they will only set their darkest eggs.
But here is my question. If you have a hen who lays a 5 and once in a while she lays a 6... setting that 6 egg is not going to give you a darker layer than if you set the 5 egg- because assuming she is with the same rooster- wouldn't the genetic make up be the same??

Also- if you have a mated pair (say dad lays 5 and mom lays 6) and you hatch out 25 of their eggs and get 12 pullets, when they start to lay- can you end up with any range of 5-6 or can you get 4's and 7's too?

Hope that made sense.

 

[Chooks man]

Well, I can finally tell who is laying what out of my 3 hens. My one eyed hen, Cyclucks, has made it easy for me. She finds it difficult to navigate the nest box area, so she lays in the sandy dirt underneath...now that's what I call a team player!!.



Also Ive been scrutinizing the eggs closely and her eggs are the darkest of my hens, and not quite as oval. They have a slight taper just enough so you can tell which is the round end.... and they have a reddish tint and less speckles than Ebony (lightest and most speckled) and Izzy's are roundest and have a very subtle hint of a whitish haze on one end.

Chooks man- do you find that splash marans hens lay a lighter colour than BCM?
I really like splash, and so I am trying to figure out if I should aim to get a blue rooster this year in hopes to make some splashes. (I have one blue hen). But I like the dark egg. Somewhere I think I read or was told that splash marans eggs are never as dark as BCM. True or not?

Anyone have any luck with the Marans Club responding? I have been trying to get a colour chart sent to me. Who knew it would be so difficult?

make me happy when some one say I know who is laying what in they flock , take a lot of guess work out .
daek eggs genes is not related to color varieties . Black copper lay darker eggs in France because it is the only variety the French breeders like .they lost the other dark eggs varieties like the silver cuckoo marans ,used to be a good dark eggs layer . English cuckoo marans derive from that old stock .
any hen who lay dark eggs can reproduce her self if mated to correct rooster .
I love Splash marans my self .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

I often hear people saying they will only set their darkest eggs.
But here is my question. If you have a hen who lays a 5 and once in a while she lays a 6... setting that 6 egg is not going to give you a darker layer than if you set the 5 egg- because assuming she is with the same rooster- wouldn't the genetic make up be the same??

Also- if you have a mated pair (say dad lays 5 and mom lays 6) and you hatch out 25 of their eggs and get 12 pullets, when they start to lay- can you end up with any range of 5-6 or can you get 4's and 7's too?

Hope that made sense.

you are absolutely correct .dark egg genes don t work like peoples think . peoples have no clue .they just talk to talk without proving any points .
dark egg genes are not understood yet .no one has done a complete marans eggs study .some work been done here and there but not full extend .
dark egg gene is similar in inheritance to speed genes in horses . mating to fast horses does not guaranty producing fast horse .if was true ,than all race horse breeders will have no jobs .
dark egg gene is like that .mating 2 dark egg layer does not guaranty all they progeny will lay dark eggs not true .we have to select for by line breeding a chooks /

chooks man

 

[RoosterML]

Well, I can finally tell who is laying what out of my 3 hens. My one eyed hen, Cyclucks, has made it easy for me. She finds it difficult to navigate the nest box area, so she lays in the sandy dirt underneath...now that's what I call a team player!!.



Also Ive been scrutinizing the eggs closely and her eggs are the darkest of my hens, and not quite as oval. They have a slight taper just enough so you can tell which is the round end.... and they have a reddish tint and less speckles than Ebony (lightest and most speckled) and Izzy's are roundest and have a very subtle hint of a whitish haze on one end.

Chooks man- do you find that splash marans hens lay a lighter colour than BCM?
I really like splash, and so I am trying to figure out if I should aim to get a blue rooster this year in hopes to make some splashes. (I have one blue hen). But I like the dark egg. Somewhere I think I read or was told that splash marans eggs are never as dark as BCM. True or not?

Anyone have any luck with the Marans Club responding? I have been trying to get a colour chart sent to me. Who knew it would be so difficult?

Yes it did take alittle while to respond but they will. Did you do the purchase online?

 

[kcrandall]

Well, I can finally tell who is laying what out of my 3 hens. My one eyed hen, Cyclucks, has made it easy for me. She finds it difficult to navigate the nest box area, so she lays in the sandy dirt underneath...now that's what I call a team player!!.



Also Ive been scrutinizing the eggs closely and her eggs are the darkest of my hens, and not quite as oval. They have a slight taper just enough so you can tell which is the round end.... and they have a reddish tint and less speckles than Ebony (lightest and most speckled) and Izzy's are roundest and have a very subtle hint of a whitish haze on one end.

Chooks man- do you find that splash marans hens lay a lighter colour than BCM?
I really like splash, and so I am trying to figure out if I should aim to get a blue rooster this year in hopes to make some splashes. (I have one blue hen). But I like the dark egg. Somewhere I think I read or was told that splash marans eggs are never as dark as BCM. True or not?

Anyone have any luck with the Marans Club responding? I have been trying to get a colour chart sent to me. Who knew it would be so difficult?

Which club did you order from The Marans Club or Marans Chicken Club USA? If from The Marans Club new memebership packets and egg shade cards started going out this week. Both clubs are operated by volunteers so they have to mix in club work with their day jobs and taking care of their own birds so it can take quite a while to receive your packet or order.

 

[Minky]

Yes it did take alittle while to respond but they will. Did you do the purchase online?

I didnt' purchase yet- because I sent an email (American marans club) and no one has responded. My email asked if they mail the cards to Canada.

 

[Offshoreorca]

I didnt' purchase yet- because I sent an email (American marans club) and no one has responded. My email asked if they mail the cards to Canada.

They definitely mail them to Canada - I ordered one from The Marans Club a week ago and they said that it will ship within a couple of weeks.

 

[Minky]

Great- thanks everyone. Just ordered one from a different place- The Marans Club .? Was different than the one I normally see with egg shapes in different colours, this one just has sections of colours, but should do the trick. I am assuming at this point, mine are a 4 or a 3 LOL which means my egg colour won't be on the card yet. LOL

Here are some chicks from my test hatch. They are 15- 30 hrs old.
I am not keeping these. The batch Im keeping is in the incubator now. Day 4.
What do you guys think of the hatch down?

 

[kcrandall]

Great- thanks everyone. Just ordered one from a different place- The Marans Club .? Was different than the one I normally see with egg shapes in different colours, this one just has sections of colours, but should do the trick. I am assuming at this point, mine are a 4 or a 3 LOL which means my egg colour won't be on the card yet. LOL

Here are some chicks from my test hatch. They are 15- 30 hrs old.
I am not keeping these. The batch Im keeping is in the incubator now. Day 4.
What do you guys think of the hatch down?

Hatch down looks pretty good! I see a mix of Black Coppers and Blue Coppers.

The Marans Club has members from many different countries including Canada.