International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[wrathsfarm]

@BlueTheBrahma or any that might have a thought.

I'm curious about hereditary in this little one posted above.If I want only one pullet she's the one I'm hoping is.
She is from Kong x Angel.
But Angel is from King x Joannie.

Is there a concern that she/he ends up with any neurological issues like King is displaying. Of course I'm keeping an eye on Angel also for any signs.
Would this be something that might only would have past to King's sons or could this go either way and could this/how far down the line might it show up in either cockerels or pullets?

Or am I breeding it out by mating Kong x Angel?

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

@BlueTheBrahma or any that might have a thought.

I'm curious about hereditary in this little one posted above.If I want only one pullet she's the one I'm hoping is.
She is from Kong x Angel.
But Angel is from King x Joannie.

Is there a concern that she/he ends up with any neurological issues like King is displaying. Of course I'm keeping an eye on Angel also for any signs.
Would this be something that might only would have past to King's sons or could this go either way and could this/how far down the line might it show up in either cockerels or pullets?

Or am I breeding it out by mating Kong x Angel?

If there is a chance of the chick developing this it is less than a quarter, assuming it is a recessive gene causing it due to the fact King’s offspring don’t display it themselves. However, things like this aren’t always entirely or at all genetic, sometimes it is developmental.

None of Jack’s (my SDW cock with similar problems) offspring have ever shown any symptoms either. My backup Wellie cock died so I am forced to use Jack as the sire of my 4th gen Wellies. Jack is 2nd gen. And the 3rd gen are mostly his daughters too. The guy I get the chicken food off of is hatching the first of my 4th gens, he has 20 eggs so if there’s a genetic thing going on this is almost certain to show up in here. I’ll update you if it shows up in these offspring.

There are many approaches to dealing with something like this. You could cull with no exceptions and be very strict with breeding to guarantee elimination, but this may limit the gene pool for other qualities. I think you should avoid breeding King but don’t worry too much about his offspring, just don’t breed siblings together and try and keep them genetically diverse.

It’s hard to be certain that you are breeding it out but by reducing close inbreeding you reduce the chances of it showing up again. This might be a problem with my smaller Wellie flock but hopefully not for you.

Make sure the chicks receive a complete diet with all the correct vitamins and minerals, this will produce the healthiest stock. When birds lack the key minerals, that’s often how these problems occur if it isn’t genetics.

Unfortunately I can’t offer a complete insight to it but hopefully this is helpful.

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

Does anyone know what’s happened to the Golden cuckoo marans thread? It doesn’t exist when I search for it and the link Chooksman sent me doesn’t work anymore. I think he was the only member of this thread who used it so I don’t think anyone here will know. I’m happy to talk about them here but there was lots of good photos on there.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Does anyone know what’s happened to the Golden cuckoo marans thread? It doesn’t exist when I search for it and the link Chooksman sent me doesn’t work anymore. I think he was the only member of this thread who used it so I don’t think anyone here will know. I’m happy to talk about them here but there was lots of good photos on there.

This one ?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...n-cuckoo-marans.506944/page-135#post-26652990

 

[wrathsfarm]

If there is a chance of the chick developing this it is less than a quarter, assuming it is a recessive gene causing it due to the fact King’s offspring don’t display it themselves. However, things like this aren’t always entirely or at all genetic, sometimes it is developmental.

None of Jack’s (my SDW cock with similar problems) offspring have ever shown any symptoms either. My backup Wellie cock died so I am forced to use Jack as the sire of my 4th gen Wellies. Jack is 2nd gen. And the 3rd gen are mostly his daughters too. The guy I get the chicken food off of is hatching the first of my 4th gens, he has 20 eggs so if there’s a genetic thing going on this is almost certain to show up in here. I’ll update you if it shows up in these offspring.

There are many approaches to dealing with something like this. You could cull with no exceptions and be very strict with breeding to guarantee elimination, but this may limit the gene pool for other qualities. I think you should avoid breeding King but don’t worry too much about his offspring, just don’t breed siblings together and try and keep them genetically diverse.

It’s hard to be certain that you are breeding it out but by reducing close inbreeding you reduce the chances of it showing up again. This might be a problem with my smaller Wellie flock but hopefully not for you.

Make sure the chicks receive a complete diet with all the correct vitamins and minerals, this will produce the healthiest stock. When birds lack the key minerals, that’s often how these problems occur if it isn’t genetics.

Unfortunately I can’t offer a complete insight to it but hopefully this is helpful.

Thanks for that... And no I'm not breeding King anymore. He's with the mixed flock now but I've been checking for fertile eggs there but none so far. He tries but far as I can tell he's not hitting home base.
But I'll keep it in my notes, and update if something does show and yes keep me posted for curiosity sake on your boy..

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

This one ?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...n-cuckoo-marans.506944/page-135#post-26652990

Yes, thanks.
I don’t know what I was doing wrong! Maybe it was my phone at the time.

 

[TexasBlues]

Not saying this works or doesn't as I think it's just a luck of the individual bird thing. But I hand raised both my boys.
When they start getting feisty, I separate them from the pullets and mostly ignore them til they are over a year old. I keep in contact with them thru out everyday but no handling unless absolutely necessary. Lots of scolding and swear words ensue...
Kong I put in with the older mixed flock and I believe that's why he has a much better temperament than King, he was built to have better manners being with the elder hens. I had to isolate King because I had no where else to put him, but I would let him out to free range with the pullets and lock him up at his peak mating times.
What I've learned from this, is I trust Kong a lot more than King getting close to them even now. Kong has a much better demeanor than King as you can tell by all the pics I post of him...

I know this doesn't help much in your situation, not having any older hens but hopeful some useful info to think on for the next time.
Some just bachelor flock the boys and that works, I'm looking to do this if I hatch out multiples til I decide the keepers.
Bummer you have to re-home him, he's a good looking fella.

Now that I only have one whiting true blue rooster, I’ve kept him with the 2 older marans hens and things are going smoothly. He’s been calm and respectful around them. I’ve collected 12 marans eggs in the last 7 days and plan on incubating them tomorrow. The color of the eggs is stunning in the sunlight. One hen lays a lighter colored egg without speckles and the other lays a darker speckled egg.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Now that I only have one whiting true blue rooster, I’ve kept him with the 2 older marans hens and things are going smoothly. He’s been calm and respectful around them. I’ve collected 12 marans eggs in the last 7 days and plan on incubating them tomorrow. The color of the eggs is stunning in the sunlight. One hen lays a lighter colored egg without speckles and the other lays a darker speckled egg.
View attachment 3794775View attachment 3794778View attachment 3794780

That's awesome... and lovely eggs also.
So this hatch will be WTB x BCM? Or do you have any from your last cockerel collected?

Curious to see the mix chicks, haven't seen that cross at all. Olive Eggers correct? I'll have to do a search..

Edited...Oh wait, you haven't cleared out the girls from your cockerel. They might be all BCM?

 

[TexasBlues]

Yes, I started collecting eggs the day I culled the BCM rooster. I’ve got a dozen now.
The true blue rooster has been covering the BCM hens all week. So I guess they could be pure BCM or olive eggers.
Chicken math says since I’m incubating 12 of my eggs, I might as well get 12 from someone else to help fill the incubator. I’m picking up 12 mix colored eggs from a farm on Tuesday. They have some great colors. Here’s a sample pic

 

[chickengr]

@BlueTheBrahma or any that might have a thought.

I'm curious about hereditary in this little one posted above.If I want only one pullet she's the one I'm hoping is.
She is from Kong x Angel.
But Angel is from King x Joannie.

Is there a concern that she/he ends up with any neurological issues like King is displaying. Of course I'm keeping an eye on Angel also for any signs.
Would this be something that might only would have past to King's sons or could this go either way and could this/how far down the line might it show up in either cockerels or pullets?

Or am I breeding it out by mating Kong x Angel?

I am not an expert and these are my 2 cents:

1) you are not 100% sure what problem king has.
2) I guess no health issue is sex linked.

wait and time will tell. if you had 100+ marans, all different lines, you would have the luxury of culling hard.