International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[Helloyou89]

I’m a new chicken mama and I’m worried I have a little roo on my hands. (Neighbors won’t be fond of a rooster crowing all the time.)
He is the only BCM chick I have so I have nothing else to compare to.
After reading through here, it seems the red crown and wattles this early means my ‘Betty’ is likely a boy. Copper feathering is coming in on the neck and chest but nothing yet on the wings. Does have one white feather on each wing toward the outer edge.
Betty is about 6weeks now and is really sweet and is the least flighty compared to the other chicks. Doesn’t pick fights with anyone and is pretty mellow and quiet overall.

Should I start looking to rehome my favorite chick? Or is it too early to tell if it’s a boy or girl?

 

[Tstraub]

I’m a new chicken mama and I’m worried I have a little roo on my hands. (Neighbors won’t be fond of a rooster crowing all the time.)
He is the only BCM chick I have so I have nothing else to compare to.
After reading through here, it seems the red crown and wattles this early means my ‘Betty’ is likely a boy. Copper feathering is coming in on the neck and chest but nothing yet on the wings. Does have one white feather on each wing toward the outer edge.
Betty is about 6weeks now and is really sweet and is the least flighty compared to the other chicks. Doesn’t pick fights with anyone and is pretty mellow and quiet overall.

Should I start looking to rehome my favorite chick? Or is it too early to tell if it’s a boy or girl?

That looks like a cockerel. The white feathers on his wings is really common at six weeks old. He should molt out of those white feathers and the grow black ones in their place.

 

[Helloyou89]

That looks like a cockerel. The white feathers on his wings is really common at six weeks old. He should molt out of those white feathers and the grow black ones in their place.

shucks…that’s what I was worried about. This one is my favorite . We’re limited on how many roosters we can have, this would be my first one. Was hoping to just have all girls.
Hoping maybe my neighbor might change his mind, if he’s stays a sweet boy. (Someone near us has a rooster, we hear him…but I can understand the difference in having one RIGHT next door.)

 

[wrathsfarm]

I’m a new chicken mama and I’m worried I have a little roo on my hands. (Neighbors won’t be fond of a rooster crowing all the time.)
He is the only BCM chick I have so I have nothing else to compare to.
After reading through here, it seems the red crown and wattles this early means my ‘Betty’ is likely a boy. Copper feathering is coming in on the neck and chest but nothing yet on the wings. Does have one white feather on each wing toward the outer edge.
Betty is about 6weeks now and is really sweet and is the least flighty compared to the other chicks. Doesn’t pick fights with anyone and is pretty mellow and quiet overall.

Should I start looking to rehome my favorite chick? Or is it too early to tell if it’s a boy or girl?

I agree with @Tstraub that's a cockerel. Shame you can't keep him.

 

[wrathsfarm]

I posted these in my thread but wanted to post an update here for others that haven't heard.
Momma has 4 so far from sitting on Betty's eggs and Joannie has 3 so far from Angel's eggs.
Momma....

Joannie...

Tonight or tomorrow night I'll candle the BBS eggs and get 6 under Raven...
Credit goes to @NanaK for that great suggestion.

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

I posted these in my thread but wanted to post an update here for others that haven't heard.
Momma has 4 so far from sitting on Betty's eggs and Joannie has 3 so far from Angel's eggs.
Momma....View attachment 3849316

Joannie...View attachment 3849317


Tonight or tomorrow night I'll candle the BBS eggs and get 6 under Raven...
Credit goes to @NanaK for that great suggestion.

How many marans will you have once all the eggs are done hatching?
One more week for my DCMs, I can’t wait. One Marans and two olive egger eggs were broken, so I have 9 DCMs, 3 B(l)CMs, one CCL olive egger and two Silkie eggs.

 

[wrathsfarm]

How many marans will you have once all the eggs are done hatching?
One more week for my DCMs, I can’t wait. One Marans and two olive egger eggs were broken, so I have 9 DCMs, 3 B(l)CMs, one CCL olive egger and two Silkie eggs.

" Can't count my Marans til they hatch"

At the moment... 19 + the 7 so far that just hatched.
23 eggs left to possibly hatch.

If all eggs hatch...39

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

" Can't count my Marans til they hatch"

At the moment... 19 + the 7 so far that just hatched.
23 eggs left to possibly hatch.

If all eggs hatch...39

How many adults is it again? You have King, Kong, Copper, Joanie, Angel, Betty and Raven, right? Any more than that or are the rest young ones?

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

Something I noticed today while putting new leg bands on my Marans that I thought I might comment on is how big they are under their feathers. All my BCM/BlCM hens look pretty much the same size at a glance, but when handling I got a good understanding of how much more meat was on Chanel compared to the other two. Her breast muscles are very firm and so big that you don’t really feel most of the keel bone, compared to most hens of other breeds where you feel it quite obviously.
I feel weird saying it about my living hens but I could actually imagine a shop bought chicken carcass under the feathers, rather than a much narrower one you often get from your own birds.

The English standard, and I assume the French too, include quality of flesh and handling among side type in the most important judging criteria, I now understand what this means. Marans, after all, are a duel purpose breed, and I think show breeders often overlook this. I’ve noticed that even my Brahmas have too little breast muscles on them. The looks are what catches your eye, but it’s the functional anatomy of a bird that can sometimes separate a well bred bird from the rest.

 

[wrathsfarm]

11... King, Kong, Joannie, Jett and Betty are originals. Black, Momma and Double Yellow were hatched by Joannie 2 yrs ago (King sire, dams unknown)
And last year, Momma hatched Angel, Raven and Copper. (King sire, dams unknown)

If I was guessing just by egg shape. Angel, Raven and Black are Joannie's. They're eggs are roughly the same shape if that's a tell and darker than all others besides Joannie.

Copper I would guess come from Jett. Similar shape but she casts a consistent bloom/lighter purple.

I think Momma and Dbl. Yellow might be a BCM x BR but not positive without a test mate.

Joannie, Black, Angel and Raven are my 4 darkest layers.
ETA... All 3 don't lay as dark as Joannie, which leads me to theorize that King came from a lighter egg.