Black Copper Maran question

[eman]

I have a question for you BCM experts out there...

I have six BCM chicks that are 3 months old. 4 roosters and 2 pullets. I have noticed that 2 of the roosters have white on the tips of there wings. Not really noticable when they walk around but very noticable when they run around flapping their wings.

Should they be culled?

I will try and post some pictures tomorrow...

Eric

 

[monarc23]

ERIC, I'm no expert but DONT cull them!!!! Some cockerels keep those white flight feathers...others molt them out and grow back solid black feathers. I had black coppers enough to see it for myself

If it was me i'd wait until they were a few months over breeding age before I decided who to cull as long as they didn't have yellow legs or any other dramatic faults. Feathers IMO should be waited on in the black copper esp where white and coppering are involved you may be pleasantly suprised when they are fully mature.

 

[eman]

Quote:
I wasn't going to cull this early but would like to breed them this spring and was worried I had inferior stock. Other than the white wing feather they look great.

 

[monarc23]

Quote:
I wasn't going to cull this early but would like to breed them this spring and was worried I had inferior stock. Other than the white wing feather they look great.

well if you're not going to cull this early that's great by spring you should have a good idea which roo or roos to use. BCM aren't in full plumage for i think it's something like 2 years though.

 

[Goose and Fig]

Lots of breeds have the juvenile white wing tips. Don't worry about it.

 

[drom]

Very common in chicks-nothing to worry about at all. They usually go away but if they don't, it is also not uncommon for adult black coppers to have a white feather or two. It is a fault, but it is not considered a serious defect to have a single white feather or a white feather tip.

Here is one of my little pullets at about 1 week:

And here she is at 18 weeks:

Some of the white wing feathers actually turned from white to grey and then solid black-they actually changed color. Others just fell out and were replaced with black feathers. She is over a year old now and has no white at all.