Black Copper Maran Roo

[fowled-out]

I just acquired this roo. He is a Presley line BCM. Can anyone tell me if he looks okay? He is 9 months old.

 

[Illia]

He's got too little of coppering, a rather scarce amount of feathering on his shanks/toes, but otherwise he's pretty fine. He'll need to do some filling out of course.

 

[fowled-out]

Is he at least a french BCM? Or a mutt?

 

[Chicky Tocks]

He's full on FBCM. He's still young though, and might just surprise you.

 

[flgardengirl]

He's a nice boy. I wouldn't kick him out of the coop

 

[fowled-out]

I'm just getting into FBCM, so I don't know much about them. Please critique all you can.

 

[Sparklee]

He's a little on the small side even for 9 mos. That can be worked on over the next few years, though.

I would keep him and make sure I had a few back ups of his sons or daughters because he has the long outer toe. But I'm not a great chicken geneticist, so research this out yourself. But for me, he'd be a keeper for the toe alone because I could use the genetics to possibly breed brachydactyly out of my birds, if possible.

Some say the feathering on the foot of Marans may be related to the shorter outer toe.
For those with questions, follow up with
http://www.edelras.nl/chickengenetics/pdf/Poultry_Genetics_for_Exhibition_Breeders.pdf

Also previous posting by Blackdotte: What you are describing is a genetic defect called Brachydactyly, it is caused by an autosomal dominant gene. You have it because the supplier bred from defected stock. It is a condition which is commoner in feather footed breeds.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2272217#p2272217

 

[blackdotte]

Brachydactyly is not unknown in clean (featherless) shanked breeds, but appears more often on feathered shanked/toed birds. There is no certain genetic causal link, but a congenital development defect has been established .

 

[fowled-out]

Okay here's my second one, Wade Jeane C1 no cross with other lines. Critique please and be harsh if you have to, not upset at all!

 

[Sparklee]

I'm certainly not an expert nor anyone whose opinion is of any value, but I do like him much more than the other cock. This one looks meatier, which, to me, is how Marans should look. They say white fluff at the base of tail isn't a good thing if that's white fluff I'm seeing. They say it isn't supposed to be seen in this variety. The French web page says, "... white feathers are to be banned of the body." [Those are the exact words from the official website.] His tail looks higher than 45 degrees, but that may be the wind blowing the feathers up that way. The tail angle is something that good breeding will fix in his youngsters. I'd give him a solid good for general overall body shape and the rest of his coloring (minus the white fluff if that's white fluff). Of course, you'll want to look at him from the top down and see a good amount of width across his shoulders, too.

His wing feathers look a little ragged, like maybe he's had a rough time of it and needs a few weeks of rest and recuperation. Of course, that's not a breeding issue.

Have you ever done an image only search on the web? You will get all sorts of pics that way and will get a feel for what is a really good looking male because almost every breeder will post their very best boys.

Anyway, that's about the best I can do. Hopefully some more folks will chime in or maybe you could repost in the thread titled "Marans Thread - breed discussion and pictures are welcome!"

Edited. Changed word breed to variety and added direct quote from official French website as of Nov 10 2010.