Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[marquisella]

Quote:
I'm pretty sure on the French site, they say that the lightening of the ends of the hackle is a fault, not a dq. It is called " Flaming" . Of course, I can't find it now...
Its not really a bleaching out from the sun. If you wanted to use him, you would have to be careful & not breed to a hen that has too much color. A breeder does just that, breeds to better the breed. Breeding quality & show quality don't always go hand in hand.
Sorry I got you upset.
Sue

NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!! You did not upset me at all.....trust me!!!! Glad you brought it up! Thank You!!!! It's all good!

Ok here it is, I guess the term "flame" does mean the black lancets..but this is copied from the French site.
"Description of the Brown-red cock.

With a majority of black feathers, the head, the hackle, the saddle and the lancets must be coppery-colored. Concerning the definition of this "coppery color", some variations are entirely admitted but must however remain relative i.e mid-coppery and red-coppery.

We have to reject the too light, ochre, or yellowish colors, which are said to be also straw-colorde at the hackle.

Some shades, which remind us of the fawn and golden colors are incorrect. What is coppery is not fawn but always enough strong, so thtat any ambiguity might be avoided about these different shades."

THe only 2 tone I can find mentioned is the copper with black lancets.

THis is what makes things confusing. I know I have read that hackles that lighten up at the ends are not wanted, but still can't find it is so many words.....

But like I said before, if that is the only thing that is a worry, its not a big deal....there is no perfect bird, although I know we are all trying to find one!
Sue

 

[Zanna]

Thank you all for the great information!! You sure are night owls and and an early morning group! I woke up this morning to 3 more pages after my post around 8 PM last night

and a blizzard snow storm........... Glad the young roo does not look straw coloured, he is just so much lighter than all of his siblings and I have much to learn about what to look for. I will wait another month or so and post pics of the ones I think are turning out the best for your great critiques.

Math ace, the older roo is supposed to be Wade Jean/Bev Davis lines, my other 7 up and comers are Bev Davis. He is not the daddy.

Well, I will go to work today with FBCM brain overload!!

 

[geebs]

Yep Zanna that's how we ride... sleepyhead.

 

[geebs]

Pink.. he is still a little coppery in the hackle... He is as close as I have seen.... You are getting there!!! another cross should do it... Super nice.. thanks for the photos... He should have been in newnan.. Sendie some eggs that way this spring... from him and a red hackled hen... Something compact and broad in the chest.. They really like wieght there...

 

[pinkchick]

Thanks Jan!

I would put him over this girl but her egg color right now is pathetic. She laid some very nice ones at the beginning (she was the first to start laying at around 4 mos.) and I tried to hatch them but they quit in lockdown, one pipped and quit, but anyway, her egg color right now is a 4.

I have her in with Bill to correct eye color and add some of that hackle color to his offspring.

She is IMO the best BC pullet that I grew out from GFF, her only faults...eye color and one too many points on her comb.
Her sister, the next best BC from GFF and yours and Don's favorite of those girls, has good eye color and nice hackles, but a lighter egg, maybe a 5 on a good day, she is in with Gnarles. Haven't been able to get one of her eggs to hatch. A few are in the bator now, we will see.

This is the gal in with Bill, sorry I couldn't get a better photo of her....none of them want to go outside this morning.

 

[geebs]

Breed her to him anyway... He carries part of the egg gene... She needs the color and she is likely to make a darker offspring... Just give it a go... tag both roo and hen from her... I would give it a whirl... she looks good otherwise..

Bred back to bill she is likely to lose the good color in her neck... It will darken up the egg though... You could go both ways on it... Breed her back to bill..then breed that to the other guy... I don't know if he will carry enough color to help her out... It would be well worth the try...

I wouldn't worry too much about egg color right now... the weather is a heavy stress factor... I have lost egg color too... And I know we both have it.. some chooks are more sensitive to it than others... Breed her anyway and if she doesn't improve in the spring...then you can sell the offspring or choose to work on it more... I think she has some good quality from what I can see of her.. I am assuming the eye color is correct... Even so...the roosters is...

 

[pinkchick]

Thank you for your words of wisdom. I will give her a try with Gnarles soon....she does not have correct eyes, they are too dark, but both roosters have great eye color and all of Bill's offspring have been produced from dark eyed pullets, and all have come out with correct eye color.
Gnarles offsprings eye color has been good as well.
Remember Junior....he was created with a hen that had awesome hackles and dark eyes, bred to very dark Bill. Junior had great eyes like his dad and produced a great amount of copper with good tone and more abundant than his father in the hackles and saddle, but he lacked greatly in the wing bow and shoulder area. I think that I can do that again by using this pullet with Bill and maybe improve upon a second version of a new Junior. If I get a nice cockerel out of that cross, I want to go even further by crossing him to a more correct Davis hen and see what happens. What do you think?

 

[geebs]

I figured the girls with the dark eyes are from Bill.. that would be expected...How nice to hear that isn't the case... That would be very correctable and it is very worth what you gain... Is this little blue in my yard Bill's... I have probably asked but just cannot remember... She lays such a nice egg...

You have a great mind!!! I hope we all can at least exibit eggs at the show in Stevenson... It would be a hoot and a reason to have a pic nic.. all that talk of bar b que and beer... Is there a campover spot up there?? that would be the cat's meow.

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
Nope....that girl is pure Davis and Gnarles' dtr., forget who her mother was, will have to look......how old is she again?

All dark eyed birds that I get (which is not many...maybe a couple a year pop up) are all from the Davis birds. So far, on the birds that I have kept from Gnarles from hatches that started in October have good eye color. I did sell several started birds at 2 mos old and they had the greenish colored eyes that I like to watch for...I expect them to have good color as well. Really waiting to see hackle color in those birds that I sold....all have kept in touch so hopefully we will see good results. Chasehope has good examples of some of Gnarles kids and the copper in their necks...come to think of it, I think she has Kelso's brother and a sister. Must go look that up.

Oh-BTW~ Always a campover spot available for ya'!

 

[geebs]

It surprises me as she is really a small bird for a Davis bird... I don't know how old she is... Can't remember...didn't think she would still be here so I didn't make a note... Well that silly lady anyway.. She said both birds were roosters... I bet she was full of it.. cuz I told her to bring one back... (instead of keeping it) and she never came and I left her many notes... Go figure.. She has a pair of Blues that are full siblings to Newnan pair... Too bad she didn't contact me... I would have told her.. I will watch CL for the offspring.. they shouldn't be hard to identify...