Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[snowbird]

When I answer a question of any kind on BYC I answer with no Sugar Coating of any kind. If anyone doesn't get the truth then you will be wasting your time trying to breed good Marans from Inferior stock and that is mostly impossible to do. I have culled a lot of Marans and most from single mated fowl and believe me there is no short cut to good Marans Fowl.

 

[MeanV2]

When I answer a question of any kind on BYC I answer with no Sugar Coating of any kind. If anyone doesn't get the truth then you will be wasting your time trying to breed good Marans from Inferior stock and that is mostly impossible to do. I have culled a lot of Marans and most from single mated fowl and believe me there is no short cut to good Marans Fowl.

I am definitely not looking for someone to sugar coat something or talk out of the side of their mouth! In my opinion there is way too much of that in this world today! Too many people worrying about what is politically correct and not wanting to hurt someone's feelings. Just tell it like it is and stand for what is right and wrong!

Dan

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

Thank you for your opinion. And now I'll just take myself back to the amateur friendly threads, where they don't eat newbies for lunch...

 

[kkwinwy]

Oh, the air must be thin up there on some of your lofty perches!!! LOL! I needed a good laugh for the morning. (Please forgive me if I offend the esteemed members here by using "lol." I'm sure it's not correct terminology.)

However, since good information seems to be highly prized here, I'd like to share a little... From the number of PM's I received after my post, I would say that the tone of this thread is less than friendly or welcoming to newcomers. Last I checked, this was "Backyard Chickens" - not the APA. Some of us are new, and a little kindness might go a long way. Kindness isn't about "sugar coating" or being politically correct. It's just about being nice.

Have a beautiful day,
K


"Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love."
Lao Tzu

 

[ZoiChick]

...

Thank you for your opinion. And now I'll just take myself back to the amateur friendly threads, where they don't eat newbies for lunch...

[/quote:

 

[scflock]

[/quote:

You are right, this is a tough thread with some serious breeders, and it hits newbies hard. It was hard for me to hear, so I did more research and everyone was right. There are more threads that are more welcoming, but I have learned more lurking on this thread than I have participating in others

Oops, quoted wrong post. Snowbird is really gonna let me have it now

 

[snowbird]

Just a small post on getting the Hackle color right. Look at my Avatar Male and you will see a Hackle with the Wheaten influence. This male is from my original stock that came from Thom Dean and was basically Wade Jeane bloodlines. He had very little in the way of Hackle Flame. The Flame is caused from the Black in center of the Hackle feather running up the feather. I myself like a medium to large black stripe. I believe this gives a better Copper Hackle as the end result. For a breeder Male we want one with a good size Flame.

 

[snowbird]

One thing we very seldom see mentioned on the Forum is the shape of the Tail on the Marans. We are looking for a tail shape that is open a little and not pinched in any way. If you are getting pinched tail female Marans . Then you need to put a male with a fairly open tail over them. You will see a major improvement the first year.

Also remember not to breed the Males with the White Tail Coverts or White Tail feathers .
These faults will reproduce themselves.

 

[scflock]

One thing we very seldom see mentioned on the Forum is the shape of the Tail on the Marans. We are looking for a tail shape that is open a little and not pinched in any way. If you are getting pinched tail female Marans . Then you need to put a male with a fairly open tail over them. You will see a major improvement the first year.

Also remember not to breed the Males with the White Tail Coverts or White Tail feathers .
These faults will reproduce themselves.

I am still going by what I see on my faulty birds until I get a proper batch of marans. Of the 4 cockerels, two were what I think is too open, one seems to be listing to one side, and one is tighter, and I actually thought his was the best looking of the bunch. So you are going for a little open? Two of mine look almost wildly open. I have heard wry tail mentioned, but I don't know exactly what that means. The male that I showed you the picture of, whose hackles I thought were the most copper, looks like his hackle color will come in similar to yours. The other 3 will be strongly straw colored, but this one will have that copper to yellow back to copper fade. I know that my terminology is way off, but I am just learning, so bear with me. I am assuming that is what you refer to as the "halo". A halo is acceptable? If so, how do you determine a good one from a bad one?

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
No the Halo is not wanted, I used the Avatar a few year ago because he was a very large male and produced some large offspring. Breeding the BC Marans is all about averages and there will be times when you will have to breed some Marans that are not up to the SOP to get SOP Marans offspring. Do not breed the Wheat colored Hackle under any circumstance.

The young male you have with the Tail leaning to the side will most likely have a wry tail eventually.

One thing that you will be able to cull for at an early age will be Split Wing, Weak Wing as they will not correct themselves. There is a Marans Forum on here someplace where we had picture of the defect pictured. Mathace took care of that thread and did a good job..