Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[desertmarcy]

@blackbirds13 odd how they started out so dark, and now one already has a bit if copper on the front neck. Hmmm

Fun watching them grow.


@desertmarcy as to my back-up cockerel....

I had one male blue Marans hatch from shipped eggs.... He is not excellent, but pretty good (in regard to type, leg color, tail, etc. Etc. Etc.) but he has zero copper and came from a much too lightly colored egg.

I have no blue in my Marans, and am drooling at the blue.... But I keep smacking myself on the head, trying to remind myself that breeding him in will probably ruin my lovely egg color that I am so very proud of (and that I need to keep dark to keep customers happy), not to mention that if I am not careful I will have to start marketing my Marans as Black, not Black Copper.

So I do have to get rid of him.... Right? Right? If I kept him I would need to have a totally separate breeding pen/program just for him so that I could use him, produce a few females, and after four years maybe get the egg color back up. Right?

Now that there are real "Blue" Marans, it gets confusing when people say they have Blue Marans---because sometimes people just leave out the copper part, but they really meant to say "Blue Copper Marans". OK, that said, if you want to breed Blue or Blue Copper, you should keep them separate from your pure Black Coppers. The modifiers in the Blues will mess up your pure Black Copper. You can use a pure Black Copper to breed into your Blue, but don't use a Black produced from the Blue to breed back into your Black Coppers. Since you said "but he has zero copper" I assume he is supposed to be Blue Copper? If so, and the egg he came from was really light, I would probably scrap that project for now, concentrate on your Black Coppers, and maybe pick up some Blue Coppers later on from someone who has been developing them well.

 

[Bejammie]

Hey critique my hen...she is bcm.

 

[Alaskan]

Now that there are real "Blue" Marans, it gets confusing when people say they have Blue Marans---because sometimes people just leave out the copper part, but they really meant to say "Blue Copper Marans". OK, that said, if you want to breed Blue or Blue Copper, you should keep them separate from your pure Black Coppers. The modifiers in the Blues will mess up your pure Black Copper. You can use a pure Black Copper to breed into your Blue, but don't use a Black produced from the Blue to breed back into your Black Coppers. Since you said "but he has zero copper" I assume he is supposed to be Blue Copper? If so, and the egg he came from was really light, I would probably scrap that project for now, concentrate on your Black Coppers, and maybe pick up some Blue Coppers later on from someone who has been developing them well.

Yep.. That is what I think too.... It is just hard to let go, I needed to hear someone agree with what I was thinking!

 

[desertmarcy]

Yep.. That is what I think too.... It is just hard to let go, I needed to hear someone agree with what I was thinking!

I know it's hard to let go. That's why I have so many birds. That, and my freezers are getting full

I got a Bev Davis Blue Copper cockerel this year that came from a really dark egg. He was mixed up in a group of Black Copper chicks that a friend bought. I hope to use him over some of my hens and see if anything good comes of it, if I can ever get birds thinned down. Still have over 300 chickens.

 

[KernH]

I know it's hard to let go. That's why I have so many birds. That, and my freezers are getting full

I got a Bev Davis Blue Copper cockerel this year that came from a really dark egg. He was mixed up in a group of Black Copper chicks that a friend bought. I hope to use him over some of my hens and see if anything good comes of it, if I can ever get birds thinned down. Still have over 300 chickens.

I need to show this to my wife. Silly her. She thinks 26 is too many. Kern

 

[scflock]

I need to show this to my wife. Silly her. She thinks 26 is too many. Kern

We said too many at 20 three years ago. Last count put me at 137, and I go into lockdown tonight

 

[desertmarcy]

All these BYC threads and chicken FB groups are just enablers

 

[scflock]

All these BYC threads and chicken FB groups are just enablers

I blame you and Don for the last 30. Gotta get some feet on the ground

 

[sideWing]

Yep.. That is what I think too.... It is just hard to let go, I needed to hear someone agree with what I was thinking!

Julie Akers has a blue line with some of the darkest eggs I have ever seen. I'm not sure if she is selling blues, but it's worth a shot. I don't think she ships eggs though.

We said too many at 20 three years ago. Last count put me at 137, and I go into lockdown tonight

I'm going to sell some of them I promise! (after I get more)

.

Good luck with lockdown SC

 

[scflock]

Julie Akers has a blue line with some of the darkest eggs I have ever seen. I'm not sure if she is selling blues, but it's worth a shot. I don't think she ships eggs though.

I'm going to sell some of them I promise! (after I get more) . 

Good luck with lockdown SC   

If these "feet on the ground" don't yield better results, you and I are going to do some trading next year