Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[am040608]

Here are the 3 chick's. I welcome all feedback and corrective criticism

 

[DnDFarm]

Is it a big comb.... the combs are black when they are first hatched... the young cockerels develop pink combs after a week or two, but the hens combs stay black and very small until they start to reach sexual maturity. So a black comb is normal at hatching.

I didn't know that until I got real BCM from a breeder. Like you said, the pullets combs are tiny and mostly black

 

[happyfrenchman]

Well if they all start developing combs.... (pink combs) they are likely roosters. You want the small black comb because that will be a hen.

 

[happyfrenchman]

Here are the 3 chick's. I welcome all feedback and corrective criticism

The one on the right with the pair... I would bet he is a rooster.... the other two could still be hens.... you want that black, undeveloped comb. Those will be your hens and that comb will only start to develop just before they come into laying.

 

[marchick]

I didn't know that until I got real BCM from a breeder. Like you said, the pullets combs are tiny and mostly black

Noooooo!!!! Then I would have one pullet out of 15 chicks! Only one has a darker comb.

 

[DnDFarm]

Noooooo!!!! Then I would have one pullet out of 15 chicks! Only one has a darker comb.  

I only had a few with a totally black comb, the rest were a very pale pink. They all looked similar until about 4 weeks old, then the males started growing much more rapidly

 

[marchick]

I only had a few with a totally black comb, the rest were a very pale pink. They all looked similar until about 4 weeks old, then the males started growing much more rapidly

SC, I hope I get a few pullets! I thought I might have 2 Blue Coppers pullets out of 6. The combs are pink and not dark. I thought some BCM where pullets but only one has a dark comb.

 

[DnDFarm]

SC, I hope I get a few pullets! I thought I might have 2 Blue Coppers pullets out of 6. The combs are pink and not dark. I thought some BCM where pullets but only one has a dark comb.

Here they are at about 2 weeks old. Mostly pullets, but you can already see the comb starting to form on the cockerel in the corner



Close up of the cockerel. He and another were fast developers. I had two more that developed more slowly, that's why I thought I only had 2 for a while. The wattles also show up early on the males





Pullet at 4-5 weeks





Cockerel at 4-5 weeks

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
Hey All, I can not ad anything to your posts as I never try and sex the chicks until I put them in separate grow out pens outside. I keep them until they are old enough to put the males in the freezer.

I am getting a lot of pure Black young Marans from the Eggs we bought from the man in Texas. We put the old hens with a male son that is half our breeding. We will post better pictures soon. Raining and cold here today.

 

[DnDFarm]

Hey All, I can not ad anything to your posts as I never try and sex the chicks until I put them in separate grow out pens outside. I keep them until they are old enough to put the males in the freezer.

I am getting a lot of pure Black young Marans from the Eggs we bought from the man in Texas. We put the old hens with a male son that is half our breeding. We will post better pictures soon. Raining and cold here today.

Sunny and 80s here.
I knew for sure at 2 weeks that 2 of them were cockerels, the other two snuck up on me at around 4-6 weeks. Their combs brightened up much earlier, and got much thicker. The wattles were also much more prominent than the pullets by then