Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[shellikirbey]

OK thanks..I was surprised by the lighter ones but I don't know much about marans yet..I have seen pic that was copper marans with a dark and light one..I'm so glad there's prolly some black copper ones. Hope there hens..lol

 

[dvoice]

I think I have most of my chicks sexed properly, but I wanted to ask the Marans experts on these 5. I see cockerel, pullet, pullet, pullet, cockerel. What do you all think?

I see C P P C C

 

[Huggerlady]

We were given this BCM Roo because he was the smallest and wasn't thriving very good. I dubbed him Rooler as he is in with 20 pullets and Ginger the Grandma who is 12. Quite a change up from being bottom! He's really good tempered and easy on the 2 BCM's just coming of age. His legs are not feathered but 1 of his mates are. There is no white on his outer feathers but he still has some downie feathers . I was told he was hatched in Oct or Nov 2015. I am not a breeder by SOP's just sell eggs for eating, I would love some honest feedback because I've read almost all this discussion and think he's pretty great.

.

 

[Red Banks]

We were given this BCM Roo because he was the smallest and wasn't thriving very good. I dubbed him Rooler as he is in with 20 pullets and Ginger the Grandma who is 12. Quite a change up from being bottom! He's really good tempered and easy on the 2 BCM's just coming of age. His legs are not feathered but 1 of his mates are. There is no white on his outer feathers but he still has some downie feathers . I was told he was hatched in Oct or Nov 2015. I am not a breeder by SOP's just sell eggs for eating, I would love some honest feedback because I've read almost all this discussion and think he's pretty great. .

I love the mahogany color.

 

[LivingCanvas]

So, I picked up these two little BCMs on 4/9/16. One of them has shown definite growth but the other, not so much.

BCM #1 - General Tso aka Genny

...when we brought it home (and it was probably a couple days old)

...last Friday.

BCM #2 - Banquet

...when we brought it home.

...tonight.

I'm concerned/confused as to why the little one hasn't grown a whole lot.

 

[Sylvester017]

So, I picked up these two little BCMs on 4/9/16. One of them has shown definite growth but the other, not so much.

BCM #1 - General Tso aka Genny

...when we brought it home (and it was probably a couple days old)




...last Friday.

BCM #2 - Banquet

...when we brought it home.




...tonight.

I'm concerned/confused as to why the little one hasn't grown a whole lot.

I received two shipped 2-mo-old sisters (not BCM) and one was smaller than the other. By 21/2weeks later the small one never grew and died. It was suggested by the seller that the symptoms sounded like worms since she was eating her own poops, acting lethargic, and the seller did not reimburse me for the sick bird. I quickly wormed the sister and she is fine today. Just something that happened to me.

 

[LivingCanvas]

I received two shipped 2-mo-old sisters (not BCM) and one was smaller than the other.  By 2[SUP]1/2[/SUP]weeks later the small one never grew and died.  It was suggested by the seller that the symptoms sounded like worms since she was eating her own poops, acting lethargic, and the seller did not reimburse me for the sick bird.  I quickly wormed the sister and she is fine today.  Just something that happened to me.

Hmm...its eating & drinking normally. I haven't seen it eats its own poop and it's not dealing with pasty butt issues. It seems to keep up with the other birds when it's feeding/drinking time (aka when I put down the fresh goods).

It loves to cuddle up with the other birds. It's a little more vocal than the others but most of the time, it seems like it's because it'll be in one part of the brooder box but the other birds are on the other side.

 

[kcrandall]

LivingCanvas,

I had an issue with 12 BCM Chicks I purchased from a breeder in North Texas. This breeder claimed her BCM flock was a mix of several well known BCM lines. Of my original chicks, two stopped growing at 4 - 6 weeks then died around 9-10 weeks old but they otherwise looked and acted like normal chicks except they lacked the feathering, were more vocal and were half the size of their hatch mates. From the remaining chicks I kept my best cockerel and 4 pullets. I've hatched out about 100 chicks from these birds and about 25-30% of these chicks stopped growing / died just like 2 of my original chicks.

I believe the birds I purchased carry a genetic flaw (maybe dwarfism) so I have decided to cull my entire flock so as not to perpetuate this undesirable flaw. I cannot say that you are dealing with the same issue as me but yours is only the second post that I've seen which is remotely close to what I have experienced with my original BCMs. Below is a picture of two 8 week old pullets hatched the same day so you can see the difference between a normal and abnormal chick. I believe the reason your chick is more vocal and huddles up with your other birds is because it is cold and seeks warmth. I would suggest you provide your chick with supplemental heat for as long as needed.

Best of Luck with your Chick,
Keith

 

[LivingCanvas]

LivingCanvas,

I had an issue with 12 BCM Chicks I purchased from a breeder in North Texas. This breeder claimed her BCM flock was a mix of several well known BCM lines. Of my original chicks, two stopped growing at 4 - 6 weeks then died around 9-10 weeks old but they otherwise looked and acted like normal chicks except they lacked the feathering, were more vocal and were half the size of their hatch mates. From the remaining chicks I kept my best cockerel and 4 pullets. I've hatched out about 100 chicks from these birds and about 25-30% of these chicks stopped growing / died just like 2 of my original chicks.

I believe the birds I purchased carry a genetic flaw (maybe dwarfism) so I have decided to cull my entire flock so as not to perpetuate this undesirable flaw. I cannot say that you are dealing with the same issue as me but yours is only the second post that I've seen which is remotely close to what I have experienced with my original BCMs. Below is a picture of two 8 week old pullets hatched the same day so you can see the difference between a normal and abnormal chick. I believe the reason your chick is more vocal and huddles up with your other birds is because it is cold and seeks warmth. I would suggest you provide your chick with supplemental heat for as long as needed.

Best of Luck with your Chick,
Keith

Thanks for the input. We actually just lowered the heat lamp this evening. It dipped down in temperature the past couple days & while you can't "feel" drafts in our home, it does feel chilly. Plus, we added a couple new chicks, which are also smaller, so we figured we needed to adjust the temp. The older ones are just distancing themselves, as they don't need the heat.

 

[kcrandall]

Thought I would share a pic of my new Marans chicks that I hatched out on April 30th. After a disastrous first start with BCMs then educating myself over the past year and a half by reading the various Marans forums, I am hoping some of these new chicks will be good enough to work with to restart my flock. I purchased BCM and BBS Copper hatching eggs from an established breeder who has offered to help me with my flock. I toe punched the Black BBS chicks so I can distinguish them from the true BCM chicks (Thanks to Don for your previous posts on the importance of toe punching). Oh yeah, the white / yelliow chick is a Splash, not a Sport. I'm really looking forward to watching these birds grow out.