Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[Lotsapaints]

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Monet looks to have feather shafting along with too much color (mossy) can't really tell how chunky he is but he is very colorful just not in a good way for SOP....

Gabrielle looks like she's mossy and also has the shafting hard to tell for sure though

Vivienne is still young but where are her feathered shanks not always something to cull for though if she lays a dark egg and your rooster has nice feathering and she's very dark maybe she'll only get a little necklace because she hasn't started to copper on her neck

Tom Tom might color in very nice too young to tell yet

Pierre Birchens are slow to color in I can't wait to see him as he matures and he even has feathering on his shanks very light but there I just love this color

Gigi is still young so it's difficult to say much other than waiting for her to grow up

I find that the body build changes so much around 5 months mine mature so much and look so much more grown up before then the only things I can cull for are very obvious like very mossy too narrow too small maybe I can see spikes on a comb and yellow legs. Then when the pullets come into lay I cull for light colored eggs and not laying well (though I wait several months to decide on that) pinched tail bad tail breaks and too long of a tail. On the hens I'm tougher on the combs so I look for bumps on sides any weirdness. It's all about balance and when your birds are young it's just waiting I think you have a nice start now you get to wait for them to finish growing out.

 

[Chilifur]

Thank you everyone - but I should have said I've only got 3 BCM: a neighbor's dog got into the chick pen a while back and Vivienne was the only survivor (because she wasn't in there at the time). Monet, Gabby, and Vivienne are the only ones I have to work with.

I took some more shots today (gorgeous morning in between storms) that might answer a few questions. picasaweb.google.com/chilifur/BCMaransColorStudy#

Vivienne: no shank feathers. Yes, I desire to follow the French standard, but she was one of a batch I knew would have mixed feathered and non-feathered shanks.

Monet and Gabrielle are only 5 months old - is there anything that is seen here that a molt would "fix" or alter in their favor? Or are any of the negative traits possible to lose when breeding? I can't seem to find a good source for how these various traits are bred in/out, just mostly commentary on the wrongness.

Again, this advice and help is highly appreciated. I adore the French breeds and have only recently discovered just how wonderful the Marans temperaments are. The three new Wheaten babies in our home have greatly anticipated development!

 

[Lotsapaints]

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Well I've seen what happens when you breed a mossy hen to a good rooster you get way too much red so maybe you could get a red tailed buff...only kidden your rooster might work with Vivienne you would have to test and see what happens if that's all you have to work with...did the neighbor pay for damages? I'd buy more chicks or eggs there are plenty of Marans people up north of you that have very nice stock give you a little more to work with.

 

[ChicksterJo]

I got three Marans yesterday from onthespot, Black Coppers and a Blue Copper.

 

[BlossomSilkies]

Hi Everyone,

I have a couple of Black Copper Marans, a boy and a girl. They do not have feathered feet though. I got them from a breeder around here. She doesn't call them "french", is that because of the feet? They are still young, about 4 months old. Here is a picture of them (the 2 on the right). Just wondering about the non-feathered feet.

 

[Wynette]

Hi, Kristy! You have Marans AND Jersey Giants - well, you're ALRIGHT in my book! HA!

Anyway - here in the U.S., we don't use "French" any longer to describe them. When we say Marans, it's a given that they are feather legged. A few years ago, you did see and her folks using "French" to denote those without shank feathering, but this is now pretty much not used any longer for U.S. Marans. If you are breeding, I would not use the extremely coppery (mossy) gal - she'd not produce good examples of the breed. The other gal, even if she doens't have shank feathering, would be better to use for breeding - shank feathering is an easy fix (just breed her to a roo with good shank/feet feathering). Have fun with your new gals!!

 

[Bravo]

Can I vent to you guys? I just got an email from a lady I sold BCM eggs to. She claims that because a chick hatched black and white (described as a tuxedo or penguin pattern) that it was "...definitely not a BCM" and that I need to "check my pen."

You cant make this stuff up...

 

[Wynette]

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Look at it as an educational opportunity! Send her a bunch of chick pics....send her here!

 

[Bravo]

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Look at it as an educational opportunity! Send her a bunch of chick pics....send her here!

I replied nicely and linked her to the MOAC website. I do believe she is on BYC.

ETA: I got a nice apology letter. I still think it's pretty funny though

Can you imagine if a little Wheaton had popped out? LOL That would have made for a very interesting email

 

[math ace]

Quote:
Look at it as an educational opportunity! Send her a bunch of chick pics....send her here!

I replied nicely and linked her to the MOAC website. I do believe she is on BYC.

ETA: I got a nice apology letter. I still think it's pretty funny though

Can you imagine if a little Wheaton had popped out? LOL That would have made for a very interesting email

So . . . . What color was she expecting ? ? ?