Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[Dearsrock]

Greetings!
Hey Don, I'm really new to the marans and wonder what you mean by over colored. I have managed to collect 6 roosters (all under 6 months yet). Three BC have color to the base of the neck and no more. Another has burgangy covering his back. Same with a wheaten. And I have a blue wheaten that looks like he ran thru a paintball camp. That one is small so he's going to the freezer when there is a few more pounds. I'm only in this for a hobby, but lookinig to learn more. I'm only planning on keeping 1 or 2 roos. Maybe I can try to get some pics.

Renee

 

[Housefull]

We are brand new to BCM. My husband saw rooster and had to have some eggs so we hatched a few from a local breeder hopping for one rooster and got all hens. Lol

I tried to get a good picture of the girls but no one wanted to smile for the camera. Here's a funny picture of one of the girls. They are about 5 months old almost 6. These are the same hen just one picture is in the sun one in the shade.


BCM by little2shy21, on Flickr



BCM2 by little2shy21, on Flickr

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
Renee, What I mean by over colored . when breeding the BC Marans you will get some male that have the Brown and copper spread over the breast. Two or three spots are acceptable at top of the chest. I have bred the BC female with no color and the female with color to the males that do not have spotting in the chest and have had female s that are properly colored at about 90 %. The male side of this mating will have a lot of brown in the chect area. I am a firm believer that you have to double mate to get good BC Marans both Male and female.

When you have a chance post a few pictures and will see what you are talking about with the cockerels.

It is very necessary to cull very heavy if you plan on breeding to the SOP.

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
This pullet looks to have very nice copper Hackles, When posting pictures the best one is the one you can see the feet and side shot with the head and tail included.

 

[Housefull]

Thanks for the tip. I'll test my luck this afternoon. She has good feathery feet but I know very little on what to look for.

 

[Raven1]

http://cgi.ebay.com/6-French-Marans-Hatching-Eggs-Plus-2-Maran-Varieties-/110723157948?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c79d4fbc
Please explain this. I think these people are crazy!

 

[onthespot]

Quote:
Snowbird, thanks for your comment. I'd like to raise the already insurmountable roo bar another foot or so, if I may. Here's a pic of a roo I liked really well as a young cockerel. Actually, I never stopped loving him. He now lives in Nevada. Due to cutting back, I no longer have him. (the one on the left) To me, he comes pretty close to the standard. He is about four or five months old there. I'd like to see a deeper breast

and here he is three years later, you can see some white leaking in his tail and a flight feather. Sometimes they change over time, and what you thought was perfect, (and could win at a show) later becomes DQ. Here he is later. His pose is off because I was chasing him away from the camera. Normally his stature was the same as in the top pic. Still, not enough breast.

 

[Medicine Man]

Quote:
It's easy to explain: the seller is an idiot.

 

[Raven1]

Yes!!!

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
Snowbird, thanks for your comment. I'd like to raise the already insurmountable roo bar another foot or so, if I may. Here's a pic of a roo I liked really well as a young cockerel. Actually, I never stopped loving him. He now lives in Nevada. Due to cutting back, I no longer have him. (the one on the left) To me, he comes pretty close to the standard. He is about four or five months old there. I'd like to see a deeper breast
http://pattycarson.com/images/chickens/marans/copperpalooza.jpg
and here he is three years later, you can see some white leaking in his tail and a flight feather. Sometimes they change over time, and what you thought was perfect, (and could win at a show) later becomes DQ. Here he is later. His pose is off because I was chasing him away from the camera. Normally his stature was the same as in the top pic. Still, not enough breast.

http://pattycarson.com/images/chickens/marans/goodyspring10.jpg

The dreaded white in tail and wing pops out again. I have found that when we use the lighter colored shanks and feet we will get more of the white feathers. This past month I have sold off all the Bc Marans I had. The BC males were looking really good this year but I have culled so much the past four years it was like it would be impossible to raise a good male. Two year ago I started culling any Male that had white after the Juve molt and this year the white was virtually eliminated for the young. I started only using the males with the Med. Slate shanks. I believe the very light shanks my have some Wheaten in the genes somewhere.

Almost forgot the Marans in picture have very nice shank feathers this is what my birds had and what the Standard calls for. It is much easier to breed a correctly feathered shank from a heavy feathered Marans than is is from a lightly feathered shank.