Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[Casey76]

Ready for some very bad photography?

I popped into the a local show (well it wasn't local to me, but it wasn't a regional or national show, iyswim) Surprisingly only one CB Marans on show, and not a good specimin

I can't read most of the writing on the card, unfortunately, but it starts (for those who don't read French) Condition: Very good; Form: quite good; Wishes: attention to the spurs; Faults: illegible apart from "line of the back"

He is a 2009 cock, so full grown.

There was also a very sweet FBC bantam there, the first Marans bantam I've seen... she was very tiny compared to LF Marans!

There were lots of disqualifications generally due to frostbitten combs, and lots of comments regarding the length of the spurs (some of them, including the chap up above, looked positively lethal!)

All in all, I've seen much beter examples out there... I'm off to another show next week, which is a regional show, so hopefully ther will be some better examples!

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Quote:
Ok, great. You've maee me want to tag and photograph all of them individually now. But first, I have a Princess Birthday party for my 3 year old today. I'll be back with photos for your review!

 

[pinkchick]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

No new photos of the birds... spent all afternoon cleaning pens due to our little thaw...

But I DID get pics of the last couple of days of eggs.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/6962_bc_marans_eggs.jpg

AWESOME!!! Beautiful Eggs Mrs. AK!

 

[pinkchick]

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Thanks for posting them Casey. Boy they sure do grow the boys big and stocky over there don't they? Look at the neck and chest on that boy, I can tell even without a photo of him at a different angle that this boy is a brick house. I personally love the color of his copper.
That little bantam hen is too cute....do I see hints of dark copper in her hackles?

 

[Casey76]

Oh yes, very big and wide:

It was so hard to get good photos because of the pens, unfortunately

The little girl did have some copper in her hackles, though not very much. From what I remember her card only mentioned though her comb was a bit too big, but I think she scored a 93 or 94.

 

[Debbi]

Thanks Casey! Boy, he is a chunker, love it! Love his color too, the only things I don't care for is his shorter back and squirrel tail. I tend to love the darker copper or mahogany color myself

Do they deduct or disqualify for spurs in the USA shows? Those look deadly!

 

[math ace]

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MOTHER HEN Mode here

Let's identify some of the faults that make this boy not the best example of what we are trying to breed. . .

First thing that pops out to my eye is his back - - - it is way short. The body should be rectangular in shape. Longer back is needed to match longer belly ( college marans people - - what do you call the belly area?)

Second thing that pops as a fault is the tail - - - The tail angle should be much lower. Is the proposed US standard at 45 degrees?
This boy actually has what is called a squirell tail. It goes over 90 degrees. .. . BAD and a serious fault. I think it might be a Disqualifier in the US.

The copper color is nice very nice. One of the ladies I have responded to lately - - asked if her red was too red and I replied
"No it is not too red, the problem was the red became black in the saddle area." This bird has GOOD COLOR BALANCE. It starts at the head with the same color it ends with in the saddle area. The color rolls down its neck and back. There is BALANCE to it when you are looking at the front half of the bird compared to the back half of the bird.

This bird has nice Girth - - He has the chunky monkey thing going on. You could imagine having some serious grilled chicken breasts from this boy. That is what you want from a dual purpose bird. There needs to be some meat on them there bones!

If you were to pick a date for this boy - - - you would pick a hen with a LONG BACK and a LOW tail. His coloring is wonderful. . . so you would want the hen to have pretty good coloring . . . a little, just a little, light on the coppering would be ok.

 

[pinkchick]

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THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!!!! Now that is the chest of a MARANS!!!!!!! Love It!

I have a boy built very similar to this boy, he weighs in around 12.5 lbs., he is my most beloved monster roo Bill. Since I'm talking about him, now I have to share a photo of him.....he doesn't really pertain to this thread as he is a Blue Copper but he looks almost Black and I know geebs will let it slide just this one time.

I use Bill primarily for his size factor and dark egg gene, he makes nice wide and broad daughters. He also lends other good qualities. When I think Marans rooster.....I'm thinking boys that look like your beloved boy that was taken, this roo you photo'd at the show and my Bill. Big, broad and stout.

Here he is all puffed up...he's a character.

 

[marquisella]

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AWESOME!!! Beautiful Eggs Mrs. AK!

Nice eggs,,,,,can you send that one on the right to me?

Sue

 

[geebs]

About the French bird: (just my opinion that is all)

I would have to point out that not only is the back short, making the tail at a steep angle, the head is small and less than the desired length. That coupled with the fact that the neck is less than long and arching make this specimen look out of balance. The chest looks more like a pigeon because of the disproportion. The color balance would be a debate for both sides of the ocean as it lands somewhere between the two... It would be up to the judge.

About the melaniser, the French like to see no green in the undercoating of the feathers... This bird is slightly out of balance to the black end on the body for a perfect bird in balance.... that also shows up in the less than desired amount of color in the breast. I don't know what the American version says about the green in the lower 1/2 of the bird... but we do accept the black breast and it seems that is more desired here. We also would prefer a darker shank according to the posted standard of the moment.