Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[Scottyballs]

He said you can tell by the crest thing on top the beak and the smaller feet when you combine the to together he said you have a really good chance of them being hens.. the ones he thought to be males had a larger crest on top of there beak... wich when he pointed it out i could really see.. he said this is only good for a day or two then the females crest will start to catch up.. yes they have black legs with feathers on the outside of the legs and pink toe's

 

[marquisella]

I hope you get good coloring on your next batch. Okay now I am intrigued about your one footed roo. Do you mean he is crippled or actually lost his foot?
Reason I ask is (this is a little OT) because I have this half grown roo chick that apparently something happened to one of his legs cuz he wasn't born that way but I think it got dislocated and now one of his legs is longer than the other. He isn't a Marans but a key west so a little on the wild side lol. He kinda hops around on the good leg and swipes the bad one outwards without touching the ground like he is riding a skateboard or scooter. It is kinda funny but I am wondering if I should just cull him or if he would have a somewhat normal life. I know I can't keep him with the other roos for sure. Right now, he has 2 silkie baby mommas for company and their 7 little chicks that they are sharing. He thinks he is the baby daddy and is glad for the company.

He came to my friend with a leg band, but it wasn't noticed due to his foot feathering, until it was too late to take it off, so eventually the foot just dropped off. I ended up with him because I'm working on Birchens. I was afraid he couldn't breed a hen, due to his lack of a foot, but apparently he can....
I don't have any idea of how yours will end up. I would guess though, when he gets bigger, his adult weight might make him more lame, or maybe not...

 

[Wynette]

He said you can tell by the crest thing on top the beak and the smaller feet when you combine the to together he said you have a really good chance of them being hens.. the ones he thought to be males had a larger crest on top of there beak... wich when he pointed it out i could really see.. he said this is only good for a day or two then the females crest will start to catch up.. yes they have black legs with feathers on the outside of the legs and pink toe's

That "crest thing" is called a comb. Just FYI.

ETA, a female less than one year is called a "pullet," she will not be a "hen" until she is one year old.

 

[marquisella]

Quote: I have the opposite problem, have a roo without any copper, but can't get hens with correct hackles..no color.
But, have 1 week old chick and 3 more in the hatcher, with a couple more incubating...I've got my fingers crossed these chicks will have correct color. Yes, he lost a foot, but still manages to breed the hens.

That's a GORGEOUS cock bird! I like him. I think I'm going to enjoy the Birchens. I just noticed the first bit of white on shoulders/wings today. They are just 2 weeks old. Is it safe to assume, those are boys?
Yeah, I like him a lot...even though his tail is on the high side, for me that is easily fixed. The color & size is what attracted me to him, even with the "foot" issue. I have maybe 4 chicks now, and a couple more eggs in the incubator...but the hens stopped laying...arrgghhh..

 

[Scottyballs]

That "crest thing" is called a comb. Just FYI.

ETA, a female less than one year is called a "pullet," she will not be a "hen" until she is one year old.

gotcha thats what he said too but i could not recall what he said.. ty Im new to this

 

[Wynette]

gotcha thats what he said too but i could not recall what he said.. ty Im new to this

No worries! It's a lot of terminology to learn, to be sure!

Oh, here's another quick one for ya - "legs" are called "shanks."

 

[snowbird]

I will just ad something to the way these chicks were sexed. Some claim they can sex the chicks by the little mound at the end of the beak over the nostril. This is most likely what the breeder was talking about.Best way to tell is wait three or four weeks and then you really know.

 

[Wynette]

I will just ad something to the way these chicks were sexed. Some claim they can sex the chicks by the little mound at the end of the beak over the nostril. This is most likely what the breeder was talking about.Best way to tell is wait three or four weeks and then you really know.

Agreed. Some folks say that if the comb appears to be "Roman" shaped, that is, coming more straight off the top of the head rather than having a break (I'm not great at explaining), it is a male, but I have not found that to work with Marans, personally.

If you have a good-sized hatch, you can definitely compare the thickness of shanks and "assume" the thicker ones are male, and you may be about 75% correct, but that's not even a 100% positive way of checking.

 

[RoosterMoose]

New here, New to chickens! just picked these guys up from the breeder and was advertising them as straight run but he helped me pick out the ladies.. or so he said anyway.. here is 3 of the 4 they are from the Bev Davis and Wade Jeane lines...

If your new to chickens, I'd say you made a real good choice with the Marans! I had always wanted the BCM's and finaly bought some on Ebay a while back. Set to hatch on 12 april. Good luck with your chicks. Be patient as I hear that Marans can take a while to start laying compared to other breeds.

 

[Scottyballs]

If your new to chickens, I'd say you made a real good choice with the Marans! I had always wanted the BCM's and finaly bought some on Ebay a while back. Set to hatch on 12 april. Good luck with your chicks. Be patient as I hear that Marans can take a while to start laying compared to other breeds.

I feel we made a good choice too we also picked up 4 Silkies today that are a week old and are still smaller then these day and a half old Marans they all seem to be getting along good.. but i will say the Marans are much more curious when me or the wife stick our hand in the brooder the Marans come running over as fast as there lil legs will allow them to go and hop right in our hands and they also will chase our hand when going from one side to the other really funny.. they also don't mind being held (trying not to for a few days) when cupped in our hands they curl up and go right to sleep really cute.. not that the Silkies are not but they don't have the personality of these guys yet.. as far as eggs go.. originally we wanted eggs but these guys are turning into pets faster then we care about eggs lol..