Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[kpsocalchicks89]

Hi everyone this is my first post on this thread I have a BCM we name her stark after my brother lol she is about 20 weeks I think I'm waiting for her to start laying soon!!!

[/IMG]

 

[snowbird]

Hi everyone this is my first post on this thread I have a BCM we name her stark after my brother lol she is about 20 weeks I think I'm waiting for her to start laying soon!!!

[/URL]

With the yellow shanks she would be mixed with something besides Marans.

 

[snowbird]

Sue, that's a good question on the blue; I thought the blue was preferred to be laced in Marans, but I don't think it's been written yet for the blues, has it? You would sure know that befor me!

(sidebar: the topline of both male and female should NOT be horizontal - it should go uphill from the base of the tail to the base of the neck, with the angle a bit steeper in the male; this is the "topline" of the bird.)

Wynette, On the yahoo site there is a rough draft of the Blue Marans and it states Blue feathers with black lacing.

 

[Zanna]

Hi Don! What is your take on pullets with middle toe stubs/fluff on the webbing between outer and middle toe? One of my pairings is producing a lot of really nice pullets but with this issue. I have many to pick from for next years breeders so I am thinking cull.

 

[sarahkatie]

So, out of my 12 Bcm chicks that I got to start, I had/have 3 roosters. 1 had a carnation comb and has already been culled. The other two are 5 and 6 weeks old. The younger one is already showing a great deal of copper all the way down his chest.

So my question is, is it even worth growing this guy out? Is there any chance his color will 'auto-correct'? Or should I cull him now and avoid wasting unnecessary food?

He's 5 weeks

Eta.... The copper is even a bit more than the pic shows... It's hard getting pics through 1" chicken wire

 

[lonnyandrinda]

she don't like her picture taken, wouldn't stand still long enough lol

Wow she is a looker! Get some copper on her offspring and that would be AMAZING!

Hi everyone this is my first post on this thread I have a BCM we name her stark after my brother lol she is about 20 weeks I think I'm waiting for her to start laying soon!!!

Are you sure this is a Black Copper Maran? Between the yellow legs and the amount of brown down her chest she looks more like my black sexlinks.

So, out of my 12 Bcm chicks that I got to start, I had/have 3 roosters. 1 had a carnation comb and has already been culled. The other two are 5 and 6 weeks old. The younger one is already showing a great deal of copper all the way down his chest.

So my question is, is it even worth growing this guy out? Is there any chance his color will 'auto-correct'? Or should I cull him now and avoid wasting unnecessary food?

He's 5 weeks

Eta.... The copper is even a bit more than the pic shows... It's hard getting pics through 1" chicken wire

Most likely nothing good color-wise from this boy. You might wait a little longer, another 2-3 weeks would be plenty of time to know for sure.

 

[kpsocalchicks89]

That's what we were told she was but any advice on her is appreciated ill look into the sexlinks thank you

 

[chisNchickens]

Well I read all 692 pages

I don't have to tell ya'll what time it is, as I'm sure most of ya'll have the crockpot going non-stop this time of year. Its time to clean up my mess and I saw this thread so I thought I might post some pics and get some input that I hadn't thought of. I'm working on several breeds and it can get overwhelming to retain everything and at the same think of new ways to use a certain roo to help out in some fashion.

I'm fond of this guy in several ways but obviously he's not perfect. I'm only curious about the coloring aspect and wonder if anyone would advise keeping such a bird for ANY reason...such as quickly putting copper back into an otherwise great hen?

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg64/LUCKYDUX2/CHICKENS/DSCI0131_zps02c6cf45.jpg

I'm sorry but the pics aren't posting properly right now for some reason. I'll have to work on getting the pictures to show up in the thread but for now a link is all that's working
Thanks for any input

I will let the experts critique your bird, but I want to commend you for reading the entire thread! I get annoyed at newbies wanting answers NOW while not bothering to read and learn from what has been thoughtfully and carefully offered here by serious marans folks.

 

[snowbird]

Hi Don! What is your take on pullets with middle toe stubs/fluff on the webbing between outer and middle toe? One of my pairings is producing a lot of really nice pullets but with this issue. I have many to pick from for next years breeders so I am thinking cull.

Hi Zanna, If you have a good every where else pullet I would in no way cull her for a little Fuzz between the toes in the web area. I think you know that I like mine to have plenty of feathering on the shank and outter toe. I like mine to have shank feathering like a good Langshan as they are supposed too. In a few minutes will post a picture of a 1/2 Wheaten and 1/2 BC my Avatar,

Too get good shank and toe feathering we have to use breeders with some extra feathering. I do not believe anyone has BC good enough where they could not use a good pullet with only a little extra fuzz. I remember your BC breeders and would tell you just to keep on doing what you have been doing. We need more people interested in improving their stock and not worrying about how many eggs thay can sell. If I remember you did the test matings like we talked about on the Forum.

 

[Zanna]

Hi Zanna, If you have a good every where else pullet I would in no way cull her for a little Fuzz between the toes in the web area. I think you know that I like mine to have plenty of feathering on the shank and outter toe. I like mine to have shank feathering like a good Langshan as they are supposed too. In a few minutes will post a picture of a 1/2 Wheaten and 1/2 BC my Avatar,

Too get good shank and toe feathering we have to use breeders with some extra feathering. I do not believe anyone has BC good enough where they could not use a good pullet with only a little extra fuzz. I remember your BC breeders and would tell you just to keep on doing what you have been doing. We need more people interested in improving their stock and not worrying about how many eggs thay can sell. If I remember you did the test matings like we talked about on the Forum.

Yes, I have about 15 - 25 youngsters on the ground, from each pairing, from test mating four different hens over 2 cocks. Still have one more set to go with a son from my original mom over her and an unrelated hen. Broodies have slowed things down but honestly I have an almost overwhelming number on the ground to asses so a couple month break from hatching will be good. I think i have about 75 pullets to go over and have already taken about 35 cockerals to the local auction.

I really like my three Dads and what they are producing with the hens so I was not planning on keeping any of their sons unless one just strikes me as being exceptional by about 16 weeks old. What are your thoughts on that? Pullets are showing nice type (look like their Moms), varying shades of copper/mahogany around the neck (vast improvement over Moms) and nice feathering down the legs. Next season I would just plan on breeding the best pullets back to their Dads and maybe look for some replacement sons. Not quite sure where to go from here.................