Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[desertmarcy]

Okay so I now feel like I have egg on my

face. It seems that the mom of my chicks is a copper maran not a cuckoo maran. They were barred but darker than the cuckoo chicks i helped raise. I am so new to this maran business that I apologize. So I know this is a nutty question but are they still pullets? This feels like asking my dad what the bunny was doing to its friend all over again.

If they were barred, they would not be pure Black Copper since that breed is not barred, maybe they were a mix, but it doesn't change the sex of the birds in your photo. And BTW, since you are new, "Marans" is the breed, not "Maran". Always spelled with an "s" on the end even when singular since they were named after the French town of Marans

 

[happyfrenchman]

Yes, if they are straight up BCMs I am even more confident they are females. The BCM roosters develop a thickened comb quite early. I can sex them pretty accurately at less than a week old by their combs. (I think if they had been crossed with the Cuckoo the dark ones would be hens as well)

 

[happyfrenchman]

Chickinpickin....

That bird is a rooster (and most all of the other birds in your pics are roosters too). How many roosters were you going to keep that you would keep the one with the light color? If you were going to breed them, I would try to pick the one that is nearest to the standard. And you only need one or two roos to do that.
And it has been my limited experience that there are alot of anomalies in this breed so you would want to try to pick your best/closest stock for reproduction.

 

[chicken pickin]

Well that bird is a rooster (and most all of the other birds in your pics are roosters too). How many roosters were you going to keep that you would keep the one with the light color? If you were going to breed them, I would try to pick the one that is nearest to the standard. And you only need one or two roos to do that.

Oh I know, almost all of my young Marans are roosters.

I have 11 young roosters and 4 young pullets I am growing out. Some of them came from another source than my own because I was trying to bring in new blood and also looking for hopefully a few closer to standard birds.

I have no plans to keep the light hackled rooster. I was just looking for feed back on if any of them have some better qualities over another one. I like a few for a few different reasons while I also dislike the same few for other reasons.

Im just trying to narrow it down is all. I only plan to keep one of these roosters.

 

[happyfrenchman]

Aha... I see.... I can tell you this, I got my first batch of Black Coppers from a fellow and they were all pretty much like what you have, (I believe I had 11 roos to 4 pullets as well. ... One of the roos was straw colored. And all those birds were brothers and sisters from three hens and one rooster. So the straw color is in there. But I have since hatched 30+ chicks from those 3 hens (lost one to a snake) (and a brother roo who was as close as I could tell to the standard), and I have not seen the straw color since, but it is likely still in there somewhere.

 

[FVRM]

I figured that might be the case.

I assume this mean that it is likely that all birds hatched from the same batch of eggs may carry birchen genes also. Is it common in Black copper lines to carry other hidden colors in there genetic makeup.

Is it still ok to add these to my existing flock or is it hard to work with.

In my opinion, I would completely cull all the ones with clear birchen in them. Then from what's left I would pick the one with the best BODY type. Color is not as important as the body at this point. Then I would choose the pullet(s) with good body type but the best coloring. And go from there, adding new blood when they need it.

Of course the other option is to scrap them and start again with a better bloodline.

 

[DMRippy]

Here are a few pics of my 10-11 week old BCMs. I have such a hard time getting good pics of them they are quick little things. I know the pics arent great but any thoughts on them?













I also have this one with very light creamy yellow hackles which I found odd

You have a LOT of cockerels there. I don't see any birchen influence..... usually the lighter hackles indicated WHEATEN in the back ground somewhere. A birchen would be more silver not golden.

 

[DMRippy]

Hello all. Can anyone tell me if I have pullets, roos or one of each? Their hen is a cuckoo and their roo is a BCM. The top one has feathered feet but the
larger one doesn't. They hatched a day apart but the first one to hatch has always been larger. I'm really hoping for at least one pullet since my husband does not like roos. Thanks for you help.

I still think they are both pullets but what is the combo now? Were both parents Black Coppers or was one still a cuckoo? I don't think there is a cuckoo in the mix if the hen was a BCM. A Cuckoo rooster would pass the barring on to ALL chicks......

still pullets. Do you have a picture of the barring you saw? Was it copper and black barring? That is autosomal barring not true barring.

 

[dmbnj]

Here's my 9 week old BCM. Any guesses on pullet or cockerel?

 

[desertmarcy]

Here's my 9 week old BCM. Any guesses on pullet or cockerel?

I'd say pullet.