Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[Hens and Roos]

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Do you look at lacing at all on the chicks and watch to see what that does?

 

[geebs]

No... I wait to see the finished bird.. the melanisers work strange.. Sometimes you don't get an idea at all about what you have until they are a year old. I try very hard not to crapshoot... I want to have some kind of prediction of the outcome... It hasn't been 100 percent but I have had a pretty good idea.. some things I had forgotten to factor in... and then I learn more when it doesn't work out exactly.. Like using a bird that was overmelanised birchen...sold to me as Black copper.. the outcome was unexpected... but nice.. If I get another one... I will show it.. It is a fine specimen.

 

[pinkchick]

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Ohh a blue copper thread or any blue thread would be fun! I love the blues. I am so happy with one of my bbs blue pullets she is turning out to look just like Cacao, her mother, but with even nicer lacing! I really noticed it yesterday when I picked her (the daughter) up outside in the sun. She has lacing on her back and wings not just her front. Cacao has one of those dark heads and the rest solid blue with lacing on her front. I have been trying to get babies that look like her.

Question for you since you work with the Blues- we have another breed that is blue and we were wondering how you go about deciding which blue chicks to keep- we have some that are lighter blue and others that are a bit darker- also what age do you keep them to before making that decision? We have some that are coming up on 8 weeks old. Do you also keep black and splash to use for breeding pens, if you do how do you decide who to keep? I asked this on the other thread but have gotten no responses back yet.

Cheryl~
For me..(speaking only of the color blue..not referencing type or conformation, but agree with Jan this should always be priority and also not referencing copper color...only talking blue)...I don't make a decision on some blues until they have finished their first big molt...but, as for blue, when they are young.... I watch for solid, even consistant color in the blue, for example...I don't care if the blue is light or if it is dark but these are the things that I want that blue to express, I want a bird that shows one tone of blue over the entire body where they are suppose to be blue. Lacing- I want a bird that has nice crisp darker lacing, and not just on several feathers here and there....I want consistancy here as well, lacing all over. I look for that same blue tone to match in shank color and shank feathering too.
Oh and yes I keep the black ad splash to use for breeding as well.

 

[Hens and Roos]

Quote:
Question for you since you work with the Blues- we have another breed that is blue and we were wondering how you go about deciding which blue chicks to keep- we have some that are lighter blue and others that are a bit darker- also what age do you keep them to before making that decision? We have some that are coming up on 8 weeks old. Do you also keep black and splash to use for breeding pens, if you do how do you decide who to keep? I asked this on the other thread but have gotten no responses back yet.

Cheryl~
For me..(speaking only of the color blue..not referencing type or conformation, but agree with Jan this should always be priority and also not referencing copper color...only talking blue)...I don't make a decision on some blues until they have finished their first big molt...but, as for blue, when they are young.... I watch for solid, even consistant color in the blue, for example...I don't care if the blue is light or if it is dark but these are the things that I want that blue to express, I want a bird that shows one tone of blue over the entire body where they are suppose to be blue. Lacing- I want a bird that has nice crisp darker lacing, and not just on several feathers here and there....I want consistancy here as well, lacing all over. I look for that same blue tone to match in shank color and feathering too.
Oh and yes I keep the black ad splash to use for breeding as well.



Does it matter which is male and which is female or do you keep 1 of each( so a pair of blacks and a pair of splash)?

 

[pinkchick]

Does it matter which is male and which is female or do you keep 1 of each( so a pair of blacks and a pair of splash)?

I usually always have one Blue Copper male and one Splash Copper male on hand (this has always been the case because I have found it far easier to get a better blue copper male than a black copper male and I never really have been attracted to the Black Copper males, though I love the Black Copper females

), and I knew that I could always produce a BC male if needed later on with the colors that I work with, just wouldn't always have to keep a BCM male to do it.
I always keep atleast one Splash female and a few Blue Copper females and right now Black Copper females out number the blues and splash. I am using more black birds now with my Blue roo to try and increase the crispness of the lacing in the blue offspring produced from Blue x Black crossings. I lost quite a bit of lacing and darker blues when I was crossing splash to blue all the time.

See.....we're talkin' blue!

 

[geebs]

Okay back on topic.. lol

The thing I find attractive about the black, Pink, (that's funny) is the achievement of copper across the top of the bird... If you get it right the contrast is good... It is easier to get a "copper jonesing fix" on the blues... It is always attractive to the eye even if it is out of balance.. Not so in my mind with the black... It has to be right or it is ugly... (to me anyway) This is why I do not like wheaton males... I do NOT like yellow on a bird.. It is however acceptable to look at on a blue bird becasue the blue is so spectacular I go blind to the yellow.. So for me to work the Black Coppers I HAVE to eliminate the yellow (straw) and then to me the birds are pretty...

I think this is why I am not a fan of Duckwing/partridge either... (Wellies) It is just me... No yellow!!!

 

[sabella]

I just got my first birds!

I have 3 black copper pullets (When they get their big girl feathers I'll get pics of them. They're only 6 weeks old and have bald spots.) I also got a Blue Copper x BCM pullet (the breeder only had 3 BCM girls) and a Blue Copper cockerel. The blues are 8weeks old. I'd really like to know what yall think of him. Shall I post his pic here or is there a separate thread for that color?

 

[Hens and Roos]

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I usually always have one Blue Copper male and one Splash Copper male on hand (this has always been the case because I have found it far easier to get a better blue copper male than a black copper male and I never really have been attracted to the Black Copper males, though I love the Black Copper females

), and I knew that I could always produce a BC male if needed later on with the colors that I work with, just wouldn't always have to keep a BCM male to do it.
I always keep atleast one Splash female and a few Blue Copper females and right now Black Copper females out number the blues and splash. I am using more black birds now with my Blue roo to try and increase the crispness of the lacing in the blue offspring produced from Blue x Black crossings. I lost quite a bit of lacing and darker blues when I was crossing splash to blue all the time.

See.....we're talkin' blue!

okay, I understand that idea

, do you keep back roosters at all just in case? I am trying to figure out how many chicks we should keep from what we hatch out this year of my DD's breed of choice and yet be able to keep chicks from the breeds both my DS's have picked and still stay with in the allowable number for our coop....

 

[Hens and Roos]

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we like pictures!

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
I usually always have one Blue Copper male and one Splash Copper male on hand (this has always been the case because I have found it far easier to get a better blue copper male than a black copper male and I never really have been attracted to the Black Copper males, though I love the Black Copper females

), and I knew that I could always produce a BC male if needed later on with the colors that I work with, just wouldn't always have to keep a BCM male to do it.
I always keep atleast one Splash female and a few Blue Copper females and right now Black Copper females out number the blues and splash. I am using more black birds now with my Blue roo to try and increase the crispness of the lacing in the blue offspring produced from Blue x Black crossings. I lost quite a bit of lacing and darker blues when I was crossing splash to blue all the time.

See.....we're talkin' blue!

okay, I understand that idea

, do you keep back roosters at all just in case? I am trying to figure out how many chicks we should keep from what we hatch out this year of my DD's breed of choice and yet be able to keep chicks from the breeds both my DS's have picked and still stay with in the allowable number for our coop....

I try to grow out a couple Black Coppers boys if I get them or hatch them, but they are never what I am looking for..so I stick to the Black girls and the Blue or Splash boys. I do keep back a couple of extra roos but they are usually Blue Coppers, if by the age of 6 mos. they do not show what I am looking for, they are either sent to the freezer or sold and I start over again with the 2 good Bl- Cpr males I have, I know they are capable of producing nice offspring, it's just a matter of hitting the jackpot and getting one that has everything I'm looking for to take to the next generation....the fun of breeding is we get to keep trying over and over again to see what we can create.