Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[magdelaine]

Here's better pictures of him:

I like him, the halo is definitely more copper than straw...however his shanks look very yellow in these pics. I'd be concerned about him being split for Wheaten.

 

[chicken pickin]

I like him, the halo is definitely more copper than straw...however his shanks look very yellow in these pics. I'd be concerned about him being split for Wheaten.

Good catch! Also he has no shank feathers. He does have too many points on his comb and his eye look more yellow.

Overall though he has nice coloring and I like his body type.

 

[kristinn]

Well she gave him to me for free because she had too many roosters, so I can't complain too much.. lol. she doesn't know what lines he comes from, but she showed me an egg his sister had laid and Id say it was a 6/7 so she may have been laying even darker over the summer!

 

[hebertchick12]

Got our first BC Maran egg today!

 

[chad e]

I recently bought bcm trio the eggs are not as dark as some i have seen. They are about 10 months old. The man we bought them from said the egg color would get darker as the hens get older. Is this true?

 

[DMRippy]

I recently bought bcm trio the eggs are not as dark as some i have seen. They are about 10 months old. The man we bought them from said the egg color would get darker as the hens get older. Is this true?

You will get mixed reviews on that. I personally have not seen eggs get darker. They are as dark as they will get when they first start laying.

 

[chad e]

Thanks DMRippy we bought two black copper maran hens one rooster, three splash cooper maran hens two roosters, 43 black, blue, splash maran chicks, 1502 gqf incubator with 20 maran eggs setting, & all waters, feeders, lights, heaters, &etc. from a guy how had to move. We are hoping that one of the black copper maran chicks that we hatched from you is a rooster. Your eggs were darker.

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

I recently bought bcm trio the eggs are not as dark as some i have seen. They are about 10 months old. The man we bought them from said the egg color would get darker as the hens get older. Is this true?

I have found that BCM eggs vary during the year in kind of an up and down color pattern that mirrors their laying pattern. The hens that lay most consistently have a lighter egg overall, and those that start/stop will vary quite a bit with the darkness of shell. For instance, if a hen lays a couple eggs and takes a couple days off, the next egg will be darker and so on. Do you have a Marans egg color chart? This is very helpful as it gives a consistent comparison rather than just a subjective opinion on a given day. We have punched holes in our chart so we can put the egg behind and match the egg to the closest Marans chart color number. Even putting the chart next to an egg, most people will "see" a shade darker than the egg actually is. We have found that the color chart is extremely helpful for posting photos of eggs, as monitors, etc. vary so much as well as the effect that background, etc. can have on the appearance of egg color on a screen.

 

[One Chick Two]

I like him, the halo is definitely more copper than straw...however his shanks look very yellow in these pics. I'd be concerned about him being split for Wheaten.

kristinn,

He is pretty, and I generally overall like him better... however... If you actually find if he does has yellow shanks and not a trick of the light, please consider not breeding him... unless you plan to just keep dark eggs just at home or, Wheaten olive eggers- just not to go to others.

Yellow shanks means not just "Wheaten..." (referring to another type of Marans) but, a whole other completely different chicken breed was mixed in... like Welsummer, etc. No pure Marans every should show yellow skin. Yellow skin will keep on popping up later. If he does have yellow shanks, then all the breeder's birds should at least be suspected for carrying the issue. This is a really big problem with some lines of Marans.

Quote:

Free is always good. But, again, here is a second reason perhaps not to breed him for anything but home eggs, or, maybe Wheaten olive eggers... Check the comb in good lighting.

This comb lump circled is likely carnation comb (From some breeders mixing with Pendesca chickens to darken eggs some time ago). Unfortunately, carnation comb and sprigs is a DQ, and if a bird positively shows sprigs or carnation comb, a bird showing positive comb lumps shouldn't be bred... as all the young will already all have both genes expressed needed for those comb issues in the young. Comb needs to be completely smooth, with zero lumps, even if extremely tiny.

Also, see the back of the blade- blade back should be straight. A top breeder told me points on the back shows propensity to produce comb problems.



So sorry.

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

Here are the photos of my new cockerel out of a Bev Davis egg (purchased him from someone who hatched Bev's eggs). He's not perfect, but so much better than what I have had access to prior.



Things I like: His size. He's a February bird that is just huge/hefty. His back angle, balance, and body style. Clear black breast. Black underfluff. Shade of coppering...although it is not perfectly consistent throughout, it is a richer shade of copper than I've had to work with. Egg color: he came from a very dark egg. Eye color is good (hard to see in these photos, I know).

Things I'd change: That halo, while not bad, is still there. Tail angle is high. White feathers on feet and one or two second toe feathers.

Open to hearing about things I didn't mention or haven't noticed.