Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[magdelaine]

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.

Agree with you on what you like and what you don't. He's beautiful and I think you are going to be off to a good start with him.

 

[jenibob]

Does anyone have Marans for sale in Northern Indiana?

 

[One Chick Two]

Agree with you on what you like and what you don't. He's beautiful and I think you are going to be off to a good start with him.

2X Nice looking male.

Even with his halo, he seems to have consistent color balance throughout, and he's wide, viewing from the top view. Also, his back and tail seems to have nice length and width.

Looking, but see little else to mention.

He is carrying the wing low in the first photo...maybe he was shifting his wings? Is his chest a tad shallow? That should fill out a bit more as he matures. His back angle... is this just a bit on the steep side, or was he squatting a bit?

All in all, I think he looks nice. There is nothing (just my opinion) I would think of as a dealbreaker.

 

[rosinsk1772]

I have two BCM's that started laying eggs this week. The eggs are a light brown at best, and not dark. Does it take time for the eggs to turn BCM dark? Or is this the color I should expect

 

[Yardwork]

I just discovered the very first egg of my new flock of Black Copper Marans. It was a very light brown which is disheartening due to these birds are from a noted Black Copper Maran breeder. I wonder if their eggs will become darker as the chicken matures…

These birds were hatched on June the 25th and the first egg was laid today, just over 5 months.

 

[cyborg]

I have two BCM's that started laying eggs this week. The eggs are a light brown at best, and not dark. Does it take time for the eggs to turn BCM dark? Or is this the color I should expect

I just discovered the very first egg of my new flock of Black Copper Marans. It was a very light brown which is disheartening due to these birds are from a noted Black Copper Maran breeder. I wonder if their eggs will become darker as the chicken matures…

These birds were hatched on June the 25th and the first egg was laid today, just over 5 months. 

Give them a week or two to get their ink jets calibrated. First eggs are often light colored.

 

[chicken pickin]

My BCM cockerel he is 7months old

 

[DMRippy]

Quote: In the years I have had marans I have NOT seen the eggs get darker. They usually lay the darkest eggs to start. Some have different experiences so time will tell I would not get my hopes up.

 

[Zanna]

In the years I have had marans I have NOT seen the eggs get darker. They usually lay the darkest eggs to start. Some have different experiences so time will tell I would not get my hopes up.

My experience has been the same. My breeders and offspring are consistently laying 6 +. That being said, have a young pullet from my breeders this year who has started laying a 4. She will not be bred forward. Just because the parents lay a solid 6 or better is no guarantee all the offspring will lay as dark.

 

[One Chick Two]

Give them a week or two to get their ink jets calibrated. First eggs are often light colored.

2X

Different lines can act differently. Some lines can start off dark, others take a few tries, or, may not ever become very dark.

Our experience is that the lines we tested mostly all started off light, then, after a few tries, became darker and larger. Eggs that had more color spray darkening the egg ends often seemed (more than not) to become darker eggs, overall. That might not hold true for everyone- just something I've noticed.

When we first purchased our first birds from a breeder, we cleaned and hollowed out sample eggs from each hen and kept those in storage. Noted the hen's egg color cycling changes, how many times a week the hen laid, and measured the weight of her eggs to determine her average egg size. As you can see below this hen gave big, but, extremely pale eggs on the first few days, and then settled into a pattern of speckled (averaging mostly about) #4 eggs. (Photo is lighter than reality.) That hen will not be not bred forward as we prefer darker eggs, but she has been a consistent layer with reliable color with little color shift ever since they darkened.



By doing this method, it became easy to determine who was doing what and when.

Here are 4 different pullet's eggs (l to r). Each of these pullets are from different lines. These pullets all laid lighter eggs at first (left) and then alternated some light or slightly darker. After a few tries, their eggs darkened gradually, and slowly is becoming larger.



These pullets eggs started off darker, and are staying more this depth. Not changing as much. Go figure.



So my conclusion is:
Depends.