Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[FVRM]

I'm over run by chickens and need to thin my flock!
I had planned to keep my two FBCM's cockerels until they were 6 or 7 months and take my pick for my own personal FBCM breeding but as I said, I'm over run and need to thin NOW. Is it too soon to get an idea of which Cockerel I should choose? These two guys are pretty different. One is bigger overall, has a bigger comb, less copper on his chest and he crows at 9 weeks! (as mentioned in post above ; ) I couldn't get a good picture of smaller ones stance but it's similar to the bigger one.
FBCM pros, can you help me pick which one to keep? Seems like it might be obvious but I'm no pro.
Thank you!

i would choose the one in the first photo

 

[FVRM]

Okay so I have 6 bcmx but 4 are roos. Here is my best one according to me, I already know he lacks shank feathers but I'm breeding towards no shank feathering. He is also slightly smaller than his brothers, maybe a medium build. I hope he will get a little fatter when he is 1 year old. what do you guys think?

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

Okay so I have 6 bcmx but 4 are roos. Here is my best one according to me, I already know he lacks shank feathers but I'm breeding towards no shank feathering. He is also slightly smaller than his brothers, maybe a medium build. I hope he will get a little fatter when he is 1 year old. what do you guys think?

What age is this cockerel?

 

[maryhysong]

Okay so I have 6 bcmx but 4 are roos. Here is my best one according to me, I already know he lacks shank feathers but I'm breeding towards no shank feathering. He is also slightly smaller than his brothers, maybe a medium build. I hope he will get a little fatter when he is 1 year old. what do you guys think?

why would you breed away from shank feathering on a bird whose standard requires it?

 

[Pennychickens1]

how old before they start laying ?my girls are going on five months and I'm over excited.e

 

[FVRM]

why would you breed away from shank feathering on a bird whose standard requires it?

I don't show birds and I prefer clean legs so they don't get the eggs dirty. I live near a swamp and it gets super muddy around here. I guess I'm leaning more towards the english standard which does not require feathered shanks.

 

[FVRM]

What age is this cockerel?

he is 9 months old.

 

[FVRM]

how old before they start laying ?my girls are going on five months and I'm over excited.

it depends on the chicken i guess. Usually 6 months but mine are 8 to 9 months and no eggs. I really think egg laying depends heavily on the season. Chicks hatched in early spring won't lay until late december after the solstice. It's best to hatch them in August to October so you can get the eggs early in spring.

 

[GaryDean26]

BCM cockerels should have NO copper on the chest, so all other things being somewhat equal I would keep the one with less copper. The only other DQ that would change that for me is comb sprigs; everything else they are too young to tell yet how they are going to turn out. Silly boy...crowing at 9 weeks. I'll have 3 cockerels that age in another week and I can't imagine them crowing, lol.

(Er, I'm no pro either...just my opinion.)

Actually the standard does allow for copper spots in the breast.

The French Standard allow up to 10% of the breast to be copper, the APA standard (See Below) calls for "a few spots". I like a solid back breast too but my culling regiments allows for some copper on the breast. The copper spots I seen in juveniles often disappears completely when the cockerel goes through an adult molt.


Quote:

Quote:
Standard of Perfection

MALE

Comb, Face, Wattles, & Ear-Lobes: Bright red.
Beak: Horn, black shading permitted.
Eyes: Reddish bay.
Head: Lustrous deep copper, neither yellow nor mahogany.
Neck- Hackle : Lustrous deep copper, neither yellow nor mahogany.
Some feathers, especially in the lower hackle, may include
a narrow dark stripe through the middle of each feather
terminating in a point near its lower extremity.
Front of neck : Black with markings of deep copper.
Back: Lustrous deep copper.
Saddle : Same as hackle.
Tail— Main Tail :Black with slight luster.
Sickles and Coverts : Lustrous black.
Wings—Shoulders : Black.
Fronts : Black.
Bows : Deep russet red.
Coverts : Lustrous black.
Primaries : Black.
Secondaries : Black, exposed portion forming black wing bay.
Breast: Solid black or with a few copper spots. Not laced.
Body & Stern: Black.
Legs & Toes— Lower Thighs : Black.
Shanks and Toes : Shanks and toes light to mid-slate, showing pink
between the scales. Bottoms of feet pinkish white.
Shank and Toe Feathers : Black.

 

[ochochicas]

Quote: I totally empathize with you. I understand the breed standard, and the leg feathering looks nice, but for free ranging chickens it can be a nuisance. My Marans free range on a horse farm where they dig through horse pucky, mud, bark, tall grass, etc. Their feathers get "dirty" and are constantly wet. We are breeding for olive eggs now, so the leg feathering is not something that our hens have to have. If we were showing or breeding to BCM standards then we would only have birds with feathered shanks. In any event, the egg color is lovely.