Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[Localheronow]

Ok gang I have a question on week old chicks what are the culling points for major and minor DQ points working to the APA and SOP. Thanks for all comments.

 

[RFR of CA]

I think that is too young, except for maybe lack of leg feathering?

 

[magdelaine]

Ok gang I have a question on week old chicks what are the culling points for major and minor DQ points working to the APA and SOP. Thanks for all comments.

Yes too young to cull at that age except for fused toes, crossed beaks, and other obvious genetic deformities that you would cull any breed for. Even leg feathering isn't a cull automatically as it's relatively easy to breed back in and the bird of otherwise nice type and coloring can still be used in a breeding program. It really seems like unless you have experience and you know what you are looking for from your individual birds, culling earlier than 6 months is rarely called for. You just have to wait and see how they develop.

 

[Newchickey]

Ok gang I have a question on week old chicks what are the culling points for major and minor DQ points working to the APA and SOP. Thanks for all comments.

Where are you? Maybe I can take them? In my flock I have one Black Copper roo and 2 pullets. I hate to see them lose their life because they arent perfect.

 

[DMRippy]

Quote:
Cull does not always mean to kill. I cull from my breeding pens and sell the culls or give the roos away for someone to eat.

 

[One Chick Two]

Need an opinion please...is this shafting on Clyde's chest?



He has perhaps 6 spots of copper chest color, overall... but I am concerned about the 10? black feather shafts that aren't colored in the shaft centers like the other feathers. If that is shafting, I realize a bird can't be shown... however... can shafting be worked through as a breeder male or female, or should it always be a cull?

 

[DMRippy]

Need an opinion please...is this shafting on Clyde's chest?



He has perhaps 6 spots of copper chest color, overall... but I am concerned about the 10? black feather shafts that aren't colored in the shaft centers like the other feathers. If that is shafting, I realize a bird can't be shown... however... can shafting be worked through as a breeder male or female, or should it always be a cull?

He could be shown just fine. One of the winning cocks at the Knoxville show had way more color leaking on his breast than that. Some breeders prefer their males have some color on the breast to add color to the females. I personally have not seen that happen in my birds but I would not cull a bird for that little bit of copper. It is allowed in the standard.

That is not what I would call feather shafting..... that would be were the shaft is the wrong color like white. I have not seen anyone post a pic of feather shafting in a long time.

 

[One Chick Two]

He could be shown just fine. One of the winning cocks at the Knoxville show had way more color leaking on his breast than that. Some breeders prefer their males have some color on the breast to add color to the females. I personally have not seen that happen in my birds but I would not cull a bird for that little bit of copper. It is allowed in the standard.

That is not what I would call feather shafting..... that would be were the shaft is the wrong color like white. I have not seen anyone post a pic of feather shafting in a long time.

.

Thank you Donna. It's really hard to know where the line is drawn in some areas of the SOP.

So, the K on the right would be closer to displaying shafting then, right? The lines seem more drawn, brighter, although not actually white- so, should they actually be white? (These boys are from a different line, and neither of them will be bred.)

 

[DMRippy]

Yes that would be more like shafting. Took me a bit to remember where that was a problem on my threads. The BLRW have that issue more than anything I have seen. Might be a gold gene thing since you are seeing it only on the copper feathers. I personally would not worry about that issue on coppers unless it was in the black feathers..... I don't know if I have ever seen that on black feathers.

If I were you I would worry more about the big picture and when those things are fixed if the shafting shows up still work on it. In the BLRW the missing key to feather shafting is the mahogany gene and in coppers NO mahogany gene is a good thing so maybe the bigger thing you would work on is breeding them with a black breast more than the shafting issue????????? Just guessing here.

 

[Wickischickies]

I'm in need of a little help. Every year I buy chicks from people in Michigan who all have claimed their flock has Davis line or Jean line in them. Once the chicks grow up and start laying I can tell I was taken for a fool again. The eggs they lay are too light and I end up culling the flock. This is my 4th year of trying to find Marans that are actually Marans and not someone's poor excuse of the breed (meaning their eggs end up under a 4 on the color chart). I even ask for pictures of the flock and of the eggs they are hatching. The pictures the seller emails me are of really dark eggs. However, once the chicks I purchase from them start laying they are no where near the color in the pictures they sent me back in spring.

I am posting a picture of some eggs hoping someone could tell me where they stand on the color chart. I am hoping a couple of these hens are worth breeding because I am tired of the heartbreak of spending so much money on raising a bad flock. The top row are from my black sex link. The middle row are the Marans eggs the bottom are Easter Eggers. The 4th from the left is the egg color of past flocks that have all been culled but one hen. She is kept in with my Easter Eggers to create Olive Eggers each spring. Could someone tell me where each of these eggs are on the color chart numbering them from left to right? I need to know if its okay to breed this flock or if I should keep trying. I'm really hoping these are acceptable. Would you use them for breeding?

I forgot to add: These eggs were collected after the hens have been laying for 3 months.