Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[DMRippy]

forgot to post the pic lol

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The color is good in the copper..... the color should be nice and even all over..... I like them a little darker.... but I can't have my DREAM chicken.

 

[DMRippy]

Quote:
Try to get pics at the birds level.....I know not easy but you can do it. I get a bucket and sit with them for a while and then start taking pics. LOT of pics......

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

Not the greatest pictures but you can kinda see what I have to work with..... Although, I don't plan on breeding for more than myself, and I only have 2 BCM pullets, the rest will be EE's and G.Comets. I do want to keep the best looking one!

#1



^ This one was my pick because he has the slate colored legs, decent leg feathering and the least amount of red/gold leakage on his wings.

Lots of leakage on this boy I think? #2


#3



#'s 1 2 and 3



#4 with Yellow legs He is a few weeks younger than the others.



#4 in the back....

Not an expert in the least but here are my opinions based on these photos. #1 in this lighting has very light coloring, appearing gold on saddle with a definite halo. I don't see any shank/toe feathering on the leg closest to the camera in the first photo, and lots on the second photo. Same bird? Nice tail angle, but would like to see him more "uphill."

#2 is just too hard to see, climbing as he is. I'd like to see darker copper (more consistent with the shoulder coloring) on both #2 & #3. After seeing him in a normal stance, I'm thinking this would likely be my choice due to apparent copper on chest of #3 paired with #3 tail issues.

#3 has a nice uphill back slope, but this seems paired with a potential squirrel tail. In the photo of the 3 together, #3 is either carrying his tail to the left or is developing a wry tail.

Take a good look at them from the top and see who narrows toward the tail and who looks like a block. From the rear, look for pinched tails that go with narrow hindquarters. You want their daughters to lay, I assume, and these things are important. I understand having to choose, and also know how much they can fill out and change from 5-12 months. If I'd made my final decisions at this age, I'd have kept the wrong cockerels.

 

[SIMZ]

Question on the yellow legs on #4......

My current male's feet seemed to be yellow on the bottom for a while. As he walked they seemed yellow-ish. I remember checking him over really well around 12-16 weeks (or so) and his feet weren't yellow at all.

Even so, I still wonder about that. Is it possible that those are yellow legs & feet under there? As I go, that will certainly be something I cull for pretty early on.

 

[DMRippy]

Question on the yellow legs on #4......

My current male's feet seemed to be yellow on the bottom for a while. As he walked they seemed yellow-ish. I remember checking him over really well around 12-16 weeks (or so) and his feet weren't yellow at all.

Even so, I still wonder about that. Is it possible that those are yellow legs & feet under there? As I go, that will certainly be something I cull for pretty early on.

The yellow is the color of his skin..... it is yellow all over.

 

[SIMZ]

The yellow is the color of his skin..... it is yellow all over.

So do you think my male is yellow, even though they look white now? I've heard someone mention that they often hatch with yellow feet, but that fades over time. At what age should all traces of yellow be gone off the bottom of the feet?

 

[DMRippy]

Quote:
Yellow is recessive to white.... they need 2 copies to express it. If they came from the same batch of birds 100% they are all carrying yellow skin.... just not showing it yet. The chicks will come out with yellow legs and you will have an impossible time getting rid of it. I would not breed these birds for that reason alone.

I have a cuckoo pullet. Her sibling had yellow legs from a top breeder too..... she will NEVER get in my breeding pen even though she does not have yellow legs. Both parents had to have a copy to express. so they are passing off yellow legs to 25% of the chick and the genes for it to another 50%. Only 25% would not have a copy of the gene. I would have to test mate her to find out if she had it.....

 

[mrandmrschicken]

Very odd that I just now found this thread before begin a search! Want to share a pic for comments. Want to also post a pic of his mother and sister later today. Sorry I could not get a better leg shot.

 

[desertmarcy]

Very odd that I just now found this thread before begin a search! Want to share a pic for comments. Want to also post a pic of his mother and sister later today. Sorry I could not get a better leg shot.

How old is this bird? Need more photos for the best critique, but two things I see are, he has no breast (his profile looks like a triangle) and holds his wings down low instead of tucked up tight, horizontally.

 

[doubleleft]

How old is this bird? Need more photos for the best critique, but two things I see are, he has no breast (his profile looks like a triangle) and holds his wings down low instead of tucked up tight, horizontally.

his wings are down probably because he's trying to balance himself on the wire cage .