Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[berkeleysprings]

Wheaten chicks start out with yellow legs 3 weeks or so turn. Pinkish white

Quote:
is is possible that another roo stopped by for a visit? They do look like wheatens but i have forgotten what color legs the wheatens start out with,...... did you buy the eggs or did you get them from your own hens?

 

[FVRM]

I bought the eggs on eBay. They had 2 roosters over the hens, a black one and a splash. They also had some splash, black and blue hens. It could be possible that another rooster got into the pen. But I know some bcms have wheaten in their genes. I'll update when more feathers come in. I really like the colors, it looks like leopard spots on the wings.

 

[chicken pickin]

I finally got my egg color chart today in the mail. Im very excited. Its great to finally have a chart in hand, its quite amazing how much darker the colors are on the chart in person than what you see on the comp. I can see know how people often state there eggs are a certain number when they might actually not be. My chart seems much darkers than the pics of the charts I see online

Now if my girls would start laying again I might be able to compare their eggs colors to the chart

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Been a while since I stopped in here, this thread moves too fast for me to keep up with it.

Mulling my options here- current boy has obvious wheaten influence via brown wing triangle so he has to go (it didn't show up until he was about 15 months old). He also doesn't have very much leg feathering and what little he has the girls pluck off. I bought 3 potential young boys in December at the Shawnee, OK show, two from April Howerton and one from Bev Robertson. Hoping you all will let me talk out loud here as I make my choice... they are about 4 months old now I think.

Current roo, Big Stuff. His comb is a mess from this awful winter. You can see the brown wing triangle. He is from a local lady who sold me my very first batch of chicks 2 years ago and they grew up all over the map- they were a mess genetically even though she claimed *certain lines.*

I think looking back and thinking about her pens she couldn't bear to cull anything so she bred everything. I've learned A LOT since then.


Boy #1- I call him Butt Ugly, he's not even in the running. WAY too much brown on the chest. Wonky comb. I think he's going to have shading in his hackle. Just ungraceful overall. Don't think he's worth growing out further with the color issue. He's from April Howerton.





#2 Is almost the opposite problem color-wise, but it is very possible as he matures his coloring will come in nicely. He has a very nice width and good weight to him, very pleasing to the eye IMO. I feel he has the best type. Major drawback- NO feathering on his legs. This boy is from Bev Robertson. This guy was my favorite at first but after taking a look at my girls I think he may be backup boy and #3 will be lead man. I keep going back and forth.







#3- This boy is in between. I'm a little leery of the amount of chest color he has already BUT that being said my girls could use more copper so this may be the best balance. Nice feet feathering. I feel he has decent type. He is from April Howerton.






These are the girls they will be paired with. One is about 2 years old the other are just at one year. They are all from David Fitzgerald in Seminole, OK. I had 9 pullets from him originally but dogs, illness, chance, etc has left me with just these 3. They have great weight to them, good type, and lay a very nice eggs, I'd say they were an 8 at the beginning of lay cycle and are already down to a 6-7. They could use a little heavier leg feathering IMO and one could stand more copper in the neck.




Most likely i am keeping 2 and 3 and seeing how they look in a month or two. Any reason I should keep #1? I hate to step backward on the leg feathering which is the main reason I'm leaning toward #3. But #2 is looking so nice....

 

[FVRM]

the hens look really nice. that one roo may have a comb sprig

 

[lonnyandrinda]

the hens look really nice. that one roo may have a comb sprig

I hadn't noticed one. Which roo are you referring to? #1 has a bent funny comb, no sprigs that I've noticed but it's certainly not right.

 

[FVRM]

I hadn't noticed one. Which roo are you referring to? #1 has a bent funny comb, no sprigs that I've noticed but it's certainly not right.

i guess its the distance and angle of the pic that made it look like a sprig.

 

[omas biddies]

Hi
Where did you get your chart from
I have my first marans in the incubator now
Any tips

 

[blackbirds13]

Been a while since I stopped in here, this thread moves too fast for me to keep up with it.

Mulling my options here- current boy has obvious wheaten influence via brown wing triangle so he has to go (it didn't show up until he was about 15 months old). He also doesn't have very much leg feathering and what little he has the girls pluck off. I bought 3 potential young boys in December at the Shawnee, OK show, two from April Howerton and one from Bev Robertson. Hoping you all will let me talk out loud here as I make my choice... they are about 4 months old now I think.

Current roo, Big Stuff. His comb is a mess from this awful winter. You can see the brown wing triangle. He is from a local lady who sold me my very first batch of chicks 2 years ago and they grew up all over the map- they were a mess genetically even though she claimed *certain lines.*

I think looking back and thinking about her pens she couldn't bear to cull anything so she bred everything. I've learned A LOT since then.


Boy #1- I call him Butt Ugly, he's not even in the running. WAY too much brown on the chest. Wonky comb. I think he's going to have shading in his hackle. Just ungraceful overall. Don't think he's worth growing out further with the color issue. He's from April Howerton.





#2 Is almost the opposite problem color-wise, but it is very possible as he matures his coloring will come in nicely. He has a very nice width and good weight to him, very pleasing to the eye IMO. I feel he has the best type. Major drawback- NO feathering on his legs. This boy is from Bev Robertson. This guy was my favorite at first but after taking a look at my girls I think he may be backup boy and #3 will be lead man. I keep going back and forth.







#3- This boy is in between. I'm a little leery of the amount of chest color he has already BUT that being said my girls could use more copper so this may be the best balance. Nice feet feathering. I feel he has decent type. He is from April Howerton.







Most likely i am keeping 2 and 3 and seeing how they look in a month or two. Any reason I should keep #1? I hate to step backward on the leg feathering which is the main reason I'm leaning toward #3. But #2 is looking so nice....

I agree with 2 and 3. Too bad about Big Stuff as he's chunky fellow. I'd also go for the feathered foot boy if his chest color stays minimal. I had a similar situation with my Splash and went with the slightly smaller but more feathered shank boy - also liked his coloring better. I'm thinking at this juncture lack of shank feathering is something I rather keep at a minimum as much as I can and not breed it forward if I can help it. My BCM boy has a very small amount of color in his upper breast but I'll keep him until I can find or breed something better as I like his size and shank feathers and I know what color eggs he came from AND there's no telling when I'd find something better or what alternate faults I will have to cypher through. The Holy Grail seems an easier quest than the 'perfect' Marans but the journey, despite the disappointments, is a lot of fun..... most times

 

[FVRM]

Hi
Where did you get your chart from
I have my first marans in the incubator now
Any tips

I noticed bcms take longer to hatch. I'm guessing because the eggs are larger the chicks take longer to absorb the yolk? Mine almost took 23 days to break the shell.