- Feb 15, 2013
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Adorable!!!
I love seeing all of these beautiful chicks!

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I must have missed those posts. I have 3 HRIR hens to improve my Rhodebars and suspect wheaten in my BCM. Please expand or reference post # for this? Thanks!
Yes, try wait. It's so hard to do, but they change so much I've decided it's what we must do! I think the second one has much better balance than the first, who looks like he has no rear end (plus his shank color issue).This was very kindly explained to me from a knowledgeable mentor that this cross should work... so I'll paraphrase in my newbie-level understanding of this test hatch:
Please correct if I've misunderstood, explained this incorrectly, or am just plain wrong...
We're using the RIR hens to help determine with test hatches if either of our two BCM males are carrying Wheaten.
Each chicken has two copies of genetic patterns in their genetic profile. One copy comes from each parent chicken. BCM have two of Birchen [eR].
Primary color patterns (listed from recessive to dominant- along with genetic shorthand) are:
1) Partridge [eb]
2) Wheaten [eWh]
3) wild type [e+]
4) Birchen [eR]
5) extended black [E].
Test hatches are achieved simply by placing a hen from another breed in the pen with the BCM male, then hatching out about 20 chicks (Many people in the course of this thread have considered this about the right amount). If the male's pure, 100% of the chicks from that cross will come out black.
So, if a chicken only has only one single copy of [eR] (from the one Birchen parent) then the other copy (depending on the other parent's breed) ([eb], [eWh], [e+] from the other parent) then, one or more of the young may show the color pattern from non [eR] breed through the black pigments. So, if the male's not pure, you might get yellow chicks, or, something like chipmunk stripes chicks if you use a leghorn hen, etc. Blue or green egg breeds like Wheaten Americana or Easter Eggers are often used because they create Olive Eggers.
In our case, we have plenty of RIR hens available, so with no blue or green egg layers here, we have to use what is here even though I'm not pleased about the eventual culling. Since it takes 2-3 weeks to wait for the RIR hen's fertile eggs to be changed over to the BCM, it will be a few weeks before the test hatch eggs will even make it to the 'bator.
Just as a reminder- there are two males being tested… we'd rather know now than have bigger issues pop up later down the road.
The first male being tested is the "boo-boo roo..." purchased at the show. He's basically being tested just for the sake of seeing what happens with breeding him (we didn't know what we were doing when he was purchased, unfortunately). He's the male from the Bev Davis line I mentioned weeks ago, with the too-orange chest, and high tail angle. (Actually I think his sickles may just be too long?) Anyway, here, he's stretching his neck at full awareness of me photographing him through the window- he actually has a normal neck, lol. However, if I go outside, he runs up, so it's impossible to take full length photos of him without him running up. lol When he's less stretched, his back seems long.
Due to his light chest and lightish, translucent pink/ stippled slate shanks (on both shanks, even though you can't see it much on the left leg from the photo angle) and on his feet, and just to make sure there's no Wheaten [eWh] in him. (There's no yellow.) We hope to eventually try him with a large, dark female, and try to get a better cockerel from him possibly, and perhaps see from there- that is, if we can get anything... We are curious, so we'll just see if this will actually lead anywhere…
The second roo we feel better about. Actually, I like him even though he has his faults.
He's the larger, older, stout male with good type and nice tail, purchased after conversing with wonderful BYCers, and on this thread. But, he has hackle ticking, so, we'll see if we can get a new cockerel(s) without hackle ticking from him. The breeder couldn't say what his lineage was (she's worked with his line for a few generations) so I'm testing for Wheaten anyway, just in case there may be some in his background.
So, again, it's wait, wait, then wait some more, then wait. lol
The green legs are a problem. They have yellow skin if you are seeing green. Marans should not have yellow skin. You may not see the green in the chicks as yellow legs are recessive but they chicks from the birds with green legs will carry the genes and muddy your marans and haunt you forever!I have a question. A couple of questions....
I have a couple of Blue Coppers young hens that I got from a friend of mine. The feet seem kind of greenish blue. I don't know if my eyes are playing tricks.
My friend told me the birds are directly from Wade Jean stock. Anything is possible but is this something that is seen on occasion?
I saw the parents and they are (as near as I could tell) Blue Copper Marans. I will see how they lay. Most of my blue copper eggs go in the refrigerator for breakfast anyway.
My second question is a chicken in general question, and pertains to what I could only describe as an ineffective rooster. I have gotten much better looking stock from my own original Black hens but the rooster (Black) is only fertilizing less than half the eggs produced. I have watched him in action and often times he mounts the hen, then it seems he is struggling for his balance, and he gets off without ever making "contact" with the target zone. The birds I have been able to hatch seem better than anything I have yet found so this is a problem as I could be hatching twice as many as I am managing and I really suspect it is due to his ineptness. Has anyone heard of such a thing?
He has alot of Halo in his cape and between that and this mating inefficiency I am thinking Coq Au Vin, however his son, who is much more uniformly copper is still young. Would it be the thing to do to keep the two birds to perhaps increase fertilization chances, or would it be unlikely the younger bird would be allowed to mate with the presence of his father. Also, I don't want the old mans technique being passed on as well... I would appreciate any insights.
Oh Lord, something else to go look for...I'd run right out there now but it's dark. I would hope I'd have seen green legs before this, but...The green legs are a problem. They have yellow skin if you are seeing green. Marans should not have yellow skin. You may not see the green in the chicks as yellow legs are recessive but they chicks from the birds with green legs will carry the genes and muddy your marans and haunt you forever!
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I don't know what color skin they should have but egg color has nothing to do with leg color. Ameraucanas have white skin like marans but lay blue eggs.... Olive Egger tend to have white skin (but could be carrying rec yellow)
Yellow legs are a problem with marans as people have mixed them.