Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[JFreeman]

None of them have beards, and I'm not sure how old they are. I bought them about three weeks ago, and I don't know how old they were when I bought them. They are about the same age as my 11 week old Barred Rock, if that helps.

Here are a few more pictures of them. I won't lie, I was kind of hoping for cockerels. STRANGE! I know! LOL

But who really gets upset when they get pullets instead? I don't know.
They are very possessive of Duchess. I'm not sure what she is...

Wait a minute... I didn't notice before now (I guess I still need to wake up), but the pictures kind of show him having a beard.

 

[DMRippy]

Quote: The more I look at those pic the more I see 2 roos.

 

[Runawaylobster]

None of them have beards, and I'm not sure how old they are. I bought them about three weeks ago, and I don't know how old they were when I bought them. They are about the same age as my 11 week old Barred Rock, if that helps.

Here are a few more pictures of them. I won't lie, I was kind of hoping for cockerels. STRANGE! I know! LOL

But who really gets upset when they get pullets instead? I don't know.
They are very possessive of Duchess. I'm not sure what she is...

the one on the right looks as if it has muffs?? at least on the picture.. if so you may have an olive egger.

 

[carnivore]

These are pics of Lorenzo, an 8 month old BCM roo I picked up this weekend. Not for breeding, just for Cadbury eggs. I am curious though, does he have what you all call a "squirrel tail"?

 

[Runawaylobster]

These are pics of Lorenzo, an 8 month old BCM roo I picked up this weekend. Not for breeding, just for Cadbury eggs. I am curious though, does he have what you all call a "squirrel tail"?

great photography ,

 

[desertmarcy]

These are pics of Lorenzo, an 8 month old BCM roo I picked up this weekend. Not for breeding, just for Cadbury eggs. I am curious though, does he have what you all call a "squirrel tail"?

Yes, he looks like he does from the photos. Draw a line that continues along his back, then another line vertically 90 degrees where the tail meets the back. If there is any portion of the tail forward (towards the head) of the vertical line, it is a squirrel tail. Easier to show on a drawing, but I don't know how to do that on the computer. I am glad you are not using him for breeding. He would be a cull around here.

 

[miakauai]

Aloha my ne is Mia I'm from Kauai Hawaii I just started breeding marans and I was just wondering why one of my black copper pullets is all black with no copper markings. Is this normal or should I be worried

Here is my black copper puller eleets

 

[Brada Puhi]

Aloha Mia,

The female should have some copper in her neck. Not like the rooster but still, should have some. Also, the leg feathering should be more heavy. Kind of hard to tell the rest of the stuff.

But Most importantly is egg color! Too many people lose sight of the single most important attribute to the marans and that is egg color!

We only have one hen from this particular line, but the eggs that they came from were dark. So she will be our main hen as far as Iʻm concerned. The roosters too.

All this SOP BS is in a distant second place as far as Iʻm concerned. Nevertheless, it is very possible to do both. Just be more selective.

Kden, Puhi

 

[miakauai]

Well she not old enough to lay yet she's only 3-4 months old but hopefully it's as dark as her moms or darker.

 

[johnderosa1]

Aloha Mia,

The female should have some copper in her neck.  Not like the rooster but still, should have some.  Also, the leg feathering should be more heavy.  Kind of hard to tell the rest of the stuff.

But Most importantly is egg color!  Too many people lose sight of the single most important attribute to the marans and that is  egg color!

We only have one hen from this particular line, but the eggs that they came from were dark.  So she will be our main hen as far as Iʻm concerned.  The roosters too.

All this SOP BS is in a distant second place as far as Iʻm concerned.  Nevertheless, it is very possible to do both.  Just be more selective.

Kden, Puhi

I have been trying to start a foundation flock of BCMs for 3 years now and am still at square one. With the help of some very kind people on this thread i do feel i have a way forward. There is one thing however that i am concerned about with this breed..... egg quality. Nearly every pullet that i have raised produced eggs with meat spots in them. I have read that this is a problem with BCMs and i would like to hear from others here regarding this issue. I dont mind working through all the other problems facing the breed but the ultimate goal in my eyes is to have sop birds that consistently produce big round, dark chocolate, high quality eggs. I know this is a tall order but it appears that many of the serious breeders out there are making progress on sop birds and egg color. The wildcard for me though is the issue with meat/blood spots. Is this problem endemic with this breed or have i just been really unlucky... I just culled my entire flock due to this problem save one hen and i just checked an egg from her and it had a meat spot in it.
I am seriously considering throwing in the towel altogether and would like to get a true perspective on this problem from the experts here... Can i get away from this problem? Are there any lines out there that have eliminated this problem? Again i dont mind working through all the other problems if i can get an egg that is high quality on the inside as well as the outside . Thanks for you thoughts