Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[One Chick Two]

Okay, it has only been about a week and a half, but I will be out of town next week. The chicks are about 9 weeks now (sorry, the first time I posted pictures of them I totally got the date wrong)!

1.

2.

1> Pullet
2> Cockerel

 

[Ebove06]

1> Pullet
2> Cockerel

That is what I was hoping! e

 

[Scatterknit]

Thanks for the guesstimates on mine!

 

[chad e]

I hatched some black & blue maran chicks. Some of the black marans are starting to get some brown feathers at 1 week. Is this common?

 

[Alaskan]

no.

Black Marans should have first feathers that are pure black with often a few white feathers (just in the first juvenile feather set) on the wing edges.

 

[Alaskan]

could it have been an olive egger?

 

[magdelaine]

I hatched some black & blue maran chicks. Some of the black marans are starting to get some brown feathers at 1 week. Is this common?

Unfortunately, yes. It's called "mossy" and is an indication that those birds are "split for wheaten". If you do a search with those terms you'll come up with the conversations that describe what this means. I have two pullets like this myself, and means you will either need to keep them as egg layers only or you will have to "test breed" all offspring.

 

[chad e]

Thanks. One of my hens has a little bit of brown shading. I guess this is where the problem comes from. Will the brown leave?

 

[MARANMAN2011]

Prob not. Sorry

 

[One Chick Two]

Thanks. One of my hens has a little bit of brown shading. I guess this is where the problem comes from. Will the brown leave?

Your hen sounds like she is split for the Wheaten variety. If you are planning on breeding BCM, I would recommend test breeding both your hen, and your rooster- just to be sure of what genetics are there. If you are just planning on keeping the young only for yourself (and not selling her chicks or giving them away to someone who might breed them) then, it doesn't matter.

The brown on the chick may (or not seem) to go away as the adult feathers come in, but mixed variety genes in a chick will not change. Even if the adult feathers do not show mossy markings. The mixed genes carry forward to young they may have. This is why mixed genes are a problem in many flocks.

You may (or not) eventually see small copper dotted speckles pop out on chests, wings and tail feathers in pullets. This split hen below in our layers flock had speckled edges in her year 1. By her year 2, the speckles became strongly patterned along edges.


Year 2 Down chest


In split males, the chests often express too much copper leakage on black chests, white shanks, speckled or copper in wing bay area, or, straw colored halo in hackle. Again, there may not be obvious signs even if a bird is split, so that is why test mating is the most important tool BCM breeders have.