Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[Bravo]

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OMG, really? I don't think anyone was joking. (gulp)

In that case - SORRY !!! They all answered with a smilie icon so I wasn't sure.

I've posted these pics of my flock from 2009 before and every time I do I have to battle people on Craigslist and E-Bay who feel the need to steal them and represent them as their own - but these are good photos of what the hen's tail should look like (or at least what it looks like in my flock). Notice the close-ups of the tails - they don't go straight up and the feathers at the base don't hang down.


http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x204/chicklady/myflock1.jpg

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x204/chicklady/myflock3.jpg

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x204/chicklady/myflock2.jpg

As I mentioned, I now use only the tail shape and feathers around the base to I.D. my young birds. So far I haven't been wrong yet.

Ruth, this is very interesting to me. I have a bunch of 9wk old "cockerels" at home that I am going to look at again. Could this just be an incorrect tail/tail set issue? From what I can see, your birds are very typey. They have very nice tails and correct feathering.

In my flock I recently had 2 pullets that look just like the OP's birds, even with feathers drooping on the side. Their tail sets are a little high and the feathering is too long which is a breeding improvement I am working on. Could this be a conformation issue that holds true in your flock because you get consistent "type"?

Has your method worked on birds from other flocks?

I am really curious about this. I havent hatched enough of my flocks eggs to be able to benchmark any consistency in features yet which is why any eggs I sell are always test eggs only.

Very, very interesting.

 

[sewandgrow]

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I personally put my nestboxed in early & my girls didn't lay til way late but when they did they layed in the their boxes like good little girls.

 

[sewandgrow]

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I have brownish red on the wings of some of my young BCMs and I know what they are because they are mine. They started out black with some white like all the others though.
Someone who knows more will help you...............

 

[sewandgrow]

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Sure, here he is. Sorry they are a bit blurry. He is always jumping and trying to fly. ETA: One of his toes is bandaged. His legs are very feathered, but the feathers are so big that it looks like more than his outer toes are feathered. Only his outer toes are feathered..My blue girl has a couple of feathers on her middle toes and the black one has very little feathering.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/80295_dsc01591.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/80295_dsc01596.jpg

This shows his coppering. The lighting makes my camera take grainy pictures.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/80295_dsc01600.jpg

How totally cute he is......He looks like a Frizzle!!!!!! LOL

 

[Wynette]

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I agree, Kathy. Their combs would be much more red by now if they were cockerels. I can see where you were wondering, though...they do have suspicious looking saddle feathers coming in. But, if these are pure BCM, and they were cockerels, more than likely they would have much more color, too - also, their legs aren't that thick.

 

[sewandgrow]

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They are all pullets

I'll let the more experienced comment on the rest.

To my unexperienced but learning eye I see pullets too...........

 

[Wynette]

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Okay, being a comb snob, roo #2 has a really nice comb! #1 has way too many points (I could 8 - they should have 5) - but, as is said each time I bring up combs, it's a very small deduction for extra points in the show ring, so it's not a big deal. But also, roo #1's comb isn't correct at the back, either - it should not follow the curve of the head, it should hang off on its own, like roo #2's comb.

I prefer roo #1 in profile and coloring, but I had a really tough time choosing between the two. I don't care for roo #2's coloring - it's too light in the hackles, and this would worry me for future generations and how he would cross on his hens. But - I AM NO EXPERT. Thanks for posting pics - LOVE to see lots of pics!

 

[sewandgrow]

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I'm not sure if this is a game and/or an inside joke because I've seen everyone else answer "all pullets" and I wouldn't want to spoil it - but if it's serious - I see all roos. Maybe I'm wrong but I don't see a pullet in the group. Based on my own birds, as soon as that tail goes up and those feathers at the base start to droop and hang down - I know it's a roo. I don't even look at the heads anymore - just the tails. I don't have a single female that has feathers at the base of the tail that hang down on either side - all go straight and stick to the body. So - that's just my way of telling what's what - don't know if that helps anyone else or not.

Good Morning Monique,
I have 5 of your chicks out & in the brooder this morning. I think they are done. They started yesterday morning.

 

[sewandgrow]

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I found out I couldn't tell squat from the combs and wattles when they are young but those tails are dead give aways now.

Aren't your all a pure line from one breeder? Maybe that has something to do with it. I will watch for that as mine from you grow.

 

[Wynette]

Bravo - I think it COULD be that the tails are quite long in those pullets and that could be why the side feathers are hanging like they are - they are longer, and thus gravity would pull them down. Monique's birds have the shorter (preferred by most) tail, and so they may not hang down being shorter.

I really think the combs would be more red at this age if they were cockerels. Again, I am no expert.