Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[Bravo]

Ok, so I gotta ask for clarification on the sexing skills you guys have.

What are you looking for on chicks younger than 1 week old? Are you going by color, stance, face? What screams male to you?

In the pic below, my first instinct was female/male due to coloration but actually these both turned out to be pullets.

The chick on the right now looks like this (pictured at 6 mos old):

Also, here is another pic of a different hatch. Not the greatest or clearest pic but half ended up being males and half were females.

Geebs/Pink can you share your wisdom with me? Honestly, unless those combs and wattles scream roo I've been holding on to them until I know for sure. I'm lousy at this stuff and really need to figure it out

These are all F1 birds from my flock and all are WJ lines if that makes a difference.

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
Bravo, Good to see these pictures as three of us have been discussing the chick down color in correlation to the amount of adult color they will have. We believe the darker headed chicks will be showing more color at adult. We believe the lighter chicks will be darker at adult. Yours goes along with out thinking about the darker down producing adults with more copper.

 

[Debbi]

Oh Bravo, what a pretty girl she turned out to be!!

Lately here, I'm looking at the hocks to try and sex them. So far, the boys are the ones with the thickest hocks after they are a few days old. I've gone by the coloring, been wrong. I've gone by the feathering, been wrong. I've gone by posture, been wrong but sometimes right. Time will tell with these new chicks if the hock thing is accurate...for me anyway.

 

[Bravo]

Quote:
Bravo, Good to see these pictures as three of us have been discussing the chick down color in correlation to the amount of adult color they will have. We believe the darker headed chicks will be showing more color at adult. We believe the lighter chicks will be darker at adult. Yours goes along with out thinking about the darker down producing adults with more copper.

Very interesting, Don. Out of the birds I've hatched from my flock, I haven't really gotten any chicks with a lot of white colored down--the one in the photo was probably the lightest. In the parent stock that I purchased as day olds there were several that had a lot of white and while I dont know which were which, some of the females I started out with are very dark with tiny amounts of copper. I've done compensatory breeding with them with a roo that has a little lighter hackle color and so far the F1's seem to have nice coppering--only 1 roo has been over coppered.

I am very interested to see the outcome of your study.

 

[Bravo]

Quote:
Thanks Debbi! I will have to start looking at hocks. I've got 3 BCM chicks I hatched from Illia that I am keeping an eye on and when I go home I'm gonna check it out

 

[enggass]

Any opinion as to what the outcome will be with a very dark, tiny comb chick will turn out to be? I have an 8 week old that has minimal comb development at this point. She was born with almost no markings at all - head completely black whereas others I had some white markings on their heads. Only color on her is one white feather at the tip of each wing. No copper at all yet... Thoughts?

Also, I've heard that less copper can equal darker eggs, any truth to this?
First picture here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=6420653#p6420653

Steve

 

[geebs]

Ya me too as your results are the opposite of mine... maybe it is a line difference...I don't use much of the cottage line. My experience is that anything color out like a cochin as a male turns out looking like AGENT ORANGE That has lead me personally (and it would seem it is a difference of experience here) that the more white on it as a chick the more SADDLE color for the males... I prefer very little white on my females... and a small amount on the males.. a little on the face but if it looks too much like a penguin... It turns out looking waaaay to overcolored.

What is everyone elses experience???

My chicks that I like best are long necked and dark with minimal white... (males)

 

[Bravo]

Quote:
Steve, I've found this look is normal for my pullets at 8 weeks old. Most of my girls look like this and dont really develop any coppering until their juvenile molt around 3.5-4 months. It is difficult to say how she will turn out but at least you wont have to wait that much longer

I have no clue about an egg color to coppering correlation, though.

You have to post pics after juve-molt so we can all see

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
geebs, this stuff I am working with this year are from two people and are Wade jeane lines and some have penne in pants. I culled all the Marans last year that had presley blood in them.

 

[geebs]

I have seen no correlation in the egg coloring other than to say that the mossy, poorest conformed hens tend to have a greater percentage of darker eggs particularly the short back hens with the wrong tail angle... they don't lay a lot of eggs either...I wonder if maybe that holds the egg in their just a little longer... (who knows??!!! just a random thought)