Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[pinkchick]

Quote:
VC, It has been my experience that the darker brown chicks will be males and the lighter amount of brown will be mossy females. Will have more on this in about a month. If you remember I changed the male that I posted a picture of here over my females because I thought he would add more copper to the chicks. Well at this point its looks like it will turn into a nightmare as the 10 day chicks are getting brown over the body, the wings are already brown and waiting for more. I didn't see this in the test chicks from the first two hens.

I have also shot the theory about breeding the Dark males to mostly black females. From necessity I put the only real good males I had with all 28 of my BC females and according to the theory promoted by most I should of got mostly junk chicks. Well this just has not happened as I have some very nice young fowl feathering with good copper showing up. I should of left well enough alone and stayed with this mating through the hatching season.

I believe we must make these mating ourselves and not pay a lot of attention to what is posted on the internet.

Don~ I agree. I too have produced better colored birds by using the darker birds as well. I prefer to work with the darker birds.....give me too many melanizers any day.

 

[Debbi]

Hi Pink!

I hear you were looking for me??

Thanks, still alive!

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
VC, It has been my experience that the darker brown chicks will be males and the lighter amount of brown will be mossy females. Will have more on this in about a month. If you remember I changed the male that I posted a picture of here over my females because I thought he would add more copper to the chicks. Well at this point its looks like it will turn into a nightmare as the 10 day chicks are getting brown over the body, the wings are already brown and waiting for more. I didn't see this in the test chicks from the first two hens.

I have also shot the theory about breeding the Dark males to mostly black females. From necessity I put the only real good males I had with all 28 of my BC females and according to the theory promoted by most I should of got mostly junk chicks. Well this just has not happened as I have some very nice young fowl feathering with good copper showing up. I should of left well enough alone and stayed with this mating through the hatching season.

I believe we must make these mating ourselves and not pay a lot of attention to what is posted on the internet.

Don~ I agree. I too have produced better colored birds by using the darker birds as well. I prefer to work with the darker birds.....give me too many melanizers any day.

Kim, I should be able to post some pictures in about a month of the oldest three hatches, I really like the dark matings they came from. I just hope the other male produces something useable at least and is not a complete waste. I ended up with about 500 from the dark mating and will have 400-500 from the pen with more color. I have a hatch tomorrow and one more after that.

Will be culling the three oldest hatches and vaccinating them tomorrow and moving them to the grow out pens.

 

[snowbird]

VC- Kim, I have proven that the adults with Brown rear body feather and the fluff below is from the chicks that have brown down. There is no undercolor stated in the standard so before it is ever included in the printed SOP the undercolor will have to be added I have been told . The undercolor should be Dull Black.

 

[flgardengirl]

Quote:
No clue. That's what dh said when we went to the Newnan show and he saw a real black tailed buff there, "hey its Agent Orange" haha but then again he doesn't know anything about them either. I saw on one website if you spread thier wings they should have certain black markings in them. I have been meaning to catch him and spread his wings and look but haven't gotten around to it. He is a nice boy but just haven't done it. The guineas pulled most his tail feathers out now so I should prob take him out of there anyways. We were planning to put him in freezer camp on the next cull. He still kicks the male guineas butts and tries to mate the females. What a horrid combo that would make.

Does BHB line throw black tailed buffs? I just read that some BCM lines can throw BTBs. I haven't gotten any wheatie chicks from her line yet from the others I bred but I haven't bred Agent Orange and wasn't planning to. Even his legs are orangy colored feathered arrgg. They were more tiger striped looking when he was younger but now they look more of a solid orangy whatever you call it.

Here is a pic of a BTB from the Newnan show. Does anyone else think he looks like Agent Orange? AO's feathers are much darker now than when he was younger (in that old pic) they are closer to this color now. I need to get an updated photo.

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
Hello Debbi, I bred the four Males that look like your males to all of the beef cow hens with very little color and so far they have proved all the EXPERTS wrong. I have a lot of really nice six week olds I am culling and vaccinating tomorrow. I have new shavings in all the outside brooders and will fill them up tomorrow. I plan on culling really hard as usual. I can see lots of real improvement in the young already even at this age. Will post some picture soon.

 

[Debbi]

Hello Don, can't wait to see the pics! Just curious, but did any of these chicks, (dark x dark breedings), have excessive white down?

 

[snowbird]

Debbi, you would love the shank and toe feathering on the young this year as it looks like you avatar chicks. Love those heavy feathers.

 

[Debbi]

Me Too!!!!

 

[snowbird]

Quote:
Debbi, I do not get any spotted young, some may have some white around the head and the chest. The pictures I posted earlier are about the norm for my chicks. The brown chick in the first hatch now just has some extra copper in the chest.