Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[Jenikate]

Hi! Looks to me that this little pullet is probably about 4 weeks or so of age.

Thank you for the reply! You think 4 weeks???? I have EE's that are 4 weeks and seem bigger and "sturdier " than this little one...again though...I am not familiar with this breed at all! Im happy to hear that you think it's a pullet too. I picked ONE straight run...but the fact that the combs of this breed are bigger than the ee's really freaked me out in making a choice ...they ALL looked like roo's to me Ill be happy roo or pullet, but of course would LOVE a pullet.
How soon do the combs get pink or red on a roo? The comb on this one is bright white, but jagged looking......if I saw it on my 4 week ee's I would know it was a roo

 

[pinkchick]

Thank you for the reply! You think 4 weeks???? I have EE's that are 4 weeks and seem bigger and "sturdier " than this little one...again though...I am not familiar with this breed at all! Im happy to hear that you think it's a pullet too. I picked ONE straight run...but the fact that the combs of this breed are bigger than the ee's really freaked me out in making a choice ...they ALL looked like roo's to me Ill be happy roo or pullet, but of course would LOVE a pullet.
How soon do the combs get pink or red on a roo? The comb on this one is bright white, but jagged looking......if I saw it on my 4 week ee's I would know it was a roo

At first I was going to say that it seemed a little younger than 4 weeks but not much and maybe it is.... I normally see less feathering than this one has if it is younger than 4 weeks.
I have a 4 week old Splash cockerel and Splash pullet out in the brooder, let me go snap a photo of them for you for comparison.

Usually by the age of approx. 2weeks to 3 weeks one would be able to see a nice big thick fatter and noticeably pinker comb on Marans cockerels, but that said some can take their time and keep us guessing a bit longer than that.

Is it possible to post a couple more photos of this bird? One showing the comb and one of it standing up if possible?

 

[pinkchick]

Here are a couple photos of my 4 week olds, notice how much chick down they still have. Sorry couldn't get better photos...had to take them outside of the brooder area as it was too dark to get good photos in there so we had to go outside and they are a bit cold and hunched up as it is rainy and cold here today.

Here is a head shot of the pullet.



Head shot of the cockerel.


Here they are together. Cockerel is on the left.

 

[Arielle]

Pink--

Great tutorial!

Can I ask about egg color? I have noticed among my 5 hens that the egg color varies hen to hen, and the egg size varies too. The bigger the egg the lighter the color, the smaller the egg the darker the egg. Of course the pullet eggs are the darkest!!! LOL So, barring the pullet eggs. . . .

How do I get big AND dark eggs??

 

[Jenikate]

I will post a pic when I get home this afternoon...a better head shot and standing if it will do so for me!!!! Thank you again!

 

[Jenikate]

Better pics??? Just wont stand or sit still!

 

[Jenikate]

Here are a couple photos of my 4 week olds, notice how much chick down they still have. Sorry couldn't get better photos...had to take them outside of the brooder area as it was too dark to get good photos in there so we had to go outside and they are a bit cold and hunched up as it is rainy and cold here today.

Here is a head shot of the pullet.



Head shot of the cockerel.


Here they are together. Cockerel is on the left.

They are so sweet! I wish I had one of each so I could compare like that!

 

[pinkchick]

Pink--

Great tutorial!

Can I ask about egg color? I have noticed among my 5 hens that the egg color varies hen to hen, and the egg size varies too. The bigger the egg the lighter the color, the smaller the egg the darker the egg. Of course the pullet eggs are the darkest!!! LOL So, barring the pullet eggs. . . .

How do I get big AND dark eggs??

Thanks.

The pullet eggs will get bigger and hopefully they will maintain the color they are currently giving you. The larger eggs may be lighter because those girls have been laying longer, I'm unsure, but I can say with certainty that eggs do vary from hen to hen, each hen has her own signature as far as egg shape and sometimes this includes color as well. I have some that lay lighter colored large eggs that have great speckles and others that lay a smaller darker egg that is smoothly colored. Egg color can also vary throughout a hens lay cycle as well that can have may contributing factors.

Hoping others come by to give advise about breeding for larger darker eggs.

 

[pinkchick]

Better pics??? Just wont stand or sit still!

Hmmmmmm........................................

I will stick to my guess-timate of age and I still want to say pullet but can you post photos in another week to confirm. Time really is the only way to tell for sure.

Thanks for posting more photos.

 

[Christie Rhae]

The black copper thread is probably the right place to ask this...

Is this hackle too yellow? To my untrained eye it seems like it gets really yellow towards the bottom. Is this still in the copper realm or has it gone to yellow? Of course in the sun it looks very yellow but the color is truer to life around the front. Just trying to get a mental image of what I am looking for.
Thanks!