Blue Copper and Splash Copper Marans Discussion

[dutchbunny83]

Hello everyone!
I'm new to this thread. I have two "blue" marans that hatched out dark. They are the only 2 that hatched, and I've thought from the beginning they were both cockerals because that's my luck and they were really slow at getting tail feathers.
They are 10 weeks old now and have a lot of red on their face, but very small combs and wattles. They still don't have much of a tail.
Anyway I saw on this site a posting someone put of their pair of black marans at 9 weeks and her pullet (at least she thinks it's a pullet) looks just like mine and the cockeral had huge wattles.
I am starting to question if I might just have some pullets or is it just wishful thinking???
I was trying to give them away since I can't have roosters with no takers. If they are girls I'm sure glad I didn't!
Anyway I would LOVE to know what you guys think!

 

[DMRippy]

Hello everyone! I'm new to this thread. I have two "blue" marans that hatched out dark. They are the only 2 that hatched, and I've thought from the beginning they were both cockerals because that's my luck and they were really slow at getting tail feathers. They are 10 weeks old now and have a lot of red on their face, but very small combs and wattles. They still don't have much of a tail. Anyway I saw on this site a posting someone put of their pair of black marans at 9 weeks and her pullet (at least she thinks it's a pullet) looks just like mine and the cockeral had huge wattles. I am starting to question if I might just have some pullets or is it just wishful thinking??? I was trying to give them away since I can't have roosters with no takers. If they are girls I'm sure glad I didn't! Anyway I would LOVE to know what you guys think!

my first thought is pullet but a head shot would help...and maybe the bird NOT being held.

 

[dutchbunny83]

I tried not being held and he wouldn't stand still! Kept running all over and all the pictures were blurry.
What made me think cockeral was it took awhile to get tail feathers and now the tail is barely there.
Their faces are definitely red, but the wattles aren't very large.
I'll see if I can get a better shot today.
Thanks!

 

[wlhtx]

Here is a head shot of one of my pullets about that age. Very small comb and wattles. I definitely think the bird in the top pic is a pullet.

I can't find one of my cockerels at that age for you to compare yours to, but if I remember correctly, their combs were already a decent size by 9 weeks... At 21 weeks, my cockerels still do not have the really tall stereotype rooster tails.

 

[dutchbunny83]

Okay, thanks so much!
I'm glad to see another pullet with some red in her face at that age.
Do you remember what her tail looked like?
My other birds have the fanned out hen tails at this point and these two don't. I was thinking maybe it's just the marans breed?

 

[wlhtx]

I can't remember abt the tails and I can't tell by the pics I have on my phone. But I wonder if maybe the tail feathers on yours were pulled out at some point? I ask that because I currently have a 17 week old RIR that has no tail feathers at all. She's a cocci survivor, or at least a survivor of some sort of illness. I lost 2 chicks in the same brooder that this RIR was in as a chick. She got very puffed up and lethargic, lots of runny poops and a messy butt. In trying to keep her bottom clean, we pulled out some of her tail feathers. Well, she's never grown them back. I assume she will at some point in the future - after a molt probably - but for now she looks funny. It just makes me wonder if your questionable ones may have lost their tail feathers somewhere along he way? Just a thought.

 

[dutchbunny83]

No I hatched them myself and only have a handful of birds so they weren't pulled out.
They have tails they're just like little poofs not the big fanned out ones you normally see in hens.
That's why I was thinking rooster since they are always later to get their tails.
I have 4 lavender orpingtons with the same hatch date and I think 3 pullets & 1 roo. The roo has the same poof tail the two marans do, but he also has saddle feathers coming in which I haven't been able to see on the marans.
Sexing chickens is so hard some times!!!

Thanks for the input!

 

[volusiachickens]

I'm New to BYC from FL....wanted to post these two to see if they are indeed Blue copper morans. I bought them as chicks at a farmers market. the pullet has some featuring on her legs and so did the cockeral, but he has since lost them. they are about 4 months old

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and beginning to moult. Please give your thoughts on these two. I would eventually like to breed but would like to start right and wonder if I should start with these?

 

[dutchbunny83]

I'm New to BYC from FL....wanted to post these two to see if they are indeed Blue copper morans. I bought them as chicks at a farmers market. the pullet has some featuring on her legs and so did the cockeral, but he has since lost them. they are about 4 months old

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and beginning to moult. Please give your thoughts on these two. I would eventually like to breed but would like to start right and wonder if I should start with these?

That seems young to molt.
The girl is blue.
The rooster is not. He looks like he was mixed with a cuckoo marans.
In general, breeding is to preserve and better the breed unless you are doing it for fun.
I don't breed chickens, I just have them for pets and love different varities.
They are pretty birds, but IMHO I would buy exhibition quality eggs or birds to use them to breed versus from a farmer's market where you don't always know exactly what you are getting. (Though I guess one could argue you don't always know what you are getting when you order exhibition eggs because some people go out of their way to mislead others...)

 

[dutchbunny83]

I guess I could be mistaken on the roo, I'm not a marans expert, but I have never seen one have the cuckoo barred pattern besides cuckoos or cuckoo crosses.
Pure blue marans can only hatch out as blue, black or splash. If you breed a blue on a blue your offspring should be an average of 50% blue, 25% black & 25% splash based on genetics (not to say you couldn't end up with a hatch of all blue)